The Book of Nothing

Front Cover
Jonathan Cape, 2000 - Mathematics - 380 pages
From the zeros of the mathematicians to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, from being and nothingness to creatio ex nihilo, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. Recent exciting discoveries in astronomy shed new light on the nature of the vacuum and its dramatic effect upon the explanation of the Universe. John Barrow unravels the different concepts of nothing from quantum physics and cosmology to mathematics and philosophy. There is something of nothing for everyone in this remarkable book.

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Contents

The Box That Can Never Be Empty
7
Zero The Whole Story
13
Much Ado About Nothing
53
Copyright

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About the author (2000)

John D. Barrow, a distinguished scientist and popular science author, is Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. His bestselling books include "Theories of Everything" and "Impossibility".

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