Why Does E=mc2? (And Why Should We Care?)

by Cox, Brian; Forshaw, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9780306818769
• ISBN10: 0306818760
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-13
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

What does E=mc2 actually mean? Dr. Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of twenty-first century science to unpack Einstein's famous equation. Explaining and simplifying notions of energy, mass, and lightwhile exploding commonly held misconceptionsthey demonstrate how the structure of nature itself is contained within this equation. Along the way, we visit the site of one of the largest scientific experiments ever conducted: the now-famous Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic particle accelerator capable of re-creating conditions that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang.A collaboration between one of the youngest professors in the United Kingdom and a distinguished popular physicist,Why Does E=mc2?is one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of the theory of relativity.

Author Biography

Brian Cox is a distinguished particle physicist and popular TV host who divides his time between Manchester, England, and Geneva, Switzerland.

Jeff Forshaw is a professor at the University of Manchester and a recipient of the Institute of Physics Maxwell Medal. He lives in Manchester, England.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Space and Time	p. 1
The Speed of Light	p. 17
Special Relativity	p. 37
Spacetime	p. 57
Why Does E=mc2?	p. 103
And Why Should We Care? Of Atoms, Mousetraps, and The Power of the Stars	p. 143
The Origin of Mass	p. 171
Warping Spacetime	p. 219
Index	p. 243
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.