Blockbuster Science by Bernstein, David Siegel -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page CONTENTS Introduction CHAPTER 1. ONCE UPON A SPACETIME

Einstein Considers the Gravity of His Ideas Mass Is Energy, and Sometimes It Makes Holes No Witnesses…Yet Two Scientifically Plausible Ways to Surf Spacetime Waves Parting Comments Chapter 1 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: A Special Relativity Paradox Bonus 2: How Much Energy Is Contained within the Matter of Your Body? Bonus 3: Mutants

CHAPTER 2. IF YOU ARE UNCERTAIN, CALL A QUANTUM MECHANIC FOR A FIX

What Is a Quantum Leap? That Special Moment…When You Just Know Real Science and Science Fiction Mind-Blowing Quantum Trivia Parting Comments Chapter 2 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: A Time-Travel Paradox Bonus 2: Photosynthesis and Quantum Mechanics Bonus 3: What Are Quantum Suicide and Quantum Immortality? Bonus 4: Time-Traveling Text Messages Bonus 5: Subatomic Uncertainty in the Classical World

FIRST INTERLUDE: A TOUCH OF ATOMIC THEORY

The Four Universal Forces What Is an Atom? How Old Is the Oldest Atom? What's the Matter with Antimatter? Going Deep First Interlude Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: The Range of Influence of the Four Universal Forces Bonus 2: Nuclear Fusion versus Nuclear Fission

CHAPTER 3. STRUMMING OUR WAY INTO EXISTENCE

Extra Dimensions Meet the Competition Can Quantized Space Solve a Paradox and Hurt a Villain? Parting Comments For the Record

CHAPTER 4. OUR UNIVERSE (AS OPPOSED TO THOSE OTHERS)

How Big Is the Universe? How Is the Observable Universe Different from the Actual Universe? How Are Galactic Distances Calculated? And in the (or Rather a) Beginning… What Caused the Big Bang? What Happened Next? What Are Gravitational Waves? Have Gravitational Waves Ever Been Detected? Some General Facts about Our Universe (as We Know It) Our Solar System, Home of Sol, Our Sun Parting Comments Chapter 4 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: Olbers's Paradox Bonus 2: Your Suntan Bonus 3: The Brief History of Our Sun Bonus 4: The On and Off Lighting System of a Cepheid Star

CHAPTER 5. PARALLEL WORLDS

Parallel Worlds from Math Parallel Worlds from Distance Parallel Worlds from Branching Mem(brane) Theory The We Live in the Best of All Worlds Theory Parting Comments

CHAPTER 6. POWERING UP OUR CIVILIZATIONS

Civilization Rankings Are There Quantum Energy Sources? Is There Evidence of Virtual Particles? Virtual Particles and Zero-Point Energy in Science Fiction Parting Comments Chapter 6 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: An Inward Look: An Alternative Classification of Civilizations Bonus 2: Comparing Energy Sources

CHAPTER 7. BLACK HOLES SUCK

How Do Black Holes Arise? Why Does Escape Velocity Matter? How Do Black Holes Relate to Spaghetti? Do Black Holes Last Forever? How Are Black Holes Detected? Wormholes (Again) Can Black Holes Be Used for Time Travel? Parting Comments Chapter 7 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: A Massive Mystery Bonus 2: The Information Paradox

CHAPTER 8. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE ON EARTH

The Human Story Fossils Are So Yesterday (Literally) Whoa! Slow Down and Keep It Real How Did Life Begin on Earth? What Is DNA? Parting Comments Chapter 8 Bonus Materials Bonus 1: Evolution Is Smart Bonus 2: The “Ome” Home

SECOND INTERLUDE: MORE OR LESS HUMAN CHAPTER 9. BADASS BIOLOGY

Genetic Engineering and Evolution How Is Genetic Modification Done? What Does Science Fiction Say about the Ethics of Gene Modification? Speaking of Immortality, Is It Possible? Is a Longer Life Worth It? Can't Get Enough of Yourself? Send in the Clones Genetics for the Zombie Apocalypse Bacteria and Viruses to the Rescue Parting Comments Chapter 9 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: Crime-Busting Science Bonus 2: Metamorphosis

CHAPTER 10. WELCOME TO TECH U

Celebrity Fictional Cyborgs The Transhuman Brain Sometimes You Need to Go Small And in the End, Posthumanism Cybering (Everyone Is Doing It) Parting Comments Chapter 10 Bonus Materials

Bonus: Nano for Food

CHAPTER 11. MAN AND NATURE

Can Climate or Weather Be Predicted?

What Is the Greenhouse Effect? People Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Carbon How Is the Average Temperature of the Earth Calculated? Is There Evidence of Global Warming? Is Anything Being Done to Prevent Global Warming? Let There Be (a Little) Light What Other Human Activities Affect Weather? Is Fiction Being Used to Help Warn about Global Warming? Parting Comments Chapter 11 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: Negative Greenhouse Effect Bonus 2: A Dawning of a New Age (Really, an Epoch) Bonus 3: The Ozone Layer

CHAPTER 12. TIME TO MOVE (PLAN B)

What Basic Planetary Elements Make for Happy Colonists? Extra Resources: Can Asteroids Be Used to Our Advantage? Thinking Galactically but Searching Locally for a Vacation Home Searching Galactically: What Is an Exoplanet and How Do We Find One? To Invade or Not to Invade? Parting Comments Chapter 12 Bonus Materials

Bonus: How Do We Handle All the Radiation the Universe Throws at Us?

CHAPTER 13. INTELLIGENCE COMES IN ORGANIC AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS

What Do Emergent Properties Have to Do with My Thoughts? How Do Neurons Create Consciousness? Where Does Cognition Fit? What Is Intelligence? The Importance of Creativity (Something Your Neurons Might Do for Fun) Rise of the AI Should We Put It to the Test? What Is the Technological Singularity? Ethical Concerns of a Post-Singularity World Full Circle Parting Comments Chapter 13 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: Moore's Law Bonus 2: Time Is in the Eye of the Beholder Bonus 3: Nefarious Software (Three Annoying Computer Infections)

CHAPTER 14. THE RISE OF THE ROBOTS

In the Beginning, There Was a Word and a Few Wires Robotic Evolution To Serve and Obey Robots in Our Everyday Lives (as Servants) Question of Ethics Parting Comments Chapter 14 Bonus Materials

Bonus: A Few Celebrity Science Fiction Robots

CHAPTER 15. ARE WE ALONE? EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

Never Mind Meeting Them. Do Aliens Exist? So, Why Haven't We Heard Anything from Aliens? Perhaps Earthlike Planets Are Rare Any Ideas about What Alien Life Looks Like? Parting Comments Chapter 15 Bonus Materials

Bonus 1: Ufology Bonus 2: Carbon and Water, a Marriage Contract for Life. Is It Recognized Everywhere? Bonus 3: A World Protocol for Extraterrestrial Contact

CHAPTER 16. A REALLY LONG-DISTANCE CALL: INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATION

Theoretical Long-Distance Calls Parting Comments

CHAPTER 17. AD ASTRA PER ASPERA: A ROUGH ROAD LEADS TO THE STARS

Keeping It Local: Atmospheric Travel The Long Journey: Space Travel Gravity and the Space Traveler If Science Fiction (Adventure) Uses Artificial Gravity, Then Why Not… A Hopefully True Story: A Tale of Application Parting Comments

THIRD INTERLUDE: A MATTER OF SUBSTANCE

So, What Is Mass? Why Do We Have Mass? What Makes Dark Matter and Dark Energy So…Um…Dark? Is There Evidence of Dark Matter? Sometimes Substances Like to Change Their Outfits Before Going Out

CHAPTER 18. WHY ARE WE SO MATERIALISTIC?

What Is Material Engineering? Are Any New Materials under Development Now? Speaking of Athletes, Here Are a Couple of (Literally) Cool Proofs of Concept It's Elementary What Is a Superconductor? Any Way around That Freezing Problem for Superconductors? A Carbon Solution for Materials Can Any Materials Harvest Light? Now You Saw It, and Now You Didn't Parting Comments

CHAPTER 19. TECHNOLOGY (COOL TOYS)

The Laser Popular Names for Light-Energy Weapons in Science Fiction 3-D Printing How about a Technology Combo Meal with a 3-D Printer? Great Tool, but Are There Ethical Issues with 3-D Printing? Wearable Technology Camera Technology Computer Identification Machine Mind Control Parting Comments

CHAPTER 20. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO EXIST?

Do Any of Our Ideas about Reality Matter? What Is Augmented Reality? What Is Virtual Reality? When Did the Science of Virtual Reality Begin? Any Practical Uses for VR Unrelated to the Military and Entertainment? Can False Memories Be Considered Virtual Reality? What about Erasing Memories? Holographic Reality Let's Get Deep into Some Science Fiction Holographic Theory and Black Holes Parting Comments

CHAPTER 21. THE END OF EVERYTHING

Speaking of Endings (an Author's Confession) The End of the Individual The End of the Human Species Roid Rage (Destruction by Asteroid) Is Anyone Watching Out for These Rocks and Ice Balls? If the Bigger NEOs Target Earth, Can They Be Stopped? The Sun and Earth: A Relationship That Ends When the Lights Go Out Why Will Only Supersized Galaxies Exist in the Future? We Came Along at a Good Time (to Predict the End of the Universe) Thermodynamics Will Be the End of Us, but First Learn Its Laws How Does Entropy Explain the Direction of Time? How It All Ends When All the Suns Turn Out the Lights Life after This Universe Parting Comments

Acknowledgments Notes Glossary Reading/Movie/Song List Index

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