Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Nature of Space and Time (New in Paper)
Einstein said that the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible. But was he right? Can the quantum theory of fields and Einstein's general theory of relativity, the two most accurate and successful theories in all of physics, be united in a single quantum theory of gravity? Can quantum and cosmos ever be combined? On this issue, two of th...more
ebook, 160 pages
Published
February 8th 2010
by Princeton University Press
(first published January 1st 1996)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
927)
May 13, 2008
Ryan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
students of physics
Considerably more technical than either Hawking or Penrose's lay material (A Brief History of Time etc.) If you're seeking an introduction to the controversy behind Hawking's quantum gravity speculations (Hawking radiation, the no-hair theorem) then this is a good start. Is quantum information lost in black hole evaporation? There are still no solid answers to the questions posed here.
"Time is the fire in which we burn." Delmore Schwartz
"...time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again." Jean-Luc Picard
I found the information in this set of 3 lectures to be somewhat interesting but because I am not a student (or practitioner) of science I found it to be a bit too specific to the field of physics/quantum mechanics/advanced maths/etc. for my general interest.
That said, one big problem I have with thi...more
"...time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again." Jean-Luc Picard
I found the information in this set of 3 lectures to be somewhat interesting but because I am not a student (or practitioner) of science I found it to be a bit too specific to the field of physics/quantum mechanics/advanced maths/etc. for my general interest.
That said, one big problem I have with thi...more
Oct 21, 2012
Stefano
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
divulgazione_scientifica
E' difficile definire questo libro un libro di divulgazione. In realt� si tratta di una serie di lezioni (tre a testa pi� una discussione finale) in cui gli autori dimostrano le proprie teorie in merito alla natura dello spaziotempo attraverso lo studio delle singolarit� nell'ambito della meccanica quantistica e della relativit� generale. Per farlo fanno ampio uso di strumenti matematici molto complessi. Per comprendere appieno le dimostrazioni � necessaria una conoscenza specialistica di matema...more
This is collection of essays is an argument between Hawking and Penrose about the origin and ultimate fate of the universe, plus some entropy notions about black holes. I will say this: Hawking throws equations out there like you flat out know what he's talking about. His disclaimer is that he assumes you know some math and quantum mechanics. The QM arguments were easy enough, and while I've seen some topology before, I wasn't hugely familiar with GR, so his essays were sometimes hard to follow....more
Este livro é um conjunto de ensaios escritos por Roger Penrose e provados (acabados) pelo Stephen Hawking, embora não concordem totalmente um com o outro, provaram que as singularidades(buracos- negros) resultam do colapso de um estrela (sol Gigante), um livro muito interessante...
Mar 25, 2013
Erickson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mathematical-physics
Great read, even when some technicalities are beyond pre-undergraduate knowledge of spacetime. The authors managed to bring out what are at stakes in GR and QT and QFT, making the discussion of the nature of spacetime appealing.
I gave it a good college try, but was immediately swamped by the intense theoretical physics and deep mathematics involved. As a series of lectures between the two physicists as they voice disagreements about the nature of the universe, it was interesting to be a sort of fly on the wall, to see what these big brains talk about when the rest of us aren't around. On the other hand, they're discussing these things at their own level and not the level of a layman, so one might as well be a fly on th...more
the 1st 10 pages are difficult to go through without a course in GR... the figures alone are frightfully intimidating...
bella battaglia di menti....
a differenza degli altri testi della stessa collana , questo non è certo divulgativo.
a differenza degli altri testi della stessa collana , questo non è certo divulgativo.
Couldn't follow it. Much physics and prior theory is required. Didn't make it through even half of the book.
As much as I enjoyed the concepts that were meticulously laid out in this book; it hurt to read. The book required a lot from the reader to understand and keep up with the complex theories, unless of course you brought along your PHD in experimental physics and cosmology, which I did not.
I first come to know about Wheeler DeWitt equations via this book, thank you Roger and Stephen :)
No stars. I can't rate the book from which the only part I was able to understand was its introduction.
Penrose just isn't as good at popular science as Hawking is alone.
Too much advanced mathematics for me, but, it still all comes down to that stupid cat ~
Yet another Great book by Stephen Hawking!
very, very dense
Full of facts and impeccable research and theory. Reading it is a bit daunting. The language is complex and not very engaging, but there is no question that the material is sound.
I am not sure how some read this book, but as an undergrad physics student, all I could read are the first couple of pages before the 1st equations.
really amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Penrose and Hawking arguing about cosmology, yada yada yada...
Aug 17, 2007
Mike
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People with moderate physics knowledge
Pretty dry and less interesting than some their other books.
Reading this, but it is slow going.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Ste...more
More about Stephen Hawking...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
