Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Einleitung anhören

00:00

Zusammenfassung von Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Name: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Rating: 4.4 (305 reviews)
Author: Carlo Rovelli

Carlo Rovelli

A mind-bending introduction to modern physics

4.4 (305 Bewertungen)

19 Min.

Themen

Natural Sciences Space Physics

Inhaltsübersicht

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
in 7 Kernaussagen verstehen

Audio & Text in der Blinkist App

Kernaussage 1 von 7

What’s in it for me? Get an overview of where modern physics came from and where it’s headed.

Our universe is a fascinating place: not just the solar system and galaxies, but the world that’s going on around us down at the atomic level. For a long time, we were largely in the dark about both the big picture of where our planet is in the universe, as well as the nature of the building blocks of life.

Thanks to author Carlo Rovelli, we can look at both of these worlds through the eyes of a physicist. Rovelli guides us through the birth of modern physics and explains what the two pillars of general relativity and quantum mechanics have taught us.

Rovelli also explains which pressing questions physicists are struggling with today and discusses the missing pieces that are still being sought out.

In these blinks, you’ll find

why there are no things in the world, only temporary events;
what an “atom of space” is and why it might be the missing piece of the puzzle; and
how heat and time are related.

Einstein’s general theory of relativity arose from one simple but revolutionary idea.

In 1905, a young man by the name of Albert Einstein submitted three articles to one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, the Annalen der Physik.

Remarkably, each of these articles is now considered worthy of a Nobel Prize, but it was the third article that became the most famous since it contained Einstein’s first theory of relativity. Today, this is known as his theory of special relativity, and it essentially describes how time is relative, depending on the conditions surrounding the person experiencing it.

For example, if you’re traveling fast enough, time slows down. So, if you leave your friend hanging around while you go for a quick rocketship ride that takes you around the world at the speed of light then, when you land, time will have passed more slowly for you than for your friend who stood still.

Einstein’s theory sent shockwaves through the scientific community, gaining him instant notoriety. However, there was one issue with which he had to deal: at the time, his theory was in direct conflict with Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity, which had been in place since the seventeenth century.

Newton’s theory stated that the force of gravity controlled how the planets and stars interacted with one another and moved through space. This was a huge step in how we understood the universe and the laws that governed it. For the first time, we had a hint that there was something unseen at work in the vast emptiness of space.

That seemingly empty space was further filled by the British physicists Michael Faraday and James Maxwell, who brought forth the concept of electromagnetic fields. Now, along with gravity, there were radio waves that could “transport” electrical forces.

It took Einstein ten years of hard work, but he eventually emerged with his theory of general relativity, a masterpiece of thinking so beautiful and elegant that some would say it’s comparable to Mozart’s Requiem or Homer’s Odyssey.

Central to Einstein’s thinking was that, if there is an electromagnetic field, there must be a gravitational field as well. Einstein’s stroke of genius lay in taking this a step further to theorize that the gravitational field doesn’t so much “fill” space as it is the space.

This means that space isn’t flat – it curves around massive objects such as planets and stars, and as it does so, the gravitational field exerts a measure of force that keeps things from flying away.

Einstein’s work offered a perfect launching pad for further theories.

Quantum mechanics has puzzled the minds of physicists from the twentieth century till this day.

For twentieth-century physics, there are two pillars upon which everything is based: Einstein’s theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics – yet the two have very little in common.

Quantum mechanics also goes by the name of quantum theory, and it’s used to understand all that is happening when we zoom in to the atomic and subatomic level, where atoms and particles reside. And it has not only brought us insight into our universe; it’s also led to significant breakthroughs in computing.

Our cosmic views have changed from being Earth-centric, to being a small part of an expanding universe.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, quantum mechanics and general relativity were used to understand both the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of atoms and particles.

Let’s start with the macro view and how general relativity improved our understanding of the universe.

Our world is made up of countless elementary particles and their interactions with one another.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the second pillar of twentieth-century physics: quantum mechanics, and what it tells us about the universe’s microcosm of atoms and particles.

One of the first things to understand are elementary particles, which make up the material world.

General relativity and quantum mechanics are incompatible and have given rise to new theories.

It’s time to look at the two pillars of modern physics in relation to each other. In a perfect world, this would result in a seamless interweaving of the micro and macro universes. But sadly, this isn’t what happens.

In their current form, general relativity and quantum mechanics are in conflict.

Heat is a chance event, and the explanation of heat is at the heart of explaining the nature of time.

Now that we’ve had our minds blown, let’s turn our attention to a different area of physics that’s no less fascinating: thermodynamics – otherwise known as the science of heat.

Amazingly enough, the entire field of thermodynamics originated from one simple question: What is heat? One way to look at heat is as an event of pure chance.

Humans are part of this wondrous world described by modern physics.

Human beings are curious by nature. And, in this sense, physicists, and those who observe and theorize about the world around them, are an extension of our earliest ancestors, who noticed antelope tracks in the grasslands of the savannah.

Curiosity is what led humans to venture into unknown lands. And once we could be found in every corner of the world, we went to the moon. All along, we never stopped seeking to discover every last secret to our universe.

Du möchtest die gesamte Zusammenfassung von Seven Brief Lessons on Physics sehen?

Kernaussagen in Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Mehr Wissen in weniger Zeit

Sachbücher auf den Punkt gebracht

Kernaussagen aus Sachbüchern in ca. 15 Minuten pro Titel lesen & anhören mit den „Blinks”

Zeitsparende Empfehlungen

Titel, die dein Leben bereichern, passend zu deinen Interessen und Zielen

Podcasts in Kurzform ^Neu

Kernaussagen wichtiger Podcasts im Kurzformat mit den neuen „Shortcasts”

Worum geht es in Seven Brief Lessons on Physics?

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014) is an informative guide to how we arrived at the two pillars of modern physics: Einstein’s theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Author Carlo Rovelli describes the wondrous world opened up by these two theories, including the secrets they’ve revealed and the mysteries and paradoxes they’ve exposed.

Bestes Zitat aus Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

There is no longer space which contains the world, and there is no longer time in which events occur.

—Carlo Rovelli

Wer Seven Brief Lessons on Physics lesen sollte

Curious people who want to know more about how the universe works
Students who want an introduction to quantum physics
Scientists, physicists and mathematicians

Über den Autor

Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist who has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time. He currently directs the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de Physique Théorique in Marseille, France. Rovelli is also the author of Reality is Not What It Seems and The Order of Time.

Kategorien mit Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Science Education

Ähnlich wie Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Reality Is Not What It Seems

Carlo Rovelli

The Journey to Quantum Gravity

A trip through time with a leading theoretical physicist

Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

23 min

4.4

The Biggest Ideas in the Universe

Sean Carroll

Space, Time, and Motion

17 min

3.9

A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking

From the Big Bang to Black Holes

27 min

4.5

On the Origin of Time

Thomas Hertog

Stephen Hawking's Final Theory

The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

18 min

4.6

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Thomas S. Kuhn

A groundbreaking study in how science progresses

13 min

4.3

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

Richard P. Feynman

Adventures of a Curious Character

The Psychology of Persuasion

33 min

4.6

10x Is Easier Than 2x

Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy

How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less

17 min

3.9

Physics of the Impossible

Michio Kaku

A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation and Time Travel

A landmark work in the field of biology and evolution

22 min

4.4

The Only Little Prayer You Need

Debra Landwehr Engle

The Shortest Route to a Life of Joy, Abundance, and Peace of Mind

19 min

4.2

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever

Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know

21 min

4.1

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything

How We Know What’s Really True

The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

8 min

3.3

Stop Walking on Eggshells

Paul T. Mason & Randi Kreger

Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder

18 min

4.8

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation

An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

22 min

4.3

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do

Amy Morin

Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success

One small step toward understanding the greatness of the universe

21 min

4.4

The Power of the Downstate

Sara C. Mednick

The New Science to Ignite Energy, Enhance Sharpness, and Reclaim Balance

How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win

What to Say to Get Your Way

An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman

The New Psychology of Success

15 min

4.5

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

A journey into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer

38 min

4.5

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management

Kevin Kruse

The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs.

20 min

4.5

Guns, Germs and Steel

Jared Diamond

The Fates Of Human Societies

9 min

4.1

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Classic That Will Challenge Everything You Know

17 min

4.4

How to Talk to Anyone

Leil Lowndes

92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

25 min

4.2

Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain

Lisa Feldman Barrett

Have Your Understanding of Consciousness, Emotions, and Memory Revolutionized

The Tactics, Routines and Habits of Billionaires, Icons and World-Class Performers

23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present

16 min

4.2

The 33 Strategies of War

Robert Greene

A Comprehensive Guide to the Subtle Social Game of Everyday Life

16 min

4.1

The Myth of Normal

Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture

A New History of the World

The ADHD Effect on Marriage

Melissa Orlov

Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps

From Gunpowder to Graphene, 250 Milestones in the History of Chemistry

36 min

4.6

Make Self-Confidence Your Superpower

❤️ für Blinkist️️️

Ines S.

Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.

Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.

Ekaterina S.

Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll

Nils S.

Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.

Julia P.

Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.