Audiobook10 hours
Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire: The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta
Written by Sean Carroll
Narrated by Bob Souer
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Bringing together the best and most interesting science stories appearing in Quanta Magazine over the past five years, Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire reports on some of the greatest scientific minds as they test the limits of human knowledge. It communicates science by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts, and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves.
In the title story, Alice and Bob-beloved characters of various thought experiments in physics-grapple with gravitational forces, possible spaghettification, and a massive wall of fire as Alice jumps into a black hole. Another story considers whether the universe is impossible, in light of experimental results at the Large Hadron Collider. We learn about quantum reality and the mystery of quantum entanglement; explore the source of time's arrow; and witness a eureka moment when a quantum physicist exclaims: "Finally, we can understand why a cup of coffee equilibrates in a room." We reflect on humans' enormous skulls and the Brain Boom; consider the evolutionary benefits of loneliness; peel back the layers of the newest artificial-intelligence algorithms. These stories from Quanta give us a front-row seat to scientific discovery.
In the title story, Alice and Bob-beloved characters of various thought experiments in physics-grapple with gravitational forces, possible spaghettification, and a massive wall of fire as Alice jumps into a black hole. Another story considers whether the universe is impossible, in light of experimental results at the Large Hadron Collider. We learn about quantum reality and the mystery of quantum entanglement; explore the source of time's arrow; and witness a eureka moment when a quantum physicist exclaims: "Finally, we can understand why a cup of coffee equilibrates in a room." We reflect on humans' enormous skulls and the Brain Boom; consider the evolutionary benefits of loneliness; peel back the layers of the newest artificial-intelligence algorithms. These stories from Quanta give us a front-row seat to scientific discovery.
Author
Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of natural philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He won the Royal Society Winton Prize for his book on the search for the elusive Higgs boson, The Particle at the End of the Universe, and The Big Picture was an international bestseller. He lives in Los Angeles. @seanmcarroll preposterousuniverse.com
More audiobooks from Sean Carroll
From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire
Related audiobooks
Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lightness Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prime Number Conspiracy: The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The World According to Physics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Does E=MC² and Why Should We Care? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Impossible Things: The Mystery of the Quantum World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three Roads to Quantum Gravity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hidden In Plain Sight: The Simple Link Between Relativity and Quantum Mechanics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quantum Space: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Weird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quantum Entanglement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Idea is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accelerating Universe: Infinite Expansion, the Cosmological Constant, and the Beauty of the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What is Life?: With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exoplanets (Goldsmith): Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bedeviled: A Shadow History of Demons in Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conjuring the Universe: The Origins of the Laws of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Universe: Leading Scientists Explore the Origin, Mysteries, and Future of the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Universe: The book of the BBC TV series presented by Professor Brian Cox Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Science & Mathematics For You
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radiolab: The Feels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radiolab: Mixtape: How The Cassette Changed The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gene: An Intimate History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thinking in Systems: A Primer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire
Rating: 4.833333333333333 out of 5 stars
5/5
6 ratings0 reviews