Майкл Брукс - все книги по циклам и сериям | Книги по порядку

Книга о 13 вещах, которые не может объяснить современная наука. В основу книги положены нашумевшие в интернете статьи Майкла Брукса, редактора одного из лучших научно-популярных журналом Англии, New Scientist.

We have, in the last few years, radically improved our grasp of the quantum world. Not just intellectually, either: our ability to manipulate real quantum systems has grown in equal measure with our understanding of their fundamental behavior. These two shoots - the intellectual and the practical harnessing of the quantum world - have sprung up at a time when a third shoot - information processing - has also been experiencing explosive growth. These three shoots are now becoming intertwined. Twisted together, our understanding of information processing, quantum theory and practical quantum control make for a strong new growth with enormous potential. One must always be careful about using the word 'revolutionary' too readily. It is, however, difficult to find another word to describe the developments that have been taking place during the second half of the 1990s. In 1986 Richard Feynman, the visionary professor of physics, made a very interesting remark: " ... we are going to be even more ridiculous later and consider bits written on one atom instead of the present 1011 atoms. Such nonsense is very entertaining to professors like me." It is exceptionally unfortunate that Feynman did not live to see this 'nonsense' fully transformed into reality. He, more than anybody, would enjoy the fact that it is now possible to write information onto an atom, or indeed an ion or a photon.

Nathaniel Virgo is a London based journalist who has recently been asked to cover the science beat by his editor at the Herald. Rather reluctantly, he attends a Quantum conference in Baltimore and is given a disk by a scientist he doesn't know. On his return to London he discovers that the man who gave him the disk has died. As Virgo investigates the story, he discovers that the Quantum computer - a computer that can break any code in the world in the matter of seconds - might not only exist, but may be in danger in falling into criminal hands. And Virgo is the one who holds the keys to the kingdom with his encrypted disk as he uncovers a trail of corruption that leads all the way to halls of American power.

The Big Questions series is designed to let renowned experts address the 20 most fundamental and frequently asked questions of a major branch of science or philosophy. Each 3000-word essay simply and concisely examines a question that has eternally perplexed enquiring minds, and provides answers from history's great thinkers. This ambitious project is a unique distillation of humanity's best ideas.

The bestselling author of Free Radicals takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the most controversial areas of modern science

The atom. The Big Bang. DNA. Natural selection. All are ideas that have revolutionized science—and all were dismissed out of hand when they first ap­peared. The surprises haven’t stopped in recent years, and in At the Edge of Uncertainty, bestselling author Michael Brooks investigates the new wave of radical insights that are shaping the future of scientific discovery.

Brooks takes us to the extreme frontiers of what we understand about the world. He journeys from the observations that might rewrite our story of how the cosmos came to be, through the novel biology behind our will to live, and on to the physi­ological root of consciousness. Along the way, he examines how it’s time to redress the gender im­balance in clinical trials, explores how merging hu­mans with other species might provide a solution to the shortage of organ donors, and finds out whether the universe really is like a computer or if the flow of time is a mere illusion.

Can We Travel Through Time? addresses 20 of the most fundamental and frequently asked questions in physics. What is the God particle? Does chaos theory spell disaster? Am I unique in the universe? What is light?

Each 3,000 word essay examines these eternally perplexing questions in a way that is comprehensible to everyone, providing the ultimate guide to understanding the very nature of the world we live in.