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.