Nothing : a very short introduction

Author(s)

• Close, F. E.

Bibliographic Information

Nothing : a very short introduction

Frank Close

（Very short introductions, 205）

Oxford University Press, 2009

• : pbk

Other Title

The void

Note

Originally published: as The void. 2007

Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-150) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

What is 'nothing'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space - a void - exist? This Very Short Introduction explores the science and the history of the elusive void: from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton and Einstein, to our very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos. Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void, and the rich discoveries that they have made there. He takes the reader on a lively and accessible history through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research. He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields; how Newton, Mach, and Einstein grappled with the nature of space and time; and how the mysterious 'aether' that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the 'Higgs field'. We now know that the vacuum is far from being empty - it seethes with virtual particles and antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being, and it also may contain hidden dimensions that we were previously unaware of. These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions: what lies outside the universe, and, if there was once nothing, then how did the universe begin? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Table of Contents

• 1. Much Ado About Nothing
• 2. How Empty is an Atom?
• 3. Space
• 4. Waves in What?
• 5. Travelling on a Light Beam
• 6. The Cost of Free Space
• 7. The Infinite Sea
• 8. The Higgs Vacuum
• 9. The New Void
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA90424391
• ISBN:
  • 9780199225866
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Oxford ; New York
• Pages/Volumes: 157 p.
• Size: 18 cm
• Classification:
  • NDC9 : 404
  • LCC : Q125
  • DC22 : 530.01
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Physics -- Philosophy
  • LCSH : Nothing (Philosophy)
  • LCSH : Physics -- Philosophy -- History
  • LCSH : Cosmology
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA34547828