Eight Improbable Possibilities

Eight Improbable Possibilities PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781785789793
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A mind-warping excursion into the wildly improbable truths of science.

Eight Improbable Possibilities

Eight Improbable Possibilities PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785787365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
A mind-warping excursion into the wildly improbable truths of science. Echoing Sherlock Holmes' famous dictum, John Gribbin tells us: 'Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, is certainly possible, in the light of present scientific knowledge.' With that in mind, in his sequel to the hugely popular Six Impossible Things and Seven Pillars of Science, Gribbin turns his attention to some of the mind-bendingly improbable truths of science. For example: We know that the Universe had a beginning, and when it was – and also that the expansion of the Universe is speeding up. We can detect ripples in space that are one ten-thousandth the width of a proton, made by colliding black holes billions of light years from Earth. And, most importantly from our perspective, all complex life on Earth today is descended from a single cell – but without the stabilising influence of the Moon, life forms like us could never have evolved.

Impossible, Possible, and Improbable

Impossible, Possible, and Improbable PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781785788833
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
'Gribbin has inspired generations with his popular science writing' - Jim Al-Khalili A scintillating collection of short essays that really does cover 'life, the Universe, and everything'. From the mysteries of the subatomic world to the curious property of water that makes our planet inhabitable, master of popular science John Gribbin delves into the astonishing facts that underlie our existence. Some aspects of the quantum world really do seem impossible to 'common sense', but have been proved correct by experiments. Other features of the Universe appear obvious, such as the fact that atoms are mostly empty space. But this familiarity hides the truly amazing truths underpinning these observations. And some things merely seem improbable but are also hiding a Deep Truth, such as the fact that the Moon and Sun look the same size as viewed from Earth. This book will change forever the way you view the world. This volume brings together three of John Gribbin's successful science books: Six Impossible Things (which was Shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Books Prize in 2019), Seven Pillars of Science and Eight Improbable Possibilities.

Impossible, Possible, and Improbable

Impossible, Possible, and Improbable PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785788841
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
'Gribbin has inspired generations with his popular science writing' Jim Al-Khalili A scintillating collection of short essays that really does cover 'life, the Universe, and everything'. From the mysteries of the subatomic world to the curious property of water that makes our planet inhabitable, master of popular science John Gribbin delves into the astonishing facts that underlie our existence. Some aspects of the quantum world really do seem impossible to 'common sense', but have been proved correct by experiments. Other features of the Universe appear obvious, such as the fact that atoms are mostly empty space. But this familiarity hides the truly amazing truths underpinning these observations. And some things merely seem improbable but are also hiding a Deep Truth, such as the fact that the Moon and Sun look the same size as viewed from Earth. This book will change forever the way you view the world.

Six Impossible Things

Six Impossible Things PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262043238
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
“An elegant and accessible” investigation of quantum mechanics for non-specialists—“highly recommended” for students of the sciences, sci-fi fans, and anyone interested in the strange world of quantum physics (Forbes) Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a common sense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics. Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others. Gribbin presents the Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg; the Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie; the Many Worlds Interpretation (termed “excess baggage” by Gribbin); the Decoherence Interpretation (“incoherent”); the Ensemble “Non-Interpretation”; and the Timeless Transactional Interpretation (which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time). All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.

Ten Tantalising Truths

Ten Tantalising Truths PDF Author: John Gribbin
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1837731128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Obvious questions do not always have obvious answers. John Gribbin is known for giving us simple explanations of big concepts in science. But there is another way to probe the mysteries of the Universe and our place in it. Faced with persistent enquiries from his grandchildren, Gribbin realised that simple questions, such as 'Why is the sky blue?', sometimes require big answers, understandable in straightforward language. In answering those simple questions, he discovered that he was telling the story of our place in the Universe, from the Big Bang to the evolutionary reasons why men are, on average, bigger than women. The questions may be obvious, but the answers are sometimes surprising and highlight one of the main joys of science - discovering the unexpected. In this book, Gribbin invites the reader to join him on this voyage of discovery, where you may think you already know the answers but should be prepared to be surprised - or at least, tantalised by the truth.

The Improbable Possibility

The Improbable Possibility PDF Author: Rick Delmonico
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1458389251
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
A collection of song lyrics, poems, quotes, and short stories that span more than thirty years. I am a song writer who also writes poems. My work covers a diverse variety of subjects.

The Possible

The Possible PDF Author: Vlad P. Gl&aveanu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197520502
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This book explores an eminently human phenomenon: our capacity to engage with the possible, to go beyond what is present, visible, or given in our existence. Possibility studies is an emerging field of research including topics as diverse as creativity, imagination, innovation, anticipation, counterfactual thinking, wondering, the future, social change, hope, agency, and utopia. The Possible: A Sociocultural Theory contributes to this wide field by developing a sociocultural account of the possible grounded in the notions of difference, position, perspective, dialogue, action, and culture. This theory aims to offer conceptual, methodological, and practical tools for all those interested in studying human possibility and cultivating it in education, at the workplace, in everyday life, and in society.

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention PDF Author: Stuart Casey-Maslen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192882651
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
In September 1997, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) was adopted by UN Member States at a dedicated diplomatic conference in Oslo. A disarmament treaty with clear and expansive humanitarian aims, the APMBC represented the culmination of many years of energetic campaigning. The Convention has since garnered the support of over 160 States Parties, yet some of its core provisions remain under scrutiny. Stuart Casey-Maslen's article-by-article commentary on the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention addresses international law and State practice on anti-personnel mines in the first twenty-five years of the lifetime of this disarmament treaty. It builds upon the author's first commentary on the Convention, published by Oxford University Press in 2003, and the revised edition issued in 2005. Whereas the two earlier editions focused on the negotiating history of the APMBC, this new edition provides insight into State and treaty practice up to now. It comprehensively details the use of anti-personnel mines through to the present day, the destruction of landmine stockpiles, and mine clearance in every affected nation. An authoritative and current commentary on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, this new edition will be a crucial asset for diplomats, international lawyers, and academics seeking to interpret this instrumental piece of disarmament law.

Hanford Site Decommissioning of 8 Surplus Production Reactors, Richland

Hanford Site Decommissioning of 8 Surplus Production Reactors, Richland PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description


The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia, in 1787

The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia, in 1787 PDF Author: Jonathan Elliot
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Constitutional history
Languages : en
Pages : 686

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Book Description