Most Popular Books by John Gribbin

Quantum theory is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we''d have no nuclear power or nuclear weapons, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering. In Search of Schrodinger''s Cat tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth stranger than any fiction. John Gribbin takes us step by step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place, requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrodinger''s Cat - a search for quantum reality - as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today - quantum physics. In Search of Schrodinger''s Cat is a fascinating and delightful introduction to the strange world of the quantum - an essential element in understanding today''s world.

In the ultimate guide to the ultimate mystery--the quantum world--an award-winning scientist and a master of popular science writing explains recent breakthroughs and the wondrous possibilities that lie in the future. Illustrations throughout.

Carl Linnaeus - Joseph Banks - Francis Masson - Carl Peter Thunberg - David Douglas - William Lobb - Thomas Lobb - Robert Fortune - Marianne North - Richard Spruce - Joseph Dalton Hooker.

The authors of Ice Age “present a well-documented argument that [Newton] owed more to the ideas of others than he admitted” (Kirkus Reviews). Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose place in history has been overshadowed by the giant figure of Newton, were pioneering scientists within their own right, and instrumental in establishing the Royal Society. Although Newton is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and the father of the English scientific revolution, John and Mary Gribbin uncover the fascinating story of Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, whose scientific achievements neatly embrace the hundred years or so during which science as we know it became established. They argue persuasively that, even without Newton, science would have made a great leap forward in the second half of the seventeenth century, headed by two extraordinary figures, Hooke and Halley. “Science readers will thank the Gribbins for restoring Hooke and Halley to the prominence that they deserve.”—Publishers Weekly “Engaging . . . They offer proof that Hooke was an important scientist in his own right, and often had physical insights that were borrowed (usually without acknowledgement) by Newton.”—Choice

The Gribbins relate the developments in 20th-century astronomy that have led to the shattering realization that all life is made of stardust scattered across the universe in great stellar explosions from supernovae. The authors eloquently explain how the physical structure of the universe has produced conditions ideal for life. 22 illustrations.

A wonderfully readable account of scientific development over the past five hundred years, focusing on the lives and achievements of individual scientists, by the bestselling author of In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat In this ambitious new book, John Gribbin tells the stories of the people who have made science, and of the times in which they lived and worked. He begins with Copernicus, during the Renaissance, when science replaced mysticism as a means of explaining the workings of the world, and he continues through the centuries, creating an unbroken genealogy of not only the greatest but also the more obscure names of Western science, a dot-to-dot line linking amateur to genius, and accidental discovery to brilliant deduction. By focusing on the scientists themselves, Gribbin has written an anecdotal narrative enlivened with stories of personal drama, success and failure. A bestselling science writer with an international reputation, Gribbin is among the few authors who could even attempt a work of this magnitude. Praised as “a sequence of witty, information-packed tales” and “a terrific read” by The Times upon its recent British publication, The Scientists breathes new life into such venerable icons as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Linus Pauling, as well as lesser lights whose stories have been undeservedly neglected. Filled with pioneers, visionaries, eccentrics and madmen, this is the history of science as it has never been told before.

Over the past two decades, no field of scientific inquiry has had a more striking impact across a wide array of disciplines–from biology to physics, computing to meteorology–than that known as chaos and complexity, the study of complex systems. Now astrophysicist John Gribbin draws on his expertise to explore, in prose that communicates not only the wonder but the substance of cutting-edge science, the principles behind chaos and complexity. He reveals the remarkable ways these two revolutionary theories have been applied over the last twenty years to explain all sorts of phenomena–from weather patterns to mass extinctions. Grounding these paradigm-shifting ideas in their historical context, Gribbin also traces their development from Newton to Darwin to Lorenz, Prigogine, and Lovelock, demonstrating how–far from overturning all that has gone before–chaos and complexity are the triumphant extensions of simple scientific laws. Ultimately, Gribbin illustrates how chaos and complexity permeate the universe on every scale, governing the evolution of life and galaxies alike.

Critical acclaim for John Gribbin "The master of popular science." —Sunday Times (London) "Gribbin explains things very well indeed, and there''s not an equation in sight." —David Goodstein, The New York Times Book Review (on Almost Everyone''s Guide to Science) "Gribbin breathes life into the core ideas of complexity science, and argues convincingly that the basic laws, even in biology, will ultimately turn out to be simple." —Nature magazine (on Deep Simplicity) "Gribbin takes us through the basics [of chaos theory] with his customary talent for accessibility and clarity. [His] arguments are driven not by impersonal equations but by a sense of wonder at the presence in the universe and in nature of simple, self-organizing harmonies underpinning all structures, whether they are stars or flowers." —Sunday Times (London) (on Deep Simplicity) "In the true quantum realm, Gribbin remains the premier expositor of the latest developments." —Booklist (on Schrödinger''s Kittens and the Search for Reality)

In this sweeping survey, acclaimed science writers Paul Davies and John Gribbin provide a complete overview of advances in the study of physics that have revolutionized modern science. From the weird world of quarks and the theory of relativity to the latest ideas about the birth of the cosmos, the authors find evidence for a massive paradigm shift. Developments in the studies of black holes, cosmic strings, solitons, and chaos theory challenge commonsense concepts of space, time, and matter, and demand a radically altered and more fully unified view of the universe.

Because of the length of time that a voyage takes, knowledge of the purpose and nature of the universe often becomes lost to the succeeding generations of starship occupants. Through the experiences of a woman, and the people she encounters in a journey, the truth of their existence is revealed.

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Richard Lee has stirred up fanatical religious hatred with his controversial theory that chimpanzees and humans may have shared a common ancestor as little as three million years ago. When this hatred loses him both his reputation and his beloved colleague Marjorie, Lee retreats into hiding with his experiments and with Adam, an apelike creature thought by some to be Lee''s own deformed love-child, or even a kind of Frankenstein''s monster. But Adam is growing up, and the astonishing secret of his genetic parentage cannot remain secret forever, especially once investigative journalist Louise Henderson scents a story in the remote Norfolk village where Lee has gone to earth.

“An elegant and accessible” investigation of quantum mechanics—“highly recommended” for students of the sciences, sci-fi fans, and anyone interested in the strange world of quantum physics (Forbes) Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a commonsense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics. Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others. Gribbin presents: • The Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg • The Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie • The Many Worlds Interpretation • The Decoherence Interpretation • The Ensemble “Non-Interpretation” • The Timeless Transactional Interpretation, which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.

Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal the real science behind Pullman''s bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy.

Studie over het leven en de theorieën van de natuurkundige (1879-1955)

This title begins with Galileo and takes the reader through to the scientific developments of string theory. It is an accessible narrative history, focusing on the way in which science has progressed by building on what went before, and also on the very close relationship between the progress of science and improved technology.

The Dragon, an enormous comet, is on a trajectory that will bring it perilously close to an Earth that is still suffering from the scars of a nuclear incident, and from the problems of the Greenhouse Effect. For the optimists - those that remain - it is a sign of change for the better; for others, the comet foreshadows humanity''s final doom. But to Francis Reese and the hard-pressed astronauts of the depleted space programme, the Dragon presents a third outrageous, yet irresistible possibility - the transformation of a barren world into a new home for the beleaguered peoples of Earth.

During the middle and late 1960s, concern about the way the world might be going began to move out of the arena of academic debate amongst specialists, and became a topic of almost everyday interest to millions of people. Concern about mankind''s disruption of the natural balance of ''the environment'' brought the term ''ecology'' into widespread use, though not always with the meaning to be found in the dictionary, and fears that world population might be growing so rapidly that very soon we would run out of food, resulting in mass starvation and a disastrous collapse of civilisation, helped to make books such as The Limits to Growth best sellers in the early 1970s. Today, quite rightly, decisions on long-term policy with widespread repercussions - most notably, those concerning nuclear energy planning - are a subject of equally widespread public discussion. But all too often such debate focuses on specific issues without the prob lems ever being related effectively to an overall vision of where the world is going and how it is going to get there. At the Science Policy Res~arch Unit, University of Sussex, a group working on studies of social and tech nological alternatives for the future has been contributing to ''the futures debate'' for several years, cautiously (perhaps, in a sense, almost too cautiously!) developing a secure foundation for forecasting the way the world may develop.

Buddy Holly was killed at 22 when the plane he was travelling in crashed on 3 February 1959. Although this was less than two years after Holly''s first hit record, Don McLean described this as ''the day the music died.'' But Sonny Curtis, Holly''s friend and musical colleague, told us that the music didn''t die, because ''Buddy Holly lives every time you play rock''n''roll.'' Fifty years after Holly''s death, his lasting influence is clear; a musical based on his life seems set to run for longer than his lifetime and artists as diverse as Blink 182 and Bob Dylan call him an inspiration.The Beatles chose That''ll Be the Day by Buddy''s group The Crickets as their first attempt at recording, as well as taking the idea for their name. Clearly, the music didn''t die!John Gribbin, an ardent fan since he was twelve, presents this labour of love written in the spirit of Sonny Curtis'' lyric, as a celebration of Holly''s all too brief life, and as an introduction,for all those not around in 1959, to the man and his astonishing musical legacy. "Not Fade Away" also includes - uniquely - a full and detailed account of every Holly recording session, which any Buddy fan will devour.

No one is more successful than this author when it comes to making the cutting edge of physics more accessible to a broad lay audience. In Schrodinger''s Kittens, he took readers to the eerie world of subatomic particles & waves. Now, he explores the most exciting area of research in physics today: string theory. Following a series of major breakthroughs in the 1990s, physicists are putting together a clearer picture of how subatomic particles work. By hypothesizing particles as a single loop of vibrating "string," they are on the brink of discovering a way to explain all of nature''s forces in a single theory. Grandly named "superstrings," & incorporating the ideas of "supersymmetry," these models are the prime candidate for the long sought-for "Theory of Everything." Written in clear & accessible language. The Search for Superstrings, Symmetry, & the Theory of Everything brings to life the remarkable scientific research that is on the cusp of radically altering our conception of the universe.

"Junior Chicken and Alexis, the Quantum Cat, explain the extraordinary concepts covered by Stephen Hawking''s A Brief History of Time in terms that "even a chicken can understand." This graphic novel-style treatment teases out the humor in cosmology and quantum physics making it perfect for young readers, while still amusing and enlightening curious folk of all ages"--

Galaxies are the building blocks of the Universe: standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which the chemical elements are made, around which planets form, and where on at least one of those planets intelligent life has emerged. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of several hundred million other galaxies that we can now observe through our telescopes. Yet it was only in the 1920s that we realised that there is more to the Universe than the Milky Way, and that there were in fact other ''islands'' out there. In many ways, modern astronomy began with this discovery, and the story of galaxies is therefore the story of modern astronomy. Since then, many exciting discoveries have been made about our own galaxy and about those beyond: how a supermassive black hole lurks at the centre of every galaxy, for example, how enormous forces are released when galaxies collide, how distant galaxies provide a window on the early Universe, and what the formation of young galaxies can tell us about the mysteries of Cold Dark Matter. In this Very Short Introduction, renowned science writer John Gribbin describes the extraordinary things that astronomers are learning about galaxies, and explains how this can shed light on the origins and structure of the Universe. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The bestselling author of The Scientists presents “alively and accessible look at how astronomers determined the age of our universe” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The twentieth century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behavior of very large things, and quantum theory the behavior of very small things. In this landmark book, John Gribbin—one of the best-known science writers of the past thirty years—presents his own version of the Holy Grail of physics, the search that has been going on for decades to find a unified “Theory of Everything” that combines these ideas into one mathematical package, a single equation that could be printed on a T-shirt, containing the answer to life, the Universe, and everything. With his inimitable mixture of science, history, and biography, Gribbin shows how—despite skepticism among many physicists—these two great theories are very compatible, and point to a deep truth about the nature of our existence. The answer lies, intriguingly, with the age of the universe: 13.8 billion years. “Gribbin is a confident, engaging guide . . . a lovingly rendered history.”—The Wall Street Journal “An exciting chronicle of a monumental scientific accomplishment by a scientist who participated in the measuring of the age of the universe.”—Kirkus Reviews “A book that hits readers with unrelenting detail. And with a story as grand as this one, that’s exactly the way a good science book should have it. Nothing will be lost here, and everything—a clear understanding—will be gained.”—Astronomy “A welcome and relatively quick read for cosmology buffs, students, and amateur astronomers.”—Booklist

An astrophysicist offers an introduction to the theoretical principles, practical applications, and far-reaching implications of quantum physics and quantum mechanics.

From the bestselling author of Science: A History comes the enthralling story of a revolution that shook the world. Seventeenth-century England was racked by civil war, plague and fire; a world ruled by superstition and ignorance. A series of meetings of ''natural philosophers'' in Oxford and London saw the beginning of a new method of thinking based on proof and experiment. John Gribbin''s gripping, colourful account of this unparalleled time of discovery explores the impact of the Royal Society, culminating with Isaac Newton''s revolutionary description of the universe and Edmund Halley''s prediction of the return of a comet in 1759. This compelling book shows the triumph not as the work of one isolated genius, but of a Fellowship.

Bestselling science writer John Gribbin explores--and explains--black holes, supernovas, the big bang, and the mysterious case of the missing neutrinos, in this wonderfully lucid . . . primer to the dizzying intermarriage of cosmology, astronomy, and particle physics. (Publishers Weekly).

The quantum computer is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Pioneering physicists are on the brink of unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers - which, like Schrödinger''s famous "dead and alive" cat, rely on entities like electrons, photons, or atoms existing in two states at the same time - is set to turn the computing world on its head. In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology, and featuring a new introduction, John Gribbin explores the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where "everything is real." Looking back to Alan Turing''s work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications - from machines which learn through "intuition" and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to create a world where communication occurs faster than light and teleportation is possible. This is an exciting insider''s look at the new frontier of computer science and its revolutionary implications.

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Although Richard Feynman was a great scientist, and his collection of essays, "Surely You''re Joking, Mr. Feynman" was a national bestseller, few people could relate the name of the work for which he is acknowledged. Arguably the greatest physicist of his generation, Feynman''s contributions are well illustrated in this unique biography, written in a friendly and accessible style.

A Gripping Account Of A Physicist Whose Speculations Could Prove As Revolutionary As Those Of Albert Einstein... It Can Be Consulted As A Clear And Authoritative Guide Through Three Decades Of Hawking S Central Contributions To Cosmology. - Bernard Dixon In The New Statesman & Society Excellent... From The Opening Pages, Which Relate The Occasion When Shirley Maclaine Sought An Audience With Her Hero In A Cambridge Restaurant, To The Final Chapter On Hollywood, Fame And Fortune , The Book Is Well-Nigh Unputdownable... [It] Ought To Be Read Alongside A Brief History Of Time As A Kind Of Explanatory Supplement. - Heather Cooper In The Times Educational Supplement Fascinating... What Makes This Book So Rewarding Is The Way That The Authors Have Blended Their Account Of Hawking S Science With That Of His Life, Giving A Picture Of A Remarkable Scientist As A Remarkable Person. - Tony Osman In The Spectator It S Compulsive Reading, Maybe Because Hawking Towers Above It All, A Complex And Fascinating Character Who Remains Strangely Elusive: Boyish Yet Indomitable, Stubborn Yet Charming, A Private Man Revelling In Fame. - Clare Francis In The Sunday Express [Their Book] Conveys How Scientific Research Is Not Just A Dry Intellectual Pursuit But An Adventure Full Of Joy, Despair And Humour, And Fraught With The Sort Of Inter-Personal Problems And Rivalries Which Mark All Human Endeavours. - Bernard Carr In The Independent On Sunday Few Scientists Become Legends In Their Own Lifetime. Stephen Hawking Is One. It Is Good To Have This Well-Documented And Immensely Readable Biography To Remind Us That The Media-Hyped Mute Genius In The Wheelchair Is In Fact A Sensitive, Humorous, Ambitious And Occasionally Wilful Human Being. - Paul Davies In The Times Higher Education Supplement

Recent breakthroughs in measuring the age of the universe with the Hubble Space Telescope are the subject of this book, written by a science writer who was a research astronomer involved in the discoveries. Illustrations.

The theory of evolution by natural selection did not spring fully formed and unprecedented from the brain of Charles Darwin. The idea of evolution had been around, in various guises, since the time of Ancient Greece. And nor did theorizing about evolution stop with what Daniel Dennett called "Darwin’s dangerous idea." In this riveting new book, bestselling science writers John and Mary Gribbin explore the history of the idea of evolution, showing how Darwin''s theory built on what went before and how it was developed in the twentieth century, through an understanding of genetics and the biochemical basis of evolution, into the so-called "modern synthesis" and beyond. Darwin deserves his recognition as the primary proponent of the idea of natural selection, but as the authors show, his contribution was one link in a chain that extends back into antiquity and is still being forged today.