It's hard to imagine how big the universe is, but with help from How the Universe Works , you can get to know what makes it tick.
The cosmos is a complex and intricate system that astronomers have been trying to dissect for years . From Galileo and Copernicus to the Space Race and Modern Day NASA missions, humanity has craved more knowledge about the universe and how it works . Hundreds of years of scientific discovery, and there’s still so much to learn . How the Universe Works is the latest installment in a series of books that deconstructs how things work and explains in a format that is easy to understand .
With beautiful and detailed visuals in the form of info-graphics , 3D illustrations , cutaways and renderings , How the Universe Works offers a tiny glimpse of the massive stretch of the universe. Each page delves more into the composition of the stars and shows the information in such a way that makes even the most complex phenomenons easy to understand . Learn how different cosmic bodies interact with one another, why, and how humanity has worked to understand space.
The observable universe spans billions and billions of light years . How the Universe Works is a work intended to put the cosmos in the hands of its readers . Understanding the most complex mechanisms that rule space is quite a task, but with information for the entire family , this editorial ally is perfect for getting immersed in the intricacies of the observable universe and all its natural beauty .
The How Things Work series explores a vast array of complicated subjects in the world around us, breaking each down into easy-to-understand pieces. With infographics and cutaway artwork to dissect everything from Wi-Fi to the Big Bang, this accessible family reference series is a perfect introduction to understanding all the moving parts of our universe.
Also in this How Things Work and How the Earth Works.
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This is a fascinating and rewarding book, although sometimes it struck me that the authors were trying to do too much.
For example, the treatment of the solar system is excellent. There is a thorough and clear explanation of the basic structure of the system, and then of the sun and of each planet and how they all fit into the overall picture. On the other hand, the book actually opens with a description of the Big Bang and segues into a discussion of relativity, particular physics, and fundamental forces and elementary particles. While beautifully illustrated, if you don't already know most of the material I think the text would be too brief and cryptic to be of much value. And some of it is a bit random. There is a fine chapter on the geology of the Earth, but then a few pages on is "The Origin of Life" which tries to travel from prokaryotes to the present in 10 pages. A "History of Astronomy" also includes a two page spread on relativity and another on the Large Hadron Collider.
Even though it is not suggested by the title or set up by the first half of the book, the second half is where the narrative unexpectedly hits its stride. Opening with "The Space Race", we get an excellent recounting of early space exploration, manned flights, and the Apollo missions. This blends directly into an extended treatment of all of the current exploratory missions, with very nice chapters on each of the major planetary projects, as well as the deep space probes. I don't know if that falls under the heading "how the universe works", but it was still interesting.
Putting aside the oddly herky-jerky organization of the book, the volume really excels as a graphical introduction to all of these concepts and topics. It isn't just pretty pictures of planets and collections of Hubble photos. There are timelines, maps, detailed graphs, summaries and tabulations, and illustrations of various processes, that are powerful and effective educational tools. (Heck, there's a two-page spread of three dimensional models that show, to scale, Earth's closest star, galaxy and supercluster neighbors, that you could just study for half an hour.) The cross-section diagrams of the planets are amongst the best I've seen, and many of the pages have a definite "wow!" factor.
So, I thought this was interesting and educational. Some books are designed to be scalable, by which I mean a reader can start a chapter and the chapter gets progressively more demanding and complex as it goes on. The reader can pause once he's in over his head and move on to the next chapter, in which the process repeats. This book isn't like that. Both between chapters and within chapters the level of difficulty is constantly changing. There is much in the book for any level reader, and it might be that this is best approached as a browsable book, to be dipped into and out of. Viewed in that way, and maybe just on the strength of the graphics, this book delivered.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This book is interesting and fun to read, and does a great job of covering history, such as the space race or history of astronomy. And the illustrations are beautiful. But too much of the book is spent on things other than explaining the cosmos. And when discussing the cosmos, it is weak at explaining certain phenomena, thus prior knowledge is required to understand some of the material. One of the irritants was that the content on any one page wasn't always well organized. But overall it was still worth reading. Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.
I am a sucker for any and all books that has to do with the Universe – even if I have no idea what is being said. I got all giddy when I saw this book being offered on NetGalley.com & got even more excited when I was able to read this & review it. I love to look at pictures of the universe & everything that goes along with that and this books did well on that aspect. This is a typical book that teaches subjects in an easy manner. I think I am a bit biased when it comes to anything with the universe. I think all books written about the universe would enthrall me for hours no matter what they where meant for.
I received this book from netgalley.com for a honest review.