The Cosmic Cocktail
Three Parts Dark Matter
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Cosmic Cocktail
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tamara Marston
-
By:
-
Katherine Freese
About this listen
The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe - from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars - constitute only 5 percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The rest is known as dark matter and dark energy, because their precise identities are unknown. The Cosmic Cocktail is the inside story of the epic quest to solve one of the most compelling enigmas of modern science - what is the universe made of? - told by one of today’s foremost pioneers in the study of dark matter.
Blending cutting-edge science with her own behind-the-scenes insights as a leading researcher in the field, acclaimed theoretical physicist Katherine Freese recounts the hunt for dark matter, from the discoveries of visionary scientists like Fritz Zwicky - the Swiss astronomer who coined the term “dark matter” in 1933 - to the deluge of data today from underground laboratories, satellites in space, and the Large Hadron Collider. Theorists contend that dark matter consists of fundamental particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. Billions of them pass through our bodies every second without us even realizing it, yet their gravitational pull is capable of whirling stars and gas at breakneck speeds around the centers of galaxies, and bending light from distant bright objects. Freese describes the larger-than-life characters and clashing personalities behind the race to identify these elusive particles.
Many cosmologists believe we are on the verge of solving the mystery. The Cosmic Cocktail provides the foundation needed to fully fathom this epochal moment in humankind’s quest to understand the universe.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Princeton University Press (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
- A New History of a Lost World
- By: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,465
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,013
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,993
In this stunning narrative spanning more than 200 million years, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering 10 new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork - masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"The Rise of the Scientists Who Study Dinosaurs"
- By Daniel Powell on 09-16-18
By: Steve Brusatte
-
The End of Everything
- (Astrophysically Speaking)
- By: Katie Mack
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Katie Mack
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 951
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 801
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 797
We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My New Favorite!
- By Hannah Crazyhawk on 08-16-20
By: Katie Mack
-
The Edge of Knowledge
- Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos
- By: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Narrated by: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Three of the most important words in science are I don't know. Not knowing implies a universe of opportunities—the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of science has advanced immeasurably over the last 500 years, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence persist: How did our universe begin? How big is the universe? Is time travel possible? What’s at the center of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? What is consciousness, and can we create it?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
he lacks knowledge about his topics
- By Anonymous User on 05-28-23
-
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
- A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
- By: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 446
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 447
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic Book
- By Peter Jensen on 09-08-22
By: Steve Brusatte
-
Origins, Revised and Updated
- Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution
- By: Donald Goldsmith, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Our true origins are not only human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, Origins illuminates the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. This newly revised and updated edition features such startling discoveries as the more than 5,000 newly detected exoplanets that shed light on the origins of and possibilities for life in the cosmos.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
There is nothing here
- By Hermanubis on 12-30-22
By: Donald Goldsmith, and others
-
Before the Big Bang
- The Origin of Our Universe from the Multiverse
- By: Laura Mersini-Houghton
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
What came before the Big Bang, and what exists outside of the universe it created? Until recently, scientists could only guess at what lay past the edge of space-time. However, as pioneering theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton explains, new scientific tools are now giving us the ability to peer beyond the limits of our universe and to test our theories about what is there. And what we are finding is upending everything we thought we knew about the cosmos and our place in it.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I tried, and learned nothing
- By Gary on 07-22-22
-
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
- A New History of a Lost World
- By: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,465
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,013
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,993
In this stunning narrative spanning more than 200 million years, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering 10 new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork - masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"The Rise of the Scientists Who Study Dinosaurs"
- By Daniel Powell on 09-16-18
By: Steve Brusatte
-
The End of Everything
- (Astrophysically Speaking)
- By: Katie Mack
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Katie Mack
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 951
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 801
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 797
We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My New Favorite!
- By Hannah Crazyhawk on 08-16-20
By: Katie Mack
-
The Edge of Knowledge
- Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos
- By: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Narrated by: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Three of the most important words in science are I don't know. Not knowing implies a universe of opportunities—the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of science has advanced immeasurably over the last 500 years, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence persist: How did our universe begin? How big is the universe? Is time travel possible? What’s at the center of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? What is consciousness, and can we create it?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
he lacks knowledge about his topics
- By Anonymous User on 05-28-23
-
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
- A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
- By: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 446
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 447
We humans are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years, through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of a car, cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly, clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex, and even other types of humans, like Neanderthals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic Book
- By Peter Jensen on 09-08-22
By: Steve Brusatte
-
Origins, Revised and Updated
- Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution
- By: Donald Goldsmith, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Our true origins are not only human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, Origins illuminates the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. This newly revised and updated edition features such startling discoveries as the more than 5,000 newly detected exoplanets that shed light on the origins of and possibilities for life in the cosmos.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
There is nothing here
- By Hermanubis on 12-30-22
By: Donald Goldsmith, and others
-
Before the Big Bang
- The Origin of Our Universe from the Multiverse
- By: Laura Mersini-Houghton
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
What came before the Big Bang, and what exists outside of the universe it created? Until recently, scientists could only guess at what lay past the edge of space-time. However, as pioneering theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton explains, new scientific tools are now giving us the ability to peer beyond the limits of our universe and to test our theories about what is there. And what we are finding is upending everything we thought we knew about the cosmos and our place in it.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I tried, and learned nothing
- By Gary on 07-22-22
-
Cave of Bones
- By: Lee Berger, John Hawks
- Narrated by: Lee Berger
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 218
In the summer of 2022, Lee Berger lost 50 pounds in order to wriggle though impossibly small openings in the Rising Star cave complex in South Africa—spaces where his team has been unearthing the remains of Homo naledi, a proto-human likely to have coexisted with Homo sapiens some 250,000 years ago. Lead researcher Berger had never made his way into the dark, cramped, dangerous underground spaces where many of the naledi fossils had been found. Now he was ready to do so. Once inside the cave, Berger made shocking new discoveries that expand our understanding of this early hominid.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging and interesting but may trigger claustrophobia
- By M on 09-03-23
By: Lee Berger, and others
-
First Light
- Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time
- By: Emma Chapman
- Narrated by: Emma Chapman
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the universe’s history, from recording the afterglow of the big bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There’s a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the universe began and grew up, we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the universe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beanie babies, Mick Jagger and cutting edge cosmology
- By Charles on 05-17-22
By: Emma Chapman
-
At the Edge of Time
- Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe's First Seconds
- By: Dan Hooper
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Scientists in the past few decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: We still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Intriguing
- By Hans Schmidt on 05-11-23
By: Dan Hooper
-
Something Deeply Hidden
- Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,974
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,647
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,630
Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and one of this world’s most celebrated writers on science, rewrites the history of 20th-century physics. Already hailed as a masterpiece, Something Deeply Hidden shows for the first time that facing up to the essential puzzle of quantum mechanics utterly transforms how we think about space and time. His reconciling of quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity changes, well, everything. Most physicists haven’t even recognized the uncomfortable truth: Physics has been in crisis since 1927.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Best Layperson Book on Quantum Physics
- By Conrad Barski on 09-11-19
By: Sean Carroll
-
An Infinity of Worlds
- Cosmic Inflation and the Beginning of the Universe
- By: Will Kinney
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
In the beginning was the Big Bang: an unimaginably hot fire almost fourteen billion years ago in which the first elements were forged. The physical theory of the hot nascent universe—the Big Bang—was one of the most consequential developments in twentieth-century science. And yet it leaves many questions unanswered: Why is the universe so big? Why is it so old? What is the origin of structure in the cosmos? In An Infinity of Worlds, physicist Will Kinney explains a more recent theory that may hold the answers to these questions and even explain the ultimate origins of the universe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Raised my interest in inflation
- By Human Reed on 06-11-23
By: Will Kinney
-
The Strangest Man
- The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 642
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 448
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
-
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38,091
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 33,406
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33,124
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing - not much physics
- By Rob Hahn on 07-15-17
-
A Brief History of Black Holes
- And Why Nearly Everything You Know About Them Is Wrong
- By: Dr Becky Smethurst
- Narrated by: Dr. Becky Smethurst
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 430
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 428
Right now, you are orbiting a black hole. The Earth goes around the Sun, and the Sun goes around the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole—the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy. In A Brief History of Black Holes, University of Oxford astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst charts the scientific breakthroughs that have uncovered the weird and wonderful world of black holes, from Hawking radiation to the iconic first photographs of a black hole in 2019.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Becky is the British Neil Degrasse Tyson!
- By Mark on 09-02-22
-
Existential Physics
- A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Gina Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 362
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 356
Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Unscientific and unengaging
- By Jase G on 03-29-23
-
Beyond Weird
- By: Philip Ball
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means - and what it doesn't. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A difficult listen
- By Ray on 03-17-19
By: Philip Ball
-
The Elephant in the Universe
- Our Hundred-Year Search for Dark Matter
- By: Govert Schilling
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
In The Elephant in the Universe, Govert Schilling explores the fascinating history of the search for dark matter. Evidence for its existence comes from a wealth of astronomical observations. Theories and computer simulations of the evolution of the universe are also suggestive: they can be reconciled with astronomical measurements only if dark matter is a dominant component of nature.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good but way too long
- By SEB24 on 10-31-24
By: Govert Schilling
-
Black Holes
- The Key to Understanding the Universe
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Jeff Forshaw
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
By the star physicist and author of multiple #1 Sunday Times bestsellers, a major and definitive narrative work on black holes and how they can help us understand the universe.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
not really a good audio book for active listeners
- By D Co on 05-27-24
By: Brian Cox, and others
Related to this topic
-
Calculating the Cosmos
- How Mathematics Unveils the Universe
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Dana Hickox
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
In Calculating the Cosmos, Ian Stewart presents an exhilarating guide to the cosmos, from our solar system to the entire universe. He describes the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began, and how it's all going to end. He considers parallel universes, the fine-tuning of the cosmos for life, what forms extraterrestrial life might take, and the likelihood of life on Earth being snuffed out by an asteroid.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Crank alert: rejects modern cosmology
- By James Weisner on 03-20-17
By: Ian Stewart
-
The Unknown Universe
- A New Exploration of Time, Space and Cosmology
- By: Stuart Clark
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,024
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,026
On March 21, 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the big bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometers of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: We will never see the early universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology; on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Everything, Absolutely Everything!
- By Gillian on 03-09-17
By: Stuart Clark
-
Knocking on Heaven's Door
- How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 156
The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven's Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Too Political
- By Allan on 12-14-11
By: Lisa Randall
-
The Physics of Star Trek
- By: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 407
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
What actually happens when the words, "beam me up, Scottie" are uttered? What "warps" when something travels at warp speed? Internationally renowned theoretical physicist and educator Lawrence M. Krauss provides matter-of-fact scientific explanations of the physics of Star Trek in this highly creative and informative guide for both the devoted Trekkie and the physics novice.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Book. Quite Technical
- By Christopher B. on 12-07-04
-
Warped Passages
- Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 17 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Warped Passages is an altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early 20th-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Physics textbook without the math
- By Victor on 05-13-18
By: Lisa Randall
-
Our Mathematical Universe
- My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,512
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,195
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,186
Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow!
- By Michael on 02-02-14
By: Max Tegmark
-
Calculating the Cosmos
- How Mathematics Unveils the Universe
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Dana Hickox
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
In Calculating the Cosmos, Ian Stewart presents an exhilarating guide to the cosmos, from our solar system to the entire universe. He describes the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began, and how it's all going to end. He considers parallel universes, the fine-tuning of the cosmos for life, what forms extraterrestrial life might take, and the likelihood of life on Earth being snuffed out by an asteroid.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Crank alert: rejects modern cosmology
- By James Weisner on 03-20-17
By: Ian Stewart
-
The Unknown Universe
- A New Exploration of Time, Space and Cosmology
- By: Stuart Clark
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,024
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,026
On March 21, 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the big bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometers of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: We will never see the early universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology; on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Everything, Absolutely Everything!
- By Gillian on 03-09-17
By: Stuart Clark
-
Knocking on Heaven's Door
- How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 156
The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven's Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Too Political
- By Allan on 12-14-11
By: Lisa Randall
-
The Physics of Star Trek
- By: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 407
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 264
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
What actually happens when the words, "beam me up, Scottie" are uttered? What "warps" when something travels at warp speed? Internationally renowned theoretical physicist and educator Lawrence M. Krauss provides matter-of-fact scientific explanations of the physics of Star Trek in this highly creative and informative guide for both the devoted Trekkie and the physics novice.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Book. Quite Technical
- By Christopher B. on 12-07-04
-
Warped Passages
- Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 17 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Warped Passages is an altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early 20th-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Physics textbook without the math
- By Victor on 05-13-18
By: Lisa Randall
-
Our Mathematical Universe
- My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,512
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,195
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,186
Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow!
- By Michael on 02-02-14
By: Max Tegmark
-
Forces of Nature
- By: Professor Brian Cox, Andrew Cohen
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 490
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 438
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 432
Professor Brian Cox uncovers some of the most extraordinary natural events on Earth and in the universe and beyond. From the immensity of the universe and the roundness of Earth to the form of every single snowflake, the forces of nature shape everything we see. Pushed to extremes, the results are astonishing. In seeking to understand the everyday world, the colours, structure, behaviour and history of our home, we develop the knowledge and techniques necessary to step beyond the everyday.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Complicated in its simplicity
- By Philomath on 06-13-17
By: Professor Brian Cox, and others
-
The Theory of Everything
- The Origin and Fate of the Universe
- By: Stephen Hawking
- Narrated by: Michael York
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,125
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 925
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 917
In physicist Stephen Hawking's brilliant opus, A Brief History of Time, he presented us with a bold new look at our universe, how it began, and how our old views of physics and tired theories about the creation of the universe were no longer relevant. In other words, Hawking gave us a new look at our world, our universe, and ourselves. Now, Hawking presents an even more comprehensive look at our universe, its creation, and how we see ourselves within it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Shares a lot of text with a Brief History of Time.
- By Roc Myers on 01-07-15
By: Stephen Hawking
-
The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics
- A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
- By: James Kakalios
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
In The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics, James Kakalios uses examples from comics and magazines to explain how breakthroughs in quantum mechanics led to such technologies as the World Wide Web, pocket-sized computers, mobile phones, and MRI machines.....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
The exhibits are missing from Audible
- By David on 12-13-10
By: James Kakalios
-
A Brief Welcome to the Universe
- A Pocket-Sized Tour
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, J. Richard Gott
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
A Brief Welcome to the Universe offers a breathtaking tour of the cosmos, from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes and time loops. Best-selling authors and acclaimed astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott take listeners on an unforgettable journey of exploration to reveal how our universe actually works. Propelling you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space, this book builds your cosmic insight and perspective through a marvelously entertaining narrative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A brief welcome for everyone
- By Ashley F on 08-24-24
By: Neil deGrasse Tyson, and others
-
The World According to Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Jim Al-Khalili
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-21
By: Jim Al-Khalili
-
The Quantum Story
- A History in 40 Moments
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Mike Pollock
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 235
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 174
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 174
Utterly beautiful. Profoundly disconcerting. Quantum theory is quite simply the most successful account of the physical universe ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the 21st-century technology that we now take for granted. But at the same time it has completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at its most fundamental level.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
who's the target reader?
- By Hannah on 09-17-11
By: Jim Baggott
-
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror
- How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality
- By: Dave Goldberg
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
A physicist speeds across space, time, and everything in between showing that our elegant universe from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies is shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven all our recent discoveries about the universe and all the ones to come. Why is the sky dark at night? Is it possible to build a shrink-ray gun? If there is antimatter, can there be antipeople? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Are time and space like a butterfly's wings? No one but Dave Goldberg, the coolest nerd physicist on the planet, could give a hyper-drive tour of the universe like this one.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good, but for whom?
- By Michael on 08-31-13
By: Dave Goldberg
-
Origins
- The Scientific Story of Creation
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Neil Scott-Barbour
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know? There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting book, but WOW, the narrator ...
- By UH on 01-10-17
By: Jim Baggott
-
The Island of Knowledge
- The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning
- By: Marcelo Gleiser
- Narrated by: William Neenan
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 552
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 488
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 486
How much can we know about the world? In this audiobook physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing he reaches a provocative conclusion: Science, like religion, is fundamentally limited as a tool for understanding the world. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we face the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Island of knowledge
- By Joshua Kring on 07-26-15
By: Marcelo Gleiser
-
Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 145
Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
-
Paradox
- The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Throughout history, scientists have come up with theories and ideas that just don't seem to make sense. These we call paradoxes. The paradoxes Al-Khalili offers are drawn chiefly from physics and astronomy and represent those that have stumped some of the finest minds. With elegant explanations that bring the listener inside the mind of those who've developed them, Al-Khalili helps us to see that, in fact, paradoxes can be solved if seen from the right angle.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Almost Useless
- By Michael on 06-19-19
By: Jim Al-Khalili
-
Coming of Age in the Milky Way
- By: Timothy Ferris
- Narrated by: Timothy Ferris
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 64
Humans have long sought to comprehend the enormities of cosmic space and time. Here, best selling science writer Timothy Ferris tells the story of that quest. He interweaves the majestic themes of astronomy, physics, religion, and philosophy with fresh and lasting portraits of the men and women who created what has been called our society's most precious treasure - its conception of the universe at large.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Brief survey of discovery from Columbus to now
- By serine on 01-23-16
By: Timothy Ferris