Nothing

Incredible discoveries from the fringes of the universe to the inner workings of our minds-all from nothing!It turns out that almost nothing is as curious-or as enlightening-as, well, nothing. What is nothingness? Where can it be found? The writers of the world's top-selling science magazine investigate-from the big bang, dark energy, and the void to superconductors, vestigial organs, hypnosis, and the placebo effect-and discover that understanding nothing may be the key to understanding everything: What came before the big bang, and will our universe end?How might cooling matter down almost to absolute zero help solve our energy crisis?How can someone suffer from a false diagnosis as though it were true?Does nothingness even exist? Recent experiments suggest that squeezing a perfect vacuum somehow creates light.Why is it unfair to accuse sloths-animals who do nothing-of being lazy? And more!Contributors Paul Davies, Jo Marchant, and Ian Stewart, along with two former editors of Nature and 16 other leading writers and scientists, marshal up-to-the-minute research to make one of the most perplexing realms in science dazzlingly clear. Prepare to be amazed at how much more there is to nothing than you ever realized.