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Nothing: A Very Short Introduction 1st Edition
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About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
- ISBN-100199225869
- ISBN-13978-0199225866
- Edition1st
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateJuly 26, 2009
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6.8 x 0.5 x 4.3 inches
- Print length176 pages
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- Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (July 26, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0199225869
- ISBN-13 : 978-0199225866
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.8 x 0.5 x 4.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #350,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #143 in Existentialist Philosophy
- #514 in Philosophy Metaphysics
- #1,181 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
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Customers find the book readable and engaging. They appreciate the clear explanations of particle physics, relativity, and quantum theory. The book provides a good overview of current physics related to "nothing" and related concepts. However, opinions differ on the introduction length - some find it short and sweet, while others consider it technical and not easy to follow.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's a refreshing read that makes them think about concepts.
"...All in all, "Nothing" is a refreshing read on stimulating the mind to contemplate the known, unknown and help keep abreast and aware of the intense..." Read more
"I liked to the book, it provides good insights on what could be the void and how it is essential for out universe, and it shows the limits of our..." Read more
"...Frank Close has written a valuable book, explaining the different speculations about the nature of "nothing" and different ideas about whether it's..." Read more
"...to answer the question: "How could anyone possibly write such a wonderful book?" The history is perfect. The scientific explanations are perfect...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's exposition. They find it provides an excellent explanation of particle physics, relativity, and quantum theory. The book provides a good overview of current physics related to nothing and related concepts. Readers also mention that the book is a good introductory source on atomic compositions, gravitation, space, time, motion, and physics in general. It discusses a fundamental question that arises in most people's minds, namely where do we come from.
"...and quarks, his writer-interaction prose providing a brisk understanding of particle physics to those having appropriate backgrounds and being..." Read more
"...In that respect, this book is a good introduction to basic physics in its own right...." Read more
"...The history is perfect. The scientific explanations are perfect. A ten your old child can understand it. I wouldn't change anything...." Read more
"Illuminating layperson's guide to some of the assumptions and implications of modern physics - read in conjunction with the Oxford VSIs to "Matter"..." Read more
Customers have different views on the introduction's length. Some find it short and sweet, while others find it too technical and not easy to understand.
""Nothing" - A Very Short Introduction by Frank Close, 2009. Oxford University Press, NY. ISBN 978-0-19-922586-6, SC 158 Pgs...." Read more
"...understanding that there is no such thing as nothing - it was VERY technical for me (I come from a non-physics background) and I had to re-read many..." Read more
"...I found this short treatment to be a fair introduction to the subject. I much prefer "A Universe From Nothing" by Lawrence M. Krauss however." Read more
"Nice quick intro to the physical concept of nothing." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013"Nothing" - A Very Short Introduction by Frank Close, 2009. Oxford University Press, NY. ISBN 978-0-19-922586-6, SC 158 Pgs. in 6 7/8" x 4 3/8" format that includes 7 Pg. Index plus 4 pages with suggested readings. Inveiglements limited to several B/W illustrations.
Author Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Oxford is a well-published author having written a half-dozen books on particle physics. He is also a fellow at Exeter College. Writing in easily read prose (for those familiar with particle physics) his book "Nothing" is an erudite expose of modern physics beginning with explanation of nothing, or a void. He begins with historical discussion of the vacuum or void (as noted in the Creation Hymn of Rig-Veda 1,700 years ago) & noting Thales had denied existence of No-thing 600 BC, i.e. that the universe could not originate from No-thing, discussing Empedocles concept of ur-matter (air, water, fire and earth) and the aphorism that "nature abhors a vacuum" was the accepted logic for 2,000 years; and concludes in discussing scientific experimental findings by von Guerick, Blaise, Pascal, Toricelli, Hooke and Boyle.
Already by Chapter 2 the author weighs in with discussion of the atoms, electrons and quarks, his writer-interaction prose providing a brisk understanding of particle physics to those having appropriate backgrounds and being aggressively crisp when particle physics is discussed to the novice. For less knowledgeable readers, this book is a good introductory source book on atomic compositions, gravitation, space, time, motion and electromagnetic fields, quantum mechanics, uncertainty principle and by chapter 8, the Higgs vacuum.
All in all, "Nothing" is a refreshing read on stimulating the mind to contemplate the known, unknown and help keep abreast and aware of the intense scientific efforts done world-wide which may help answer postulates surrounding the "big bang".
finis
- Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2020I liked to the book, it provides good insights on what could be the void and how it is essential for out universe, and it shows the limits of our current understanding. The void is much more than we think.
On the other hand, and maybe because it is a space that lies on the current edge of our understanding, some of the concepts and ideas rely on having strong understanding of quantum physics or quantum mechanics, or at least for me , in concepts i have not internalised , so it took me longer to read as i had to stop, re-read or even take time to investigate some concepts. And i have to say, some of the stuff may have gone over my head as there are some areas were i could not understand.
In overall , good book, good presentation, but sometimes goes down some concepts to fast or assuming a knowledge that not all reader may have (like me). Maybe it is the only way to keep a book like this to have less than 1000pages or more than 1000 formulas...
Recommended for sure
- Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2010People have been speculating about "Why is there something rather than nothing" for as long as we have documented history. Frank Close has written a valuable book, explaining the different speculations about the nature of "nothing" and different ideas about whether it's even possible. He begins with Aristotle's idea that "nature abhors a vacuum", and discusses other early Greek thinkers on what the primordial "nothing" might have been- some thought it was water or one of the other elements. What is really interesting is when Close discusses the history of modern Physics, from Newton to Einstein, and how the idea of "nothing" or a vacuum has changed. In that respect, this book is a good introduction to basic physics in its own right. Essentially, when all matter is taken away, you still have electromagnetic waves, which is "something." He then gets into the strange world of quantum mechanics and symmetry-breaking. In regard to quantum mechanics- I can't put it nearly as well as Close does, but basically due to the Uncertainty Principle- that you cannot know both a subatomic particle's position and momentum at the same time- there will inherently be some form of energy in a state of "nothing", and energy can produce mass, or matter. In regard to symmetry breaking- order forms when matter goes from high-energy states to low-energy states, like when water freezes to make ice. At the time of the Big Bang, matter was dense and almost unbelievably hot, and only when it cooled down, or "froze" could any kind of order develop. So we are at least a little closer to why there is something. But as Close notes at the end, we still will wonder why quantum uncertainty was coded into the universe in the first place. This is an excellent book that will help you think about the nature of reality. We humans don't understand everything about this strange universe, and in my view, probably never will. And that's the good news.
Top reviews from other countries
- Chien PhamReviewed in Germany on August 15, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Book about physics, not philosophy
I read nothing and I understand nothing
- DirectM 1Reviewed in Canada on August 13, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite bright
Some great quotes here sprinkled with insight.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in India on November 6, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic.
Nothing. But it explains everything. A book written by the god of physics. A beautiful book to understand about yourself.
- Cathy KeustermansReviewed in France on March 13, 2017
2.0 out of 5 stars flies over some really good questions, avoiding the answer
I was hopeful to read the very same questions I have been thinking about for a long time now - what exactly is the fabric of space? What do we call a dimension, or the nature of time. Went through every paragraph with enthusiasm, only to notice that - like in any other book on the same subject - we only get a historical view of the evolution of thought around the matter, without adding any new insight...
still the old view that our very space got created in the primordial soupe of potentiality - ... now in what medium does that primordial soup exists then, if not in space?
- Movie MogulReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars Much food for thought
I wanted to write a review of this immensely readable little book, but as I contemplated putting fingers to keyboard, my mind suddenly went blank and I could think of nothing to write.
And I am wondering if this is the dilemma the Universe found itself in at the point of its transformation from nothing to something.
Mr Close does actually contradict himself in one or two places. On the one hand he says that the Big Bang created time and space (p143), while on the other hand he asserts that the Universe could have emerged out of the vacuum (p128).
Actually, I am not so sure that physics and cosmology really yet fully understand how it all got going.
If nothing else, a vacuum is a volume of space, but a volume of space that is enclosed inside a boundary, irrespective of whether energy or matter may or may not be present. If the Universe emerged out of the vacuum, then at the very least, space must already have existed.
Take the cathode ray tube for example. This is the most common example of a vacuum in which electrons make their way from anode to cathode. This can only happen if there is a boundary - the tube. Without the tube, the vacuum could not exist. Furthermore, anything existing outside the boundary i.e. the rest of the Universe, can have no meaning for the electrons inside the tube.
The importance and significance of boundaries were drummed into me as a pupil at school and a student at University, so it seems to me that in a discussion of vacuums, some discussion must be given to the nature of the boundary.
At the moment of the Big Bang, was there any kind of boundary, either conceptual or real? Is it possible that prior to the Big Bang, all of existence was contained in a point of zero dimension that also contained all of space?
Is it possible that all of space was wrapped inside this point of zero dimension in the same way that string theory talks about the wrapping of dimensions?
One of the problems I have with the Big Bang as it is presented to us lay people, is in being able to conceptualise it in my mind. I can imagine a single point encompassing all of existence, but my mind's eye is forced to view it from a distance, so I cannot in actuality imagine a point of zero dimension without at the same creating the space that allows me to see it from a distance, even though it is all totally imaginary. Unless I view the point from inside it, but then I feel I would be getting nowhere.
But then it occurs to me that we are not talking about just any old point of zero dimension. We are actually talking about THE definitive point of zero dimension of which there could only have been one; and not only that, in one form or other, you, me and everyone else was in there waiting for you, me and everyone else to become you, me and everyone else. Which quite frankly, I find implausible and impossible. Has physics really lost all sense of logic and rationality?
But then I ask myself, how does one conceptualise holograms, or dreams, or consciousness, though I must confess to knowing next to nothing of the physics of holograms.
Whilst being extremely informative and entertaining, Frank Close's little tome also provides much food for thought and gets you thinking about other strange and mystifying things such as - what is a virtual desktop? At its simplest, it's a little rectangle situated at the bottom right hand side of your computer monitor. Using your mouse, you can navigate within this little rectangle to switch between 2 or more real desktops.
You might have a tough time trying to explain how a software engineer might design and program this type of application. It involves layers of virtuality, because the desktop is itself an illusion, yet is a good example of how something comes out of something else that is not actually nothing, but is in fact the manipulation of binary bit patterns in a disk of 32- or 64-bit words that in reality, is never empty of full, but whose available space only appears to be changing in size.