Black Holes, Wormholes & Time Machines

In summary, the conversation discusses a book that is easy to read, but may contain some dated ideas. The book covers the history and development of relativity and quantum mechanics and is recommended for those with an interest in the subject. The conversation also touches on the lack of evidence provided in popular science books.
  • #1
_Mayday_
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What initially attracted me to this book was how easy it was to read, or atleast how easy it said it was to read... I have read the first few pages and I am really enjoying it. For anyone that has read it, I would like to know if any of it is dated. It was published in 1999, or that is the case for the book i have taken out. Being 9 years since it's release I would have thought it was possible for their to be some dated ideas.

Has anyone read this book? If so would you advise it to a High School pupil? I think I will give it a read as it will probably answer a lot of my questions on a subject I have next to no idea about!

_Mayday_

If you want to have a look for yourself? here is a https://www.amazon.com/dp/0750305606/?tag=pfamazon01-20 to the book. Enjoy :smile:
 
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  • #2
I've read it & yes it was a really good read. It is a pretty laid back read & some of the material is dated, but you're not going to misinterpret the concepts because of the material. It was written for the public & so its really just presenting the gist of the ideas. Also, once you really get into the book, you'll see it talks A LOT about the history & developmental stages of relativity and quantum mechanics. So here, none of this information really gets dated. Overall it is good book to read & I don't think it requires any levels like high school or college knowledge, because again it was written for the public.
 
  • #3
I finished the book a few weeks back now. Overall, it was a very nice introduction to the subject, though I had a few problems with it.

1. Even though I had no previous knowledge at times the book was patronising and didn't go into enough detail.

2. The author didn't really say why things where as they are, and it felt as if I just had to trust him, he did not provide much evidence and I found this frustrating.

For anyone who has an interest int his field, but hasn't done any previous work on it or anything related to physics, this book is great and I would highly reccomend it!

_Mayday_
 
  • #4
I don't think you're going to find much "proof" for various ideas in popular science books. You just got to read them with an open mind. Many of them can really inspire creativity, but in a lot of them you have to realize that a lot of the ideas aren't proven which most of the time, that is how the ideas are introduced.
 

What is a black hole?

A black hole is a region of space with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, including light, can escape from it. This happens when a large amount of mass is concentrated into a small area, causing space-time to be highly curved.

How are black holes formed?

Most black holes are formed from the remains of a massive star that has collapsed in on itself. When a star runs out of fuel, it can no longer produce energy to counteract the force of gravity, causing it to collapse and form a black hole.

What is a wormhole?

A wormhole is a theoretical tunnel or shortcut through space-time that connects two distant points in the universe. It is often depicted as a tunnel with two openings, called mouths, with a narrow throat connecting them.

Can humans travel through a wormhole?

While the concept of wormholes is still mostly theoretical, it is currently not possible for humans to travel through them. The extreme gravitational forces and potential for time dilation make it unlikely that humans could survive the journey.

What is a time machine?

A time machine is a theoretical device that would allow an object or person to travel through time. This concept is based on the theory of relativity which suggests that time is not absolute and can be affected by factors such as gravity and velocity.

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