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Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime

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Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime

By: Benjamin Schumacher, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Benjamin Schumacher
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About this listen

It all started with Newton’s apple. Or did it? Gravity controls everything from the falling of an apple to the rising of ocean’s tides to the motions of the heavens above. If you’ve ever wondered how this most puzzling force works across our entire universe, you will be delighted by this 24-part course that is accessible to any curious person, regardless of your science education. No other product on the market presents the subject of gravity in as much detail as this course, which will follow the past 400 years of research and experimentation in the field.

Your guide is Professor Schumacher, an award-winning educator, prominent theoretical physicist, and protégé of John Archibald Wheeler, the distinguished gravity theorist who first coined the term “black hole”.

• Explore the intriguing features of gravity, including: why a hammer does not fall faster than a feather (neglecting air resistance, of course!); how astronauts float in space when they are still within reach of Earth’s gravitational pull; and how gravity shapes the four-dimensional fabric of the universe.

• Become immersed in the fascinating study of gravity, experiencing the scientific breakthroughs alongside the great minds of physics: Galileo, Newton, Cavendish, Einstein, Hubble, Hawking, and more.

• Examine a recent discovery: that the expansion of our universe is accelerating due to an as-yet-unexplained cosmic antigravity known as dark energy.

• Delve into the Holy Grail of contemporary physics: the search for a theory that encompasses both gravity, which extends its reach across the cosmos, and quantum mechanics, which governs events at the smallest possible scale.

In Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime, you will travel to the very edges of modern physics to explore several revolutionary theories and discover that physics is just as exciting today as it was when Newton sat by that fateful apple tree.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 The Great Courses (P)2013 The Teaching Company, LLC
Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Physics Science Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant
Incredibly interesting and motivating author. Gravity through the ages is fascinating.
Thoroughly enjoyed this audio and recommend.

Brilliant author

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great lectures. well articulated and full of fact, theory, conjecture, questions and information on what is known about many unknowns. however, the curvature of my understanding doesn't sit comfortably with a comprehensive portrait of gravity as an explained phenomenon. something doesn't add up yet as a roadmap these lectures can be thoroughly recommended if only to chart relative levels of uncertainty in current explanatory theory.

gravitational reservations

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Professor Schumacher has succeeded in producing a course on gravity, black holes, Cosmology that a novice could understand and a professional can learn from. I have a PhD in theoretical physics and still found hundreds on new things out about gravity, black holes and the Universe.
I love the way Prof Schumacher assumes the listener knows nothing! It means the explanations are thorough with lots of analogies and examples. He explains pressure, magnetism, photons, quantum effects... as he goes along so that it doesn’t stop the flow of the course.
This is really an outstanding course. It must have been a monumental undertaking... Well done to all involved.

The best introduction to black holes and gravitation

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This is an enlightening set of lectures, especially for the layman interested in expanding knowledge and understanding of the subject. Very well presented with clear explanations and intriguing insight into the historical development of ideas.

I Found It Very Interesting

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Professor Schumacher is an excellent communicator and his love of science comes across front and centre in this wonderful course. I had to replay certain chapters a few times but I can definitely say that my knowledge of the world and my respect for the innovative scientists of the past few centuries have massively expanded. I completely recommend this to anyone that is interested in broadening their knowledge of what can be a difficult and esoteric subject. I’ve read a couple of popular science physics books so I am not a complete layman but I wish I’d found this course first as it would have been a solid foundation for more difficult works.

A brilliant introduction to difficult concepts

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