How will the world end? In a big bang or a small whimper? Paul Halpern makes his predictions, poring through ancient texts of the Babylonians, Zoroastrians, "The Book of Revelation" and many others in search of prophesies that may prefigure what the actual apocalypse will be like. 36 illustrations.
Acclaimed science writer and physicist Dr. Paul Halpern is the author of fourteen popular science books, exploring the subjects of space, time, higher dimensions, dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, particle physics, and cosmology. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and an Athenaeum Literary Award. A regular contributor to NOVA's "The Nature of Reality" physics blog, he has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including "Future Quest" and "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special".
Halpern's latest book, "Einstein's Dice and Schrodinger's Cat," investigates how physicists Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrodinger battled together against the incompleteness and indeterminacy of quantum mechanics. Their dialogue inspired Schrodinger's famous thought-experiment about a cat in a box that is in a mixed state between life and death until it is observed. They struggled to find a unified field theory that would unite the forces of nature and supersede quantum weirdness. Sadly they would never find success and their efforts would lead to a fiasco.
More information about Paul Halpern's books and other writings can be found at: phalpern.com
Written shortly before the end of the last millenium, Countdown to Apocalypse is a concise and thorough examination of how the world can come to an end. The first half covers apocalyptic movements in human history while the latter part covers various scenarios both terrestrial and from outer space.