Large Hardon Collider

[Mizango]

So I picked up a book called "The Quantum World" by Kennet W. Ford. It's a basic intro to quantum physics and what have you. Anyone read it and have any thoughts if it's a good book or helped them understand the topic better? Or even what would be a good book after reading this to delve a little deeper into the topic?

Are you looking into some specifically into Quantum mechanics? Or are you looking for something along the lines of General Relativity or basic Cosmology? I can help you out if I know what you are looking for.

But to answer your question, yes I have read this book and it is really well written. Its much better and more engaging than Lee Smolin's writing style. It is simple and aimed towards the novice but is really really good. Ford did really well with this one.

[Xfaustx]

Tbh I kind of wanted a little knowledge on everything, the broad topic is really interesting so I would like to know more about General Relativity and cosmology. Also the topic of black/worm holes gets me wet, if that helps you out at all. Spacetime theories in general inerest me. XD

[Eliseos]

Brian Greene and Neil deGrasse Tyson are great intro types, they're what got me started. They give a lot of clear examples, and add humor into it to rid the dryness that some textbooks can have.

EDIT: Origins and Death by Black Hole by NDT, The Fabric of the Cosmos and the Elegant Universe by Greene are the major ones by those writers. In Fabric of the Cosmos, Greene goes into more detail of things like cosmology, entropy, and light, I'd give that one a go before the Elegant Universe, since that was mostly about string theory.

[Xfaustx]

Brian Greene and Neil deGrasse Tyson are great intro types, they're what got me started. They give a lot of clear examples, and add humor into it to rid the dryness that some textbooks can have.

EDIT: Origins and Death by Black Hole by NDT, The Fabric of the Cosmos and the Elegant Universe by Greene are the major ones by those writers. In Fabric of the Cosmos, Greene goes into more detail of things like cosmology, entropy, and light, I'd give that one a go before the Elegant Universe, since that was mostly about string theory.

I was actually looking for Neil deGrasse Tyson's books when I stumbled upon my current read. I love his youtube videos too. I was on vacation in San Fran and wanted something to read, so I stumbled into the City Light Bookstore. That was the only book I could find, aside from a history of Einsteins theory which looked good.

[Eliseos]

NDT is the man. Richard Feynman is another great author to get into. He is a lot like NDT with his humor, and with his love for science that makes you love science with him. I have a textbook on cosmology that is pretty light on the math, let me look it up (It might be a little expensive, but it has a lot of information).

EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Horizons-Explo...0273693&sr=8-2 is the link. Like I said, it's expensive (textbooks ) but if you can torrent it or something, it's fairly well written and at most has algebra math.

[Max™]

What's wrong with Smolin's writing style dammit?

I like his books. T.T

[Mizango]

Brian Greene and Neil deGrasse Tyson are great intro types, they're what got me started. They give a lot of clear examples, and add humor into it to rid the dryness that some textbooks can have.

EDIT: Origins and Death by Black Hole by NDT, The Fabric of the Cosmos and the Elegant Universe by Greene are the major ones by those writers. In Fabric of the Cosmos, Greene goes into more detail of things like cosmology, entropy, and light, I'd give that one a go before the Elegant Universe, since that was mostly about string theory.

Exactly.

Here are books I would recommend that will get you rolling and they are easy reads so that you dont feel overwhelmed.

Amazon.com: Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (9780393059922): Neil deGrasse Tyson, Donald Goldsmith: Books

Amazon.com: Universe Down to Earth (9780231075619): Neil de Grasse Tyson: Books

Amazon.com: The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (9780375727207): Brian Greene: Books

Amazon.com: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (9780393058581): Brian Greene: Books

and this book I am going to list below is one I would recommend a thousand times over if you are intrigued by wormholes and the fabric of space. I have read and own each of the books I have just listed. They are easy to read and very informative for everyone.

Amazon.com: Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines (9780750305600): Jim Al-Khalili: Books

[Xfaustx]

Exactly.

Here are books I would recommend that will get you rolling and they are easy reads so that you dont feel overwhelmed.

Amazon.com: Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (9780393059922): Neil deGrasse Tyson, Donald Goldsmith: Books

Amazon.com: Universe Down to Earth (9780231075619): Neil de Grasse Tyson: Books

Amazon.com: The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (9780375727207): Brian Greene: Books

Amazon.com: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (9780393058581): Brian Greene: Books

and this book I would recommend a thousand times over if you are intrigued by wormholes and the fabric of space. I have read and own each of the books I have just listed. They are easy to read and very informative for everyone.

Amazon.com: Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines (9780750305600): Jim Al-Khalili: Books

ah awsome list, thanks Miz.

[Mizango]

What's wrong with Smolin's writing style dammit?

I like his books. T.T

HAHA

Me too, especially seeing as how he and João Magueijo are good friends. Magueijo is one of my favorite Physicists in the history of the planet. Smolin is informative but can be a bit drab in a way lol. I mean I like Ben Stein but you know....

[Mizango]

ah awsome list, thanks Miz.

Anytime man.

[Eliseos]

Oh wow Miz, is Al-Khalil the same guy that does the shows on the Science Channel?

[Max™]

this week's finds (short list)

[Mizango]

NDT is the man. Richard Feynman is another great author to get into. He is a lot like NDT with his humor, and with his love for science that makes you love science with him. I have a textbook on cosmology that is pretty light on the math, let me look it up (It might be a little expensive, but it has a lot of information).

I couldn't agree with this any more. You hit it right on the head with Feynman, I totally forgot to mention him.

[Mizango]

Oh wow Miz, is Al-Khalil the same guy that does the shows on the Science Channel?

Not sure, but I know he does a lot of science stuff for BBC. But iirc he has done work on Science channel regarding Einstein along side João Magueijo.

[Max™]

Feynman quote below. '''''\/

[Eliseos]

Not sure, but I know he does a lot of science stuff for BBC. But iirc he has done work on Science channel regarding Einstein along side João Magueijo.

Oh awesome, I didn't know he had anything published. I'll have to check out his work.

[Woozie]

Smolin is the cure for my insomnia. He's a great scientist, but for some reason he just bores me with his writing style.

[Mizango]

Interesting article. This is nothing new but does mark the third time we have found RNA and DNA molecules in the form of different Amino acids on meteors, Iridium deposits and now in Comet dust.

First Discovery Of Life's Building Block In Comet

Speaking of which let me see if I can find the Discover magazine article from last year, it is really really interesting read for those that are interested. It's not magic!

[Mizango]

Ding! Found it!

#50: Confirmed: 1969 Meteorite Brought Genetic Building Blocks From Space | Meteors, Asteroids, & Comets | DISCOVER Magazine

Note, this article was published in March of 2008 iirc and is talking about a Meteorite sample we have here on Earth. The article I posted above is speaking about Amino acids being found in the tail of a Comet.

There are lots of articles over the years about these topics if anyone is interested. I have lots of articles stored in folders at home with links and what not if anyone wants something more in depth.

[Eliseos]

God is now a comet.

This has always been a fascinating theory on how life started, and it would make a lot of sense if the water on the planet came from a comet itself.