The One Thing You Need to Know: The Simple Way to Understand the Most Important Ideas in Science

Book Title: One Thing You Need To Know*
ISBN: 9781789294804
By Author(s):MARCUS CHOWN
By Publisher:MICHAEL O’MARA
Format:HC

From gravity to black holes, special relativity to global warming, this authoritative and entertaining book from bestselling author Marcus Chown breaks down complex science into manageable chunks, explaining the one thing you really need to know to get to grips with the subject.

Rather than trying to bend your mind around all the vast and confounding details of things such as gravitational waves, electricity and black holes, wouldnt it be easier tounderstand just one central conceptfrom which everything else follows?

If youve ever found yourself fascinated by the idea ofquantum computingbut feel a little overwhelmed by the mindblowing subject of quantum mechanics or concerned by climate change but havent been able to get to grips with the details ofglobal warming, this book is for you. Lets takeatoms, for example what on earth are they? Well, if you start to think of them less like things you cant see with complex little nuclei and more like the alphabet of nature, which in different configurations can make a rose, a galaxy or a newborn baby, they might start to feel a little more understandable. Orgravitational waves they sound poetic, but why are they creating so much excitement? Think of them as the voice of space, vibrations on the drumskin of space-time before delving into all their complexities.

Intwenty-one short and engaging chapters, Chown explains the one thing you need to know to understand some ofthe most important scientific ideas of our time. Packed full ofastounding facts, scientific history and theentertaining personalitiesat the heart ofthe most pivotal discoveriesabout the workings of our universe, this is an accessible guide to all the tricky stuff youve always wanted to understand more about.