From Atoms to Infinity: 88 Great Ideas in Science"How big is infinity? How small is an electron? When will the Sun destroy the Earth? How fast is a nerve impulse in your brain? Why can't you see inside a black hole? What's the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth? What's the furtherest you can see on a clear night? "From atoms to infinity' takes you on a journey from the furtherest reaches of the known Universe to the tiniest particles that make up life on Earth. With their characteristic flair and unrivalled clarity, world-renowned science authors Mary and John Gribbin explore how our telescopes can see 10 billion years into the past, and why a thimbleful of a neutron star would contains as much mass as all the people on Earth put together. Incredible and thought-provoking, this is a trip at break-neck speed from the infinitesimal to the vast - everything you always wanted to know about science's most amazing discoveries." -- back cover. |
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accelerator alpha particles ancestors appear 12 astronomical atmosphere atoms bacteria bacterium ball big numbers bigger billionths black hole body buttons calculations called carbon dioxide century clone clouds comet cone cells contains diameter digits dinosaurs Earth Edmund Halley electron elephants energy flies galaxies gravity Halley heat Hubble Space Telescope huge number human hundred hypernovae ice cap infinite number infinity inside integers irrational numbers killed kilos kind km per hour light living things mass means metres Milky millimetre million km million years ago minutes molecules Mount Everest nanometres neutron star nucleus occupant of Room ocean Oort Cloud oxygen planet pressure prime numbers protein proton radiation Radio waves red cell Red Giant rock sand single small number Solar System speed spores square kilometres surface telescope temperature thick thousand tiny tonnes travelled tsunami viruses wavelengths weighed White Dwarf zero