ANIL ANANTHASWAMY is a consulting editor for New Scientist in London, where he has also worked as a deputy news editor. He also contributes to National Geographic News.
"Part history lesson, part travel log, part adventure story, The
Edge of Physics is a wonder-steeped page-turner." -- SEED Magazine,
3/2/10 "These experiments and others are heroic in every sense, and
Ananthaswamy captures their excitement--and the personalities of
the scientists behind them--with enthusiasm and insight."
Publishers Weekly, 1/4/10. "Sure to appeal to general readers
interested in science books without the philosophy and mathematics
found in drier, more academic physics titles." -- Library Journal.
"Physicists are trying to understand the furthest reaches of space
and the furthest extremes of matter and energy. To do it, they have
to trek to some of the furthest places on Earth--from deep
underground, to forbidding mountains, to the cold of Antarctica.
Anil Ananthaswamy takes us on a thrilling ride around the globe and
around the cosmos, to reveal the real work that goes into
understanding our universe."--Sean Carroll, California Institute of
Technology, and author of From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the
Ultimate Theory of Time "An excellent book. The author has a great
knack for making difficult subjects comprehensible. I thoroughly
enjoyed it."--Sir Patrick Moore, former president of the British
Astronomical Society and presenter of the BBC's The Sky at Night
"Ananthaswamy's juxtaposition of extreme travel and extreme science
offers a genuinely novel route into the story of modern cosmology.
His tale turns on the price of success: we already know so much
about our universe that it becomes hugely difficult--even risky--to
pry loose from nature that next burst of insight. The result is a
well written and genuinely accessible account of what it takes to
push past the edge of human knowledge."--Thomas Levenson, author of
Newton and the Counterfeiter and Einstein in Berlin "Clean, elegant
prose, humming with interest."--Robert MacFarlane, author of
Mountains of the Mind and The Wild Places
"The Edge of Physics...is, quite simply, the ultimate
physics-adventure travelogue...as an adventure story and a
fly-on-the-wall account of remote places that most of us will never
visit, The Edge of Physics is brilliant." --PhysicsWorld
"Ananthaswamy displays a writer's touch for the fascinating
detail...whether he is in an abandonded iron mine in Minnesota's
Mesabi Range or the frigid Siberian expanse of Lake Baikal, he
finds intrepid physicists and explains to us why these weird places
are the only locations on the planet where these experiments could
be done." --Washington Post
"A grand tour of modern day cosmology's sacred
places...evocative...engaging...refreshing...a taste of science in
the heroic mode." --Sky At Night "Ananthaswamy, a science writer
and editor, smoothly weaves together the stories of people who help
push science forward, from principal investigators to research
institute gardeners, with exquisitely clear explanations of the
questions they hope to solve -- and why some research can be done
only at the edge of the world." --ScienceNews "A remarkable
narrative that combines fundamental physics with high adventure...
Ananthaswamy is a worthy guide for both journeys." --New Scientist
"The Edge of Physics is an accomplished and timely overview of
modern cosmology and particle astrophysics. Ananthaswamy's
characterizations of the many physicists he meets are on the
mark... Ananthaswamy conveys that cutting-edge science is a human
endeavour." --Nature "Ananthaswamy's investigation of current
experiments in physics bypasses the mathematics of the field,
making it easier for the average reader to dig in and enjoy the
amazing discoveries a --
Despite 20th-century physics' revelations, from relativity and quantum mechanics to the physics of the atom's nucleus and the life cycles of stars, "ninety-odd percent of the universe is a complete mystery," says a scientist quoted by Ananthaswamy, a consulting editor for New Scientist. Dark matter, dark energy, quantum gravity: these are the topics that keep physicists awake at night, requiring bigger, more massive, more extreme experiments to test theories and uncover clues. The author takes readers behind the scenes of these experiments in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, leading the tour with wit and an eye for compelling detail. First is a "pilgrimage" to Mount Wilson Observatory, where astronomers first measured the expansion of the universe. Next we go 2,341 feet underground in a defunct Minnesota iron mine to search for particles that could reveal dark matter. Sensitive telescopes embedded in the thick ice of Siberia's Lake Baikal and Antarctica search for neutrinos. These experiments and others are heroic in every sense, and Ananthaswamy captures their excitement-and the personalities of the scientists behind them-with enthusiasm and insight. Illus. (Mar.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
"Part history lesson, part travel log, part adventure story, The
Edge of Physics is a wonder-steeped page-turner." -- SEED Magazine,
3/2/10 "These experiments and others are heroic in every sense, and
Ananthaswamy captures their excitement--and the personalities of
the scientists behind them--with enthusiasm and insight."
Publishers Weekly, 1/4/10. "Sure to appeal to general readers
interested in science books without the philosophy and mathematics
found in drier, more academic physics titles." -- Library Journal.
"Physicists are trying to understand the furthest reaches of space
and the furthest extremes of matter and energy. To do it, they have
to trek to some of the furthest places on Earth--from deep
underground, to forbidding mountains, to the cold of Antarctica.
Anil Ananthaswamy takes us on a thrilling ride around the globe and
around the cosmos, to reveal the real work that goes into
understanding our universe."--Sean Carroll, California Institute of
Technology, and author of From Eternity to Here: The Quest for
the Ultimate Theory of Time "An excellent book. The author has
a great knack for making difficult subjects comprehensible. I
thoroughly enjoyed it."--Sir Patrick Moore, former president of the
British Astronomical Society and presenter of the BBC's The Sky
at Night "Ananthaswamy's juxtaposition of extreme travel and
extreme science offers a genuinely novel route into the story of
modern cosmology. His tale turns on the price of success: we
already know so much about our universe that it becomes hugely
difficult--even risky--to pry loose from nature that next burst of
insight. The result is a well written and genuinely accessible
account of what it takes to push past the edge of human
knowledge."--Thomas Levenson, author of Newton and the
Counterfeiter and Einstein in Berlin "Clean, elegant
prose, humming with interest."--Robert MacFarlane, author of
Mountains of the Mind and The Wild Places
"The Edge of Physics...is, quite simply, the ultimate
physics-adventure travelogue...as an adventure story and a
fly-on-the-wall account of remote places that most of us will never
visit, The Edge of Physics is brilliant."
--PhysicsWorld
"Ananthaswamy displays a writer's touch
for the fascinating detail...whether he is in an abandonded iron
mine in Minnesota's Mesabi Range or the frigid Siberian expanse of
Lake Baikal, he finds intrepid physicists and explains to us why
these weird places are the only locations on the planet where these
experiments could be done." --Washington Post
"A grand
tour of modern day cosmology's sacred
places...evocative...engaging...refreshing...a taste of science in
the heroic mode." --Sky At Night "Ananthaswamy, a science
writer and editor, smoothly weaves together the stories of people
who help push science forward, from principal investigators to
research institute gardeners, with exquisitely clear explanations
of the questions they hope to solve -- and why some research can be
done only at the edge of the world." --ScienceNews "A
remarkable narrative that combines fundamental physics with high
adventure... Ananthaswamy is a worthy guide for both journeys."
--New Scientist "The Edge of Physics is an accomplished
and timely overview of modern cosmology and particle astrophysics.
Ananthaswamy's characterizations of the many physicists he meets
are on the mark... Ananthaswamy conveys that cutting-edge science
is a human endeavour." --Nature "Ananthaswamy's
investigation of current experiments in physics bypasses the
mathematics of the field, making it easier for the average reader
to dig in and enjoy the amazing discoveries a --
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