Forces of Nature

303 Pages·2017·9.38 MB·English

by  Brian Cox

Copyright
William Collins
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WilliamCollinsBooks.com
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2017
Text © Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen 2016
Photographs © individual copyright holders
Diagrams, design and layout © HarperCollins Publishers 2017
By arrangement with the BBC.
The BBC logo is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is
used under licence.
BBC logo © BBC 2014
The authors assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.
Cover image © Shutterstock
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780008210038
Ebook Edition © March 2017 ISBN: 9780008249335
Version: 2017-07-17
Praise for Professor Brian Cox:
‘Engaging, ambitious and creative.’
– Guardian
‘He bridges the gap between our childish sense of wonder and a rather more
professional grasp of the scale of things.’
– Independent
‘If you didn’t utter a wow watching the TV, you will while reading the book.’
– The Times
‘In this book of the acclaimed BBC2 TV series, Professor Cox shows us the
cosmos as we have never seen it before – a place full of the most bizarre and
powerful natural phenomena.’
– Sunday Express
‘Cox’s romantic, lyrical approach to astrophysics all adds up to an experience
that feels less like homework and more like having a story told to you. A really
good story, too.’
– Guardian
‘Will entertain and delight … what a priceless gift that would be.’
– Independent on Sunday
For my dad, David.
– Brian Cox
For Benjamin, Martha, Theo, Dan, Jake, Lyla, Ellie, Toby, Phoebe, Max,
Zak, Josh, Isaac and Tabitha because curious young minds always ask the
smartest of questions.
– Andrew Cohen
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Praise for Professor Brian Cox
Dedication
Chapter 1
SYMMETRY
The Universe in a Snowflake
Why do Bees Build Hexagons?
Knocking on the Doors of Chemistry
The Fundamental Building Blocks and the Forces of
Nature
Why is the Earth a Sphere?
Why does Life Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes?
Symmetry and Symmetry Breaking in Biology
The Universe in a Snowflake
Chapter 2
MOTION
Somewhere in Spacetime
Life on an Orbiting Planet: The Seasons
The Formation of the Earth and Moon
Life on an Orbiting Planet: Storms
Life on an Orbiting, Spinning Planet: The Tides
Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity
Somewhere in Spacetime
Spacetime Calculations
Chapter 3
ELEMENTS
The Moth and the Flame
Chemistry is all About the Movement of Electrons
Frankenstein’s Monsters
On the Origin of Species: A Framework to Make
Sense of Life on Earth
The Oldest Life on Earth
A Warm Little Pond?
Life, Thermodynamics and Entropy
The Moth and the Flame
A Very Different Eden
Life Beyond Earth
Chapter 4
COLOUR
Pale Blue Dot
The Rainbow Connection
Why does the Sun Shine?
The Nuclear Physics of the Sun
Why do Hot Things Shine?: Part 1: James Clerk
Maxwell and the Golden Age of Wireless
Why do Hot Things Shine?: Part 2: Max Planck and
the Quantum Revolution
A Serendipitous Aside; The Solar Neutrino Problem
Pale Blue Green Planet: Part 1: The Oceans
Pale Blue Green Planet: Part 2: The Sky
Pale Blue Green Planet: Part 3: The Land
Pale Coloured Dots
Plate Section
Picture Credits
Index
By the Same Author
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
About the Publisher