CWRU Faculty Authors

"Through the arc of a single oxygen atom's voyage through eternity, the story of life and the universe is told by Lawrence Krauss." "Hailed by many as the heir to Carl Sagan, the author of the runaway bestseller The Physics of Star Trek tackles here his most ambitious challenge to date. From the earliest moments of the Big Bang to the emergence of life on Earth, from a riveting description of the atom's beginnings inside an exploding star to a thought-provoking discussion of the possible end of life in the universe, Krauss infuses this cosmic tale with humor, insight, and accessibility. Beginning his story below the Earth's crust, deep in an underground water chamber, Krauss moves back in time before the water existed and ends long after the planet on which the water is found is no more."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek, the renowned theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss took readers on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the Star Trek universe. Now, responding to requests for more as well as to a number of recent exciting discoveries in physics and astronomy, Krauss takes a provocative look at how the laws of physics relate to notions from our popular culture--not only Star Trek, but other films, shows, and popular lore--from Independence Day to Star Wars to The X-Files.With his books and popular lectures, Krauss has been compared to the late Carl Sagan as one of the preeminent scientists writing with humor and clarity for the general public. Beyond Star Trek establishes him as today’s leading voice in the discussion of cutting-edge ideas that arise from our growing knowledge of the universe. Join him on a fun mind-bending journey through the nature of alien visitation, interstellar travel--including the very latest on warp-drive systems--time, consciousness, ESP, the probability of other life in the universe, and quantum reality.Once again Krauss has turned to his colleagues including the foremost theoretical physicists in the world, asking them about the greatest unsolved mysteries of the universe. The answers will surprise you.So buckle up and get ready for an exciting trip that takes the question ”Could this ever really happen?” to new heights and will give you new insights into your favorite science fiction and your favorite universe!

"Assume the cow is a sphere.” So begins this lively, irreverent, and informative look at everything from the physics of boiling water to cutting-edge research at the observable limits of the universe. Rich with anecdotes and accessible examples, Fear of Physics nimbly ranges over the tools and thought behind the world of modern physics, taking the mystery out of what is essentially a very human intellectual endeavour.

Beginning well before Plato s allegory of the cave and continuing to modern scientific breakthroughs from relativity to quantum mechanics, as well as to pop cultural icons like Twilight Zone and Star Trek, human beings have imagined, even longed for, alternate realities. Lawrence M. Krauss, one of the most gifted and engaging of writer-scientists today, examines why we have often believed that the answers to the great questions about existence lie in the possibility that we live in a universe more complex than we can see or otherwise sense. Drawing on work by scientists, mathematicians, artists, and writers from Einstein to Picasso to C. S. Lewis Hiding in the Mirrorexplores whether extra dimensions simply represent abstract speculation or hold the key to a deeper understanding of the universe.

An exploration of mankind's fascination with worlds beyond our own-by the bestselling author of The Physics of Star Trek Lawrence Krauss-an international leader in physics and cosmology-examines our long and ardent romance with parallel universes, veiled dimensions, and regions of being that may extend tantalizingly beyond the limits of our perception. Krauss examines popular culture's current embrace (and frequent misunderstanding) of such topics as black holes, life in other dimensions, strings, and some of the more extraordinary new theories that propose the existence of vast extra dimensions alongside our own.

What exactly warps when you travel at warp speed? What is the difference between the holodeck and a hologram? What happens when you beam up? In this accessible introduction to physics, the author of Fear of Physics boldly goes where Star Trek has gone before--and beyond--taking readers on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it--and as it might be one day. Photos.

Perhaps the greatest physicist of the second half of the twentieth century, Richard Feynman changed the way we think about quantum mechanics, the most perplexing of all physical theories. Here Lawrence M. Krauss, himself a theoretical physicist and best-selling author, offers a unique scientific biography: a rollicking narrative coupled with clear and novel expositions of science at the limits. An immensely colorful persona in and out of the office, Feynman revolutionized our understanding of nature amid a turbulent life. Krauss presents that life--from the death of Feynman's childhood sweetheart during the Manhattan Project to his reluctant rise as a scientific icon--as seen through the science, providing a new understanding of the legacy of a man who has fascinated millions. An accessible reflection on the issues that drive physics today, Quantum Man captures the story of a man who was willing to break all the rules to tame a theory that broke all the rules.

Will the universe continue to expand forever, reverse its expansion and begin to contract, or reach a delicately poised state where it simply persists forever? The answer depends on the amount and properties of matter in the universe, and that has given rise to one of the great paradoxes of modern cosmology: there is too little visible matter to account for the behavior we can see. Over ninety percent of the universe consists of ”missing mass” or ”dark matter” - what Lawrence Krauss, in his classic book, termed ”the fifth essence.”In this new edition of T he Fifth Essence , retitled Quintessence after the now widely accepted term for dark matter, Krauss shows how the dark matter problem is now connected with two of the hottest areas in recent cosmology: the fate of the universe and the ”cosmological constant.” With a new introduction, epilogue, and chapter updates, Krauss updates his classic for 1999 and shares one of the most stunning discoveries of recent years: an anti-gravity force that explains recent observations of a permanently expanding universe.

"WHERE DID THE UNIVERSE COME FROM? WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE IT? WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING? AND FINALLY, WHY IS THERE SOMETHING RATHER THAN NOTHING?" Lawrence Krauss's provocative answers to these and other timeless questions in a wildly popular lecture now on YouTube have attracted almost a million viewers. The last of these questions in particular has been at the center of religious and philosophical debates about the existence of God, and it's the supposed counterargument to anyone who questions the need for God. As Krauss argues, scientists have, however, historically focused on other, more pressing issues--such as figuring out how the universe actually functions, which can ultimately help us to improve the quality of our lives. Now, in a cosmological story that rivets as it enlightens, pioneering theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss explains the groundbreaking new scientific advances that turn the most basic philosophical questions on their heads. One of the few prominent scientists today to have actively crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss reveals that modern science is addressing the question of why there is something rather than nothing, with surprising and fascinating results. The staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories are all described accessibly in A Universe from Nothing, and they suggest that not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With his characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations, Krauss takes us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved--and the implications for how it's going to end. It will provoke, challenge, and delight readers as it looks at the most basic underpinnings of existence in a whole new way. And this knowledge that our universe will be quite different in the future from today has profound implications and directly affects how we live in the present. As Richard Dawkins has described it: This could potentially be the most important scientific book with implications for supernaturalism since Darwin. A fascinating antidote to outmoded philosophical and religious thinking, A Universe from Nothing is a provocative, game-changing entry into the debate about the existence of God and everything that exists. "Forget Jesus," Krauss has argued, "the stars died so you could be born."