Black Hole and Time Curvature: Einstein's Ghost

Author: Kip S. Thorne
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: Since Einstein's General Relativity burst onto the scene in 1915, some of the most brilliant minds of this century have been exploring its mysteries, some of which—such as black holes and time machines—are things even Einstein himself found hard to imagine. Renowned physicist Kip S. Thorne has also been exploring them. Now, he presents these phenomena in a groundbreaking account, explaining the universe as we know it. "One of the best books on the subject to appear in recent years." "Outside of the big headlines today, there's probably no greater authority to discuss the universe's most extraordinary features—truly inspiring." "A masterpiece! Many books on this topic have failed to do what this one accomplishes. I think it will itself be a powerful force." Few books have captured the spirit of science as vividly as "Black Holes and Time Warps": it opens a historical panorama, depicting the wonders and exhilarating discoveries of physics, and even more, it offers an insider's perspective on the style and temperament of science. This book tells the story of the revolution in space and time and its profound implications, some of which are still not fully understood. It is also a fascinating tale, told by an author who witnessed firsthand the struggle and eventual success in understanding black holes—one of the most mysterious objects in the universe. In 1915, Einstein proposed a theory that combined time and space into something called "spacetime," which is not flat but curved by the matter and energy within it. Nearby, spacetime is almost flat, and under normal circumstances, the differences caused by curvature are negligible. But far out in the universe, some of the effects of spacetime curvature are even more astonishing than what Einstein recognized. One result is that stars might collapse under their own gravity, bending the surrounding space to isolate themselves from the rest of the universe. The book's theme is how to prove this result and how to discover the bizarre properties of black holes, which form from such collapsing stars.