Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines

Bringing the material up to date, Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines, Second Edition captures the new ideas and discoveries made in physics since the publication of the best-selling first edition. While retaining the popular format and style of its predecessor, this edition explores the latest developments in high-energy astroparticle physics and Big Bang cosmology.

The book continues to make the ideas and theories of modern physics easily understood by anyone, from researchers to students to general science enthusiasts. Taking you on a journey through space and time, author Jim Al-Khalili covers some of the most fascinating topics in physics today, including:


Black holes
Space warps
The Big Bang
Time travel
Wormholes
Parallel universes

Professor Al-Khalili explains often complex scientific concepts in simple, nontechnical terms and imparts an appreciation of the cosmos, helping you see how time traveling may not be so far-fetched after all.

Jim Al-Khalili is a professor of physics at the University of Surrey. While still an active researcher in theoretical physics, Dr. Al-Khalili has become a well-known science communicator in the UK, with regular appearances on television and radio science documentaries. He was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for science communication in 2007 and the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal in 2011. He became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to science in 2008.

SPACEThe 4th DimensionTo do with shapes What is space? 2Dworld and 2D’ers Curved space Is there really a 4th dimension?

Matters of Some GravityApples and moons Einstein’s gravity Free fall Rubber space Twinkle, twinkle Cooking the elements Champagne supernova in the sky

The UniverseThe night sky How big is the Universe? The expanding Universe Hubble, bubble … Space is stretching Did the Big Bang really happen? The edge of space A closed universeAn open universe What shape is the Universe then? Invisible matter 1998: a big year in cosmology Is the Universe infinite? Why is it dark at night? Before the Big Bang? Summary

Black HolesMore to light than meets the eye! Invisible stars Beyond the horizon A hole that can never be filled Spinning black holes Falling into a black hole To see a black hole Not so black after all White holes

TIMETimes Are ChangingWhat is time? Who invented time? The first moment Does time flow? Something called entropy Arrows of time Stephen Hawking gets it wrong A possible solution

Einstein’s TimeWhat is so special about special relativity? The two faces of light Thought experiments and brain-teasers Slowing down time Shrinking distances Light—the world speed record When time runs backwards Little green men Fast-forward to the future Spacetime—the future is out there Gravitational times

Time Travel ParadoxesThe Terminator paradox Trying to save the dinosaurs Mona Lisa’s sister No way out? Parallel universes Where are all the time travelers?

TIME MACHINESWormholesA bridge to another world Alice through the looking glass When science fact met science fiction Wormholes—keeping the star gate open Visiting a parallel universe

How to Build a Time MachineTime loops The Tipler time machine Cosmic string time machines A recipe for a wormhole time machine Insurmountable problems?

What Do We Know?The mother of all theories The end of theoretical physics What might new experiments tell us? Astronomy versus astrology The fascination of science

Suggestions for Further Reading

Index