John D. Barrow

Da quando Galileo e Newton affermarono che la natura e scritta in linguaggio matematico, il numero e diventato il baluardo di ogni certezza, in un mondo dove le certezze in genere tendevano a dissolversi. Ma che cos'e il numero stesso? In questo libro Barrow conduce il lettore dapprima attraverso i sistemi di computo delle piu antiche ed eterogenee culture, in una sorta di iniziazione all'entita prima, il numero, della quale vuole cogliere la natura. Prosegue poi esaminando la posizione delle tradizionali scuole (formalisti, convenzionalisti, intuizionisti) che continuano a confrontarsi sui fondamenti della matematica. Infine, lascia intravedere una possibile, nuova prospettiva del platonismo.

L''ipotesi del "principio antropico" venne proposta da Barrow e Tipler in questo libro apparso negli Stati Uniti nel 1986. Secondo questa teoria tutto ruota intorno a un nucleo ineludibile: se non si presentassero un numero allarmante di straordinarie coincidenze nella forma delle leggi fisiche e nei valori delle costanti di natura, la biochimica, la vita e la vita intelligente non sarebbero possibili. Non solo un universo preso a caso non consentirebbe la vita, ma non vi sarebbero possibili neppure gli oggetti astronomici comuni e la materia ordinaria. Muovendo da questa constatazione si giunge alla conclusione che vi sia una necessita, e il principio antropico debole, che si arresta al riconoscimento dei fatti, evolve in quello forte.

Acostumbrados como estamos a pensar que el Universo es único, centramos nuestros esfuerzos en averiguar qué contiene y cuál es su estructura. En El libro de los universos, el distinguido físico teórico, astrofisico cosmologo y divulgador John Barrow ha adoptado otra perspectiva. Tomando como base, la cosmologia relativista que produjo Albert Einstein en 1916, Barrow indaga en un amplio conjunto de soluciones exactas de las ecuaciones basicas de esa teoria, soluciones que representan muy diversos tipos de universos posibles. Algunos se expanden y otros se contraen. Los hay tambien que son perfectamente lisos, mientras que otros estan llenos de bultos y no faltan los que huyen a toda velocidad hacia un futuro de expansion sin limites. Algunos permiten viajar en el tiempo hacia el pasado y en solo unos pocos puede surgir vida. El lector se encontrara, asimismo, con universos en los que las leyes de la fisica pueden cambiar con el tiempo y con el lugar, universos con dimensiones ocultas, o universos inflacionarios (que experimentan aceleraciones repentinas). Finalmente, y tras presentarnos los ultimos descubrimientos acerca de nuestro propio universo, Barrow nos introduce a una de las ideas mas sorprendentes y radicales acerca del universo, la delMultiuniverso- el universo de todos los posibles universos -, que las modernas teorias de la fisica cada vez se toman mas en serio.

A leading cosmologist explains our current understanding of space and timeThere was immense excitement in the scientific community and among the general public when the COBE space probe sent back data that proved not only that the Big Bang had happened but also that it had happened at more or less exactly the time that astronomers had calculated. Barrow describes these finds and then goes on to explain how they allow us to reach back and shed light upon events at the dawn of time.What does it mean to say that the universe appeared out of nothing? Did it need a beginning, and will it ever end? Why do we think that most of the universe is invisible?The ideas that cosmologists are wrestling with are challenging and extraordinary: here they are explained with unfailing fluency.

En todas las teorías y prácticas científicas hemos logrado grandes éxitos, pero también topamos con límites infranqueables. Tanto lo conocible como lo imposible de conocer de nuestra realidad nos define como parte integrante de esta¿Que es lo que nunca podriamos hacer? Los finales de siglo siempre invitan a hacer balances de los logros humanos y de las perspectivas probables de cara al futuro. John D. Barrow ofrece un panorama de las limitaciones que podrian imponerse a los descubrimientos humanos y de aquello que podriamos llegar a considerar como inconocible, no factible o impensable. La ciencia es una larga historia de exitos, pero ¿donde terminara? Tejiendo un asombroso tapiz de sorpresas, Barrow explora las fronteras del conocimiento. Encontramos que la nocion de "imposibilidad" ha jugado un papel decisivo en nuestro pensamiento. El surrealismo, las figuras imposibles, los viajes en el tiempo, las paradojas de la logica y de la perspectiva, las especulaciones teologicas sobre entes para los que nada es imposible, todo ello nos estimula a contemplar mas de lo que existe.¿Por que deberiamos encontrar algo imposible? Exploramos los limites que la tecnologia, los ordenadores, los costes y la complejidad se imponen a nuestra plena comprension del universo fisico. Nos `preguntamos por que el proceso de la evolucion biologica nos equipo con la capacidad de comprender las estructuras basicas del universo. Pero tambien vemos que la estructura del universo nos impide encontrar las respuestas mas fundamentales acerca de su comienzo, su estructura y su futuro.

Este extraordinario libro recorre cada uno de los rincones y de las grietas de la nada para demostrar el modo en que la mente de los hombres tiene que hacer algo de la nada en cada campo de las inves

From the zeros of the mathematician 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 exnihilo, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. Recent exciting discoveries in astronomy are shown to shed new light on the nature of the vacuum and its dramatic effect upon the explanation of the Universe. This remarkable book ranges over every nook and cranny of nothingness to reveal how the human mind has had to make something of nothing in every field of human enquiry.

Reality as we know it is bound by a set of constantsnumbers and values that dictate the strengths of forces like gravity, the speed of light, and the masses of elementary particles. In The Constants of Nature, Cambridge Professor and bestselling author John D.Barrow takes us on an exploration of these governing principles. Drawing on physicists such as Einstein and Planck, Barrow illustrates with stunning clarity our dependence on the steadfastness of these principles. But he also suggests that the basic forces may have been radically different during the universes infancy, and suggests that they may continue a deeply hidden evolution. Perhaps most tantalizingly, Barrow theorizes about the realities that might one day be found in a universe with different parameters than our own.

En el corazón del Universo se encierra un secreto matemático y la clave para desentrañarlo es la Teoría del Todo, una propuesta única y global que explique las leyes de la naturaleza y de la cual pueda derivarse con logica irrefutable el conocimiento de todas las cosas que nos rodean. En este libro, escrito con un estilo y una claridad inusuales, John D. Barrow, uno de los cosmologos mas reconocidos del mundo, conduce al lector hacia un apasionante viaje desde la creacion de los viejos mitos hasta las ultimas teorias sobre el big bang, las supercuerdas, los agujeros de gusano, los universos bebe y el misterio cuantico del tiempo.

This is a book about universes. It tells a story that revolves around a single extraordinary fact: that Albert Einsteins famous theory of relativity describes a series of entire universes. Not many solutions to Einsteins tantalising universe equations have ever been found, but those that have are all remarkable. Some describe universes that expand in size, while others contract. Some rotate like a top, while others are chaotically unpredictable. Some are perfectly smooth, while others are lumpy. Some permit time travel into the past. Only a few allow life to evolve within them; the rest, if they exist, remain unknown and unknowable to conscious minds.Here, in The Book of Universes, we are confronted with the most fantastic and far-reaching speculations within the entire realm of science.

* How can sprinter Usain Bolt break his world record without running any faster?* Why do high-jumpers use the Fosbury Flop? * Whats the best strategy for taking penalties in football? * What statistical advantage do left-handed boxers have over their right-handed opponents? * And did you know that gymnasts can experience stronger g-forces than roller-coaster designers are allowed to create? John D. Barrow shows how maths can give us surprising and enlivening insights into the world of sports - essential reading for competitors, armchair enthusiasts and maths-lovers alike.

What can maths tell us about art and design?Professor John D. Barrow has all the answers. In 100 Essential Things You Didnt Know You Didnt Know About Maths and the Arts, he shows us that mathematics and the arts are not so far removed from each other. He takes us on a 100-step tour, guiding us through art forms as various as sculpture, literature, architecture and dance, and reveals what maths can tell us about the mysteries of the worlds of art and design.We find out why diamonds sparkle, how many words Shakespeare knew and why the shower is the best place to sing. We discover why an egg is egg-shaped, why Charles Dickens crusaded against maths and how a soprano can shatter a wine glass without touching it... Enlivening the everyday with a new way of looking at the world, this book will enrich your understanding of the maths and art that surround us in our day-to-day lives.

A delight. Popular science doesnt come much better than this IndependentEverything you might want to know about infinity - in history and all the way to todays cutting-edge science.Infinity is surely the strangest idea that humans have ever had. Where did it come from and what is it telling us about our Universe? Can there actually be infinities? Can you do an infinite number of things in a finite amount of time? Is the Universe infinite?Infinity is also the place where things happen that dont. What is it like to live in a Universe where nothing is original, where you can live forever, where anything that can be done, is done, over and over again?These are some of the deep questions that the idea of the infinite pushes us to ask. Throughout history, the infinite has been a dangerous concept. Many have lost their lives, their careers, or their freedom for talking about it. The Infinite Book will take you on a tour of these dangerous questions and the strange answers that scientists, mathematicians, philosophers and theologians have come up with to deal with its threats to our sanity.