Lawrence M. Krauss

Bestselling author and acclaimed physicist Lawrence Krauss offers a paradigm-shifting view of how everything that exists came to be in the first place.“Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?”One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end.Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.

What exactly "warps" when you are traveling at warp speed? What is the difference between the holodeck and a hologram? What happens when you get beamed up? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I was born? Until now, fans of "Star Trek" were hard pressed to find answers to vital questions such as these. Now Lawrence M. Krauss, an internationally known theoretical physicist and educator, has written the quintessential physics book for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike.Anyone who has ever wondered, "Could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the "Star Trek" universe (and, incidentally, the real universe) in this charming and accessible volume. Krauss boldly goes where "Star Trek" has gone -- and beyond. He uses the "Star Trek" future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Janeway, Krauss leads the reader on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be.Featuring the Top 10 biggest physics bloopers in "Star Trek," as selected by Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other dedicated Trekkers!"This book is fun, and Mr. Krauss has a nice touch with a tough subject...Readers drawn by frivolity will be treated to substance." "--New York Times Book Review""Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlies "Star Trek" is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."--Stephen Hawking (in the foreword)A

A gripping new scientific biography of the revered Nobel Prize–winning physicist (and curious character). Perhaps the greatest physicist of the second half of the twentieth century, Richard Feynman changed the way we think about quantum mechanics, the most perplexing of all physical theories. Here Lawrence M. Krauss, himself a theoretical physicist and best-selling author, offers a unique scientific biography: a rollicking narrative coupled with clear and novel expositions of science at the limits. An immensely colorful persona in and out of the office, Feynman revolutionized our understanding of nature amid a turbulent life. Krauss presents that life―from the death of Feynman’s childhood sweetheart during the Manhattan Project to his reluctant rise as a scientific icon―as seen through the science, providing a new understanding of the legacy of a man who has fascinated millions. An accessible reflection on the issues that drive physics today, Quantum Man captures the story of a man who was willing to break all the rules to tame a theory that broke all the rules.

Internationally renowned, award-winning theoretical physicist, New York Times bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing, and passionate advocate for reason, Lawrence Krauss tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world of reality—a grand poetic vision of nature—and how we find our place within it.In the beginning there was light. But more than this, there was gravity. After that, all hell broke loose… In A Universe from Nothing, Krauss revealed how our entire universe could arise from nothing. Now, he reveals what that something—reality—is. And, reality is not what we think or sense—it’s weird, wild, and counterintuitive; it’s hidden beneath everyday experience; and its inner workings seem even stranger than the idea that something can come from nothing. In a landmark, unprecedented work of scientific history, Krauss leads us to the furthest reaches of space and time, to scales so small they are invisible to microscopes, to the birth and rebirth of light, and into the natural forces that govern our existence. His unique blend of rigorous research and engaging storytelling invites us into the lives and minds of the remarkable, creative scientists who have helped to unravel the unexpected fabric of reality—with reason rather than superstition and dogma. Krauss has himself been an active participant in this effort, and he knows many of them well. The Greatest Story challenges us to re-envision ourselves and our place within the universe, as it appears that “God” does play dice with the universe. In the incisive style of his scintillating essays for The New Yorker, Krauss celebrates the greatest intellectual adventure ever undertaken—to understand why we are here in a universe where fact is stranger than fiction.

The first book to briefly and clearly present the science of climate change in a way that is accessible to laypeople, providing the perspective needed to understand and assess the foundations and predictions of climate change."Brilliant and fundamental, this is the necessary book about our prime global emergency. Here you'll find the facts, the processes, the physics of our complex and changing climate, but delivered with eloquence and urgency. Lawrence Krauss writes with a clarity that transcends mere politics. Prose and poetry were never better bedfellows." --Ian McEwan"The ideal book for understanding the science of global warming..at once elegant, rigorous, and timely." --Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Sixth Extinction"A brief, brilliant, and charming summary of what physicists know about climate change and how they learned it." --Sheldon Glashow, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Metcalf Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Boston University"The distinguished scientist Lawrence Krauss turns his penetrating gaze on the most pressing existential threat facing our climate change. It is brimming with information lucidly analysed. Such hope as there is lies in science, and a physicist of Dr. Krauss's imaginative versatility is unusually qualified to offer it." --Richard Dawkins, author of The Blind Watchmaker and Science in the Soul"Lucid and gripping, this study of the most severe challenge humans have ever faced leads the reader from the basic physics of climate change to recognition of the damage that humans have already caused and on to the prospects that lie ahead if we do not change course soon." --Noam Chomsky, Laureate Professor, University of Arizona, author of Internationalism or Extinction?"Lawrence Krauss tells the story of climate change with erudition, urgency, and passion. It is our great good luck that one of our most brilliant scientists is also such a gifted writer. This book will change the way we think about the future." --Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of Good Boy and She's Not There"Everything on climate change that I've seen is either dumbed down and bossy or written for other climate scientists. I've been looking for a book that can let me, a layperson, understand the science. This book does just what I was looking for. It is important." --Penn Jillette, Magician, author of Presto! and God, No!"The renowned physicist Lawrence Krauss makes the science behind one of the most important issues of our time accessible to all." --Richard C. J. Somerville, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego"Lawrence Krauss is a fine physicist, a talented writer, and a scientist deeply engaged with public affairs. His book deserves wide readership. The book's eloquent exposition of the science and the threats should enlighten all readers and motivate them to an urgent concern about our planet's future." --Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, former president of the Royal Society, author of On the Prospects for Humanity

“Assume the cow is a sphere.” So begins this lively, irreverent, and informative look at everything from the physics of boiling water to cutting-edge research at the observable limits of the universe. Rich with anecdotes and accessible examples, Fear of Physics nimbly ranges over the tools and thought behind the world of modern physics, taking the mystery out of what is essentially a very human intellectual endeavour.

The story of matter and the history of the cosmos from the perspective of a single oxygen atom, told with the insight and wit of one of the most dynamic physicists and writers working today.Through this astonishing work, he manages to stoke wonder at the powers and unlikely events that conspired to create our solar system, our ecosystem, and us.

In the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek, the renowned theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss took readers on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the Star Trek universe to see how it stacked up against the real universe. Now, responding to requests for more as well as to a number of recent exciting discoveries in physics and astronomy, Krauss takes a provocative look at how the laws of physics relate to notions from our popular culture -- not only Star Trek, but other films, shows, and popular lore -- from Independence Day to Star Wars to The X-Files.What's the difference between a flying saucer and a flying pretzel?Why didn't the aliens in Independence Day have to bother invading Earth to destroy it?What's new with warp drives?What's the most likely scenario for doomsday?Are ESP and telekinesis impossible?What do clairvoyance and time travel have in common?How might quantum mechanics ultimately affect the fate of life in the universe?

Lawrence Krauss explores the greatest unanswered questions at the forefront of science today, and likely for the coming century and beyond.Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss explores science’s greatest unanswered questions.Three of the most important words in science are “I don't know.” Not knowing implies a Universe of opportunities—the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of science has advanced immeasurably over the last five hundred years, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence How did our Universe begin? How big is the Universe? Is time travel possible? What’s at the center of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? What is consciousness, and can we create it?These mysteries define the scientific forefront—the threshold of the unknown. To explore that threshold is to gain a deeper understanding of just how far science has progressed. Covering time, space, matter, life, and consciousness, Krauss introduces readers to topics that will shape the state of science for the next century, providing us all passport to our own journeys of exploration and discovery.

Beginning well before Plato’s allegory of the cave and continuing to modern scientific breakthroughs from relativity to quantum mechanics, as well as to pop cultural icons like Twilight Zone and Star Trek, human beings have imagined, even longed for, alternate realities. Lawrence M. Krauss, one of the most gifted and engaging of writer-scientists today, examines why we have often believed that the answers to the great questions about existence lie in the possibility that we live in a universe more complex than we can see or otherwise sense. Drawing on work by scientists, mathematicians, artists, and writers—from Einstein to Picasso to C. S. Lewis—Hiding in the Mirror explores whether extra dimensions simply represent abstract speculation or hold the key to a deeper understanding of the universe. Krauss examines popular culture’s embrace— and misunderstanding—of topics such as black holes, life in another dimension, string theory, and some of the daring new theories that propose that large extra dimensions exist alongside our own. This is popular science writing at its best and most illuminating—witty, fascinating, and controversial.

Will the universe continue to expand forever, reverse its expansion and begin to contract, or reach a delicately poised state where it simply persists forever? The answer depends on the amount and properties of matter in the universe, and that has given rise to one of the great paradoxes of modern there is too little visible matter to account for the behavior we can see. Over ninety percent of the universe consists of "missing mass" or "dark matter" - what Lawrence Krauss, in his classic book, termed "the fifth essence."In this new edition of T he Fifth Essence , retitled Quintessence after the now widely accepted term for dark matter, Krauss shows how the dark matter problem is now connected with two of the hottest areas in recent the fate of the universe and the "cosmological constant." With a new introduction, epilogue, and chapter updates, Krauss updates his classic for 1999 and shares one of the most stunning discoveries of recent an anti-gravity force that explains recent observations of a permanently expanding universe.

This book constitutes the proceedings of an up-to-date and comprehensive meeting devoted to the question whether baryon number violation can occur -- in the standard model of weak and electromagnetic interactions -- at rates which can be relevant to cosmology and particle experiment. There has been a great deal of activity and many new results in the past year, and the meeting was the first occasion for a review of the field. It is the only source in which all the work in this field is reviewed in a single volume. As such, it would provide a useful reference for graduate students and researchers wanting to learn more about this area.

Da dove viene l'universo? Che cosa c'era prima? Che cosa porterà il futuro? E infine, perché c'è qualcosa invece che nulla? In questo libro le provocatorie risposte di Lawrence Krauss a questi e altri eterni interrogativi. L'ultimo di questi interrogativi in particolare è stato al centro di dibattiti religiosi e filosofici sull'esistenza di Dio, e rappresenta la contro-argomentazione per eccellenza per chiunque metta in discussione la sua necessità. Ora, in una storia cosmologica che inchioda l'attenzione e allo stesso tempo illumina, il pioniere della fisica teorica Lawrence Krauss spiega gli ultimi innovativi progressi scientifici che ribaltano i più fondamentali interrogativi filosofici. L'autore ci spiega come mai esiste lo spazio, il tempo, la materia e l'energia anziché il nulla. Krauss rivela che la scienza moderna sta affrontando la questione del perché esista qualcosa invece che nulla, con sorprendenti e affascinanti risultati.