Nothing: A Very Short Introduction By Frank Close (Paperback, 2009)

Product Description

What is 'nothing'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space
- a void
- exist? This Very Short Introduction explores the science & the history of the elusive void from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible via the theories of Newton & Einstein to our very latest discoveries & why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void & the rich discoveries that they have made there He takes the reader on a lively & accessible history through ancient ideas & cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields; how Newton Mach & Einstein grappled with the nature of space & time; & how the mysterious 'aether' that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the ' Higgs field' We now know that the vacuum is far from being empty
- it seethes with virtual particles & antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being & it also may contain hidden

Dimensions that we were previously unaware of These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions what lies outside the universe & if there was once nothing then how did the universe begin? 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 & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable