Astronomy and Space exploration discussion

Our book for March Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension.

Hi everyone Anyone started?

Hi. Yes I have just started.

Wow , i have just started , i already like the way he narrates

Me too World beyond space and time

i am in quest of unification i love the simple elegant way he tells all these complicated stuff

You are in quest of unification? Thats Humorous

Hahaha . nice one starman

I read that book some time ago, and enjoyed it, as I have enjoyed a number of Michio Kaku's books. He has quite a way with his words!

Totally agree. His unique way of explaining thing is what gives me most pleasure. What other book of Michio Kaku's would you recommend ?

Let's see; Beyond Einstein, Introduction to Superstrings, Einstein's Cosmos. Those are the ones I particularly remember. He usually seems to be quite good, but some of his later books get extremely speculative, which is ok but not as informative as the others.

Thank you . I will put these books on my to-read list.

Hi Guys , How is it going ? i am in the chapter Colliding universe , I must say Michio Kaku is Officially my favorite writer , its almost like hearing him talk while reading it , i have a discussion to open though In this chapter the writer Mentions that there could be infinite no of universes , and there is also a picture showing infinite Globe of universe each connected to the other by a Wormhole . What is you all's opinion in this ? Do you really think there is infinite no of universes?

I think there are infinite no of universe . Because From the beginning of our exploration into the darkness , we have always found one thing bigger than the other for example- We used to think earth is the centre of everything , then we have the Heliocentric theory , then we though This is It Solar system is ll we have , then we found other stars also house planets , Then galaxies and so on . I won't surprise me if someone by some trick proves that there is another level to all this - Meaning infinite Universe

Hmm Valid Point. The real question that comes to mind is , Even if there were infinite no of universes , How would that work , Will there be Infinite ME in every one of them?

I don't know; I confess I'm still trying to "wrap my mind around" the concept of "an infinite number" of anything! I can grasp the concept at a very superficial level, but after that things get very difficult, very quickly! I also remember that many physicists have expressed the opinion that when "the equations start spitting out infinities" for any particular theory (pardon the pun), we have reached the functional limits of that theory, and need a better understanding of the phenomena involved! Infinite universes just seem so...messy!

Ven wrote: "Hmm Valid Point. The real question that comes to mind is , Even if there were infinite no of universes , How would that work , Will there be Infinite ME in every one of them?"

I suppose if one takes the theory that ME is all just little knots and "kinks" in spacetime then this becomes a little less outrageous than it sounds, but it still sounds awfully dubious and difficult to work with to me!

Well Ven , If there were Infinite no of Universes , there wouldn't be infinite YOU. But there would be infinite VERSIONS of you . But The problem with Infinite number of anything is the Probability gets Infinetly Complex . First of all there is a chance of you being born in another universe , and if we continue this chain , it is deadly complex.

I see Thank you Starman. Well i am almost done reading this book , i am nothing but amazed by his writing, Michio Kaku has touched almost all parts in this book, Implications of science and religion to Time Travel and Black holes.
One thing puzzles me is quantum mechanics(as for everyone), i am fairly new to the subject.This book was surely a good beginner.

Hello Ven If you want to read more about Quantum Mechanics i highly recommend this book, i started with it

Quantum By Manjit Kumar
it is a great read.

Hello Guys I am Done with the book , Anyone else?

I am done too , incredible it was awesome

I will be done in one day, hey guys can anyone recommend me books to start learning about stars and their life cycle , black hole and probably touching even the Physics of it all

Yes sure
1.Black Holes and Time warps

2.Death By a Black Hole


These Two Books are Very good Starters , will tell you the general essential details required.
For mathematical part it can become a little complicated , Assuming that you are familiar with a good level of Mathematics , a little graduate level These books go deep into the subject
1.Mathematical Theory of Black Holes

2.Gravitation

Thank you Starman, i will surely read these books in the Future.
And it is a great Book . I am done reading it. It was Great . Thank you Guys For the Discussion

Hi guys, I am currently reading Hyperspace but find it a bit difficult to understand some of the chapters without a physics background (I come from Economics).
Could you recommend an intro book or any other resource that would help me get up to speed with the basics (besides the two above - thanks for that!!)? I have done a couple of physics courses online but I feel like I'm still missing background to understand statements made in the context of astrophysics

Carla wrote: "Hi guys, I am currently reading Hyperspace but find it a bit difficult to understand some of the chapters without a physics background (I come from Economics).
Could you recommend an intro book or..."

Hi Carla,

These are all complex topics that sometimes require a couple different readings to capture the details of these topics.

I have a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Masters in Physics. I've taught physics/astrophysics in high school at all different levels (9th gr, algebra-based, calc-based, AP, AP C, IB HL). I own a lot of physics and astrophysics books. There are definitely some good starter books out there on the market. Michio Kaku is actually a very good intro to these topics.

I've seen some people read books like "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by DeGrasse-Tyson and score it a bit low per the density of that book. It is actually an aggressive amount of material in that book. I put it on my own "Level 2".

So, I made up a list of books I like to recommend so people don't get scared from this fascinating topic.

I will copy/paste these suggestions right here.

I wish you good reading in this field. It took me lots of reading to ever fully begin to understand this all.

David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Physics/Astrophysics Recommendations
-----------------------------
Notes:
In Physics/Astrophysics, great books are listed by level below. I don’t dare suggest level 3 or 4 books unless someone has a physics bookshelf. Even level 2 books can yield bad reviews because they are too brief/strong on their topic. But once a couple of books at level 1 are read (and enjoyed), then level 2 are magic, and level 3 technical and level 4 philosophy start to seriously answer some of the biggest questions for man since the beginning of time.

Level 1: Welcome!
“A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bryson (GREAT bibliography of 5* books in many science topics)
“A Brief History of Time” by Hawking
“Surely You Must Be Joking” by Feynman
“The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)” by Katie Mack
“Physics for Future Presidents” by Muller
“Understanding Physics” by Asimov
Other Authors: Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, Lisa Randall, Carl Sagan, John Gribbin, Timothy Ferris, Simon Singh

Level 2: You should have read a couple (or more) from Level 1 first.
“Brief Answers to Big Questions” by Hawking
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by DeGrasse-Tyson
“We Have No Idea” by Cham
“Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field” by Forbes
“The Boy Who Played with Fusion” by Clynes
“The Atom” by Asimov
Other Authors: Brian Greene, Sean Carroll, Frank Close, more Feynman (“6 Easy Pieces” maybe – save QED for level 3)

Level 3: (I hope you really like physics)
“The Feynman Lectures” by Feynman
“What is Quantum Mechanics” by Lex
“What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics” by Becker
“Our Mathematical Universe” by Max Tegmark
“The Inflationary Universe” by Guth
Other Authors: David Griffiths (I really like his college textbooks). Giancoli for strong High School physics text. Paul Hewitt for basic/conceptual Physics textbook (9th grade capable)

Level 4: (Philosophical Physics – what does all this mean to our existence and universe?)
“Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics”, by Tim Maudlin
“The Rise of Scientific Philosophy”, by Hans Reichenbach
“Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time”, by Tim Maudlin
“The Direction of Time”, by Hans Reichenbach
“The Philosophy of Space and Time”, by Hans Reichenbach
“The Metaphysics Within Physics”, by Tim Maudlin
“The Concept of Probability in the Mathematical Representation of Reality”, by Hans Reichenbach
“From Copernicus to Einstein”, by Hans Reichenbach
“The Theory Of Relativity And A Prior Knowledge”, by Hans Reichenbach

Now, some really quick comments on most of these books:
“A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson
This covers an incredible amount of ground. Earth, Mankind, Astro, Physics The bibliography is a gold-mine of further material to read.

“A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking
All-time classic. Great beginner book. Just deep enough.

“Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines” by Richard A. Muller
Great common-sense summary of very practical matters of physics.

“Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character” by Richard P. Feynman
Richard Feynman (Nobel prize in physics) talking about his extremely non-normal life. All physicist hold Feynman at the pinnacle of their list of ‘greatest’. He really wanted to help pass his knowledge along. He is second on my Hero-list to Nelson Mandela.

“Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking” by William H. Cropper
Open this to anybody and read about their incredible life that led them on their path to discovery. Book is organized by key topics/time frames in physics.

“Understanding Physics (Motion, Sound, and Heat / Light, Magnetism, and Electricity / The Electron, Proton, and Neutron)” by Isaac Asimov
Asimov is the great explainer. This is an older 3-volume book, but it is just so fundamentally sound in its explanations and so very readable.

“Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics” by Nancy Forbes
These two legends in science lived back to back. All our wifi today we owe to these two men. A very well told story.

“The Boy Who Played with Fusion: Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star” by Tom Clynes
Kids can really be THIS smart. Excellent resources listed for parents of gifted students.

“The Pope of Physics: Enrico Fermi and the Birth of the Atomic Age” by Gino Segrè
Engaging story of the great Enrico Fermi. He had such incredible common sense. Students in classrooms today do”Fermi Problems” (like, how many cars can fit on a football field – no calculators allowed). He could figure out stuff on a napkin at lunchtime that would be scary in its accuracy.

“The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th-Century Science, Including the Original Papers” by Alan Lightman
A short summary before every major paper. It is awesome to read about the background of each of these contributors to breakthroughs in science.

“We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe” by Jorge Cham
This covers all the latest knowledge in astrophysics, and all our current questions. Inspiring book, with lots of light humor sprinkled in

“Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos” by Isaac Asimov
The great explainer (Asimov) gives an easy intro to particle physics.

“The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality” by Brian Greene
Deeper discussion on what is going on in the invisible quantum world.

“What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics” by Adam Becker
Level 3 serious discussion of the meaning of Quantum physics.

“What Is Quantum Mechanics? a Physics Adventure” by Transnational College of Lex
Definite level 3, but a very common-sense explanation to beginner Quantum Mechanics.

“The Feynman Lectures on Physics” by Richard P. Feynman
The absolutely best 3-volume book on planet Earth. They are available on-line at: https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/

My recommendations for level 4 that are Philosophy of Physics books come from someone who is a Physics Philosophy PhD candidate at Oxford.

Thanks so much David, this is amazing!