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    Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved
    Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved
    Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved
    Audiobook6 hours

    Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved

    Written by Marcia Bartusiak

    Narrated by Randye Kaye

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapes-not even light-seemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein, Hawking, and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe.

    Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein's greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. Celebrating the hundredth anniversary of general relativity, Black Hole uncovers how the black hole really got its name and recounts the scientists' frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over the acceptance of one of history's most dazzling ideas.

    Editor's Note

    In the news…

    Does the first image ever of a black hole have you curious to learn more about the mysterious cosmic object? Start with this engaging and accessible account of black holes, which have fascinated scientists like Einstein and Hawking for ages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 28, 2015
    ISBN9781494577070

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    Reviews for Black Hole

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Black Hole is a short but engrossing history of science about the discovery of black holes. Bartusiak writers with passion and a sense of narrative mystery, while retaining factual accuracy. I would read more by her. It's for a general audience on a subject as esoteric and complex as they come, but she manages to hold interest. Black holes seem almost normal today but they were once thought so exotic as to be impossible. She restores that past sense of impossibility and incredulity, before black holes became accepted.
    • 5/5
      This was a terrific book.
      Easy to read and understand.
      Chock full of interesting people, theories, times, and information.
      Seeing how it all comes together, one theory to the next, was fascinating.