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Rather than trying to bend your mind around all the vast and confounding details of things like gravitational waves, electricity, and black holes, wouldn’t it be easier to understand just one central concept from which everything else follows?
If you’ve ever found yourself fascinated by the idea of quantum computing but feel a little overwhelmed by the mind-blowing subject of quantum mechanics, or concerned by climate change but haven’t been able to get to grips with the details of global warming, this book is for you. Let’s take gravitational waves, for example – they sound poetic, but why are they creating so much excitement? Think of them as the voice of space or vibrations on the drumskin of space-time, before delving into all their complexities.
In 21 short and engaging chapters, Chown explains the one thing you need to know to understand some of the most important scientific ideas of our time. Packed full of astounding facts, scientific history, and the entertaining personalities at the heart of the most pivotal discoveries about the workings of our universe, this is an accessible guide to all the tricky stuff you’ve always wanted to understand more about.
Praise for The One Thing You Need to Know:
"The book’s charm is that it breaks down well-known scientific concepts into small, digestible chunks, and Chown’s humor helps hold the reader’s attention. Recommended for those who love science and are looking for a summary read.” - Booklist
"Getting a new Marcus Chown book is like receiving a warm science hug." – Brian Clegg, Author of Lightning Often Strikes Twice (Popular Science Books Blog)
"Chown packs in considerable amount of information in those short sections, often bringing in stories of the discovery or development of the science to humanise it and make it more approachable.” – Brian Clegg, Author of Lightning Often Strikes Twice (Popular Science Books Blog)
"A brilliant, highly simplified and approachable introduction to some of the biggest topics in science.” – Brian Clegg, Author of Lightning Often Strikes Twice (Popular Science Books Blog)
“I enjoyed that the book focuses on many different areas of science rather than just one specific field, and I learnt quite a lot from it.” - @_forbookssake for @lovebookstour on Instagram
“The One Thing You Need to Know is a road map to all of those scientific questions you wish you knew the answer to.” – Howard Hughes, The Unexplained Podcast on Talk TV
"Twenty-one great chapters!" – George Noory, Coast to Coast AM, iHeart Podcast Network
Praise for Marcus Chown:
“Marcus Chown rocks!” – Brian May, Queen
“Finest cosmology writer of our day.” – Matt Ridley
“Chown writes as if he were addressing his fellow human beings.” – New Scientist
“Of all the top-rank science writers, he has the most friendly style, making complex science as simple and approachable as possible.” – Brian Clegg
“Whether you are the general public a student or an academic who just wants a primer on the topic, Chown writes wonderfully, telling a history of how black holes became a topic of science.” - Davis Bullock
“Whether you are the general public a student or an academic who just wants a primer on the topic, Chown writes wonderfully, telling a history of how black holes became a topic of science.” – The Space Page
FOREWORD 11
1: GRAVITY 13
2: ELECTRICITY 25
3: GLOBAL WARMING 35
4: WHY THE SUN IS HOT 45
5: THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS 55
6: PLATE TECTONICS 65
7: QUANTUM THEORY 75
8: ATOMS 89
9: EVOLUTION 99
10: SPECIAL RELATIVITY 109
11: THE BRAIN 117
12: GENERAL RELATIVITY 127
13: HUMAN EVOLUTION 135
14: BLACK HOLES 143
15: THE STANDARD MODEL 153
16: QUANTUM COMPUTERS 163
17: GRAVITATIONAL WAVES 173
18: THE HIGGS FIELD 183
19: ANTIMATTER 193
20: NEUTRINOS 203
21: THE BIG BANG 211
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 221
GLOSSARY 223
ENDNOTES 239
INDEX 247