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Now: The Physics of Time - and the Ephemeral Moment That Einstein Could Not Explain
Unavailable
Now: The Physics of Time - and the Ephemeral Moment That Einstein Could Not Explain
Unavailable
Now: The Physics of Time - and the Ephemeral Moment That Einstein Could Not Explain
Audiobook10 hours

Now: The Physics of Time - and the Ephemeral Moment That Einstein Could Not Explain

Written by Richard A Muller

Narrated by Christopher Grove

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

You are reading the word "now" right now. But what does that mean? What makes the ephemeral moment "now" so special? Its enigmatic character has bedeviled philosophers, priests, and modern-day physicists from Augustine to Einstein and beyond. Einstein showed that the flow of time is affected by both velocity and gravity, yet he despaired at his failure to explain the meaning of "now." Equally puzzling: why does time flow? Some physicists have given up trying to understand, and call the flow of time an illusion, but the eminent experimentalist physicist Richard A. Muller protests. He says physics should explain reality, not deny it.

In Now, Muller does more than poke holes in past ideas; he crafts his own revolutionary theory, one that makes testable predictions. He begins by laying out-with the refreshing clarity that made Physics for Future Presidents so successful-a firm and remarkably clear explanation of the physics building blocks of his theory: relativity, entropy, entanglement, antimatter, and the Big Bang. With the stage then set, he reveals a startling way forward.

Muller points out that the standard Big Bang theory explains the ongoing expansion of the universe as the continuous creation of new space. He argues that time is also expanding and that the leading edge of the new time is what we experience as "now." This thought-provoking vision has remarkable implications for some of our biggest questions, not only in physics but also in philosophy-including the ongoing debate about the reality of free will. Moreover, his theory is testable. Muller's monumental work will spark major debate about the most fundamental assumptions of our universe, and may crack one of physics's longest-standing enigmas.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 20, 2016
ISBN9781524709112
Unavailable
Now: The Physics of Time - and the Ephemeral Moment That Einstein Could Not Explain

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Simply brilliant. Muller is the first credible scientist since Einstein to have the guts to take on the topic of time with more than just a simple "this is what we now know" type approach. Beyond mere explanation, Muller's book does a thorough job of reviewing the more popular guesses and boldly posits a potential theory, complete with a discussion of its falsifiability.

    If this puzzle of time fascinates you too, I highly recommend this book. What follows are a few critiques of my own; not to detract from my enthusiastic review but to illustrate how Muller helped me think. And, I must confess my bias; I agree with the general vector of this theory; i.e. that new time, new "now" is constantly being created - as that is my personal finding also - I'm just blown away to find that someone else reaches the same conclusion.

    To review Muller's work with a critical eye, I can make the following comments:
    1) Free will remains mystical, if not vaguely spiritual, in this theory. We are now, however, well into the technological age of autonomy. Muller draw make more concrete conclusions on the science of free will through an analysis of autonomy.
    2) It is painfully obvious that wherever physics ventures into the realm of neuroscience, that the dots between these two fields could be far better joined. In particular, it's trivially obvious that memory is not just a store of past events but also a database of imagined future realities. As such, our brains "now" are time travelers, where an action in the present moment is not the result of a single decision but, new thought but rather a choice between many different thoughts that have arrived at "now" from our relative future. This simple insight resolves most of the paradoxes highlighted in the book that relate to the conscious experience of time.
    3) Muller's theory is a logical argument, not a mathematical proposal. He doesn't go as far as to propose a resolution of the conflicting understanding of existence quantum vs physical space. Quantum Mechanics is we critiqued in the book and its inability to explain itself is well reasoned but for now, that theory remains sacrosanct; so universally successful that it does not have to explain itself.

    5 stars. Bravo. I will read (listen to) this book again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Now is 80% the musings of a brilliant mind not encumbered by dogma, 20% the introduction of a theory of time linking the generation of time with the generation of space, and 100% entertaining and inspiring. Familiarity with basic concepts surrounding classical and quantum mechanics is a plus but not necessarily necessary.

    2 people found this helpful