
Astrophysics: A Very Short Introduction
James Binney
Astrophysics is the physics of the stars and, more widely, the Universe. It explores the structure and evolution of planetary systems, stars, galaxies, interstellar gas, and the cosmos as a ...
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Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction
Katherine Blundell
Black holes are a constant source of fascination to many due to their mysterious nature. Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction addresses a variety of questions, including what a black hole ...
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Chaos: A Very Short Introduction
Leonard Smith
Chaos: A Very Short Introduction shows that we all have an intuitive understanding of chaotic systems. It uses accessible maths and physics (replacing complex equations with ...
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Copernicus: A Very Short Introduction
Owen Gingerich
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was the astronomer whose shocking vision of a sun-centered universe turned out to be the essential blueprint for a physical understanding of celestial ...
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Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction
Peter Coles
Cosmology: A Very Short Introductionexplains what cosmology is and what cosmologists do, looks at the history of the subject, the development of the Big Bang theory, and more ...
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Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction
John Gribbin
Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction explores the building blocks of the Universe. Standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which ...
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Gravity: A Very Short Introduction
Timothy Clifton
Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions that exist in nature and is essential for understanding the behaviour of the Universe, and all astrophysical bodies within it. Yet it ...
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The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction
Michael Hoskin
The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction traces the history of Western astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid-nineteenth century ...
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The History of Physics: A Very Short Introduction
J. L. Heilbron
How does today’s physics—highly professionalized; inextricably linked to government and industry—link back to its origins as a liberal art in ancient Greece? The History of Physics: A Very ...
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Light: A Very Short Introduction
Ian A. Walmsley
Light enables us to see the world around us, and this sensation of vision has led to a fascination with the nature and properties of light. Light: A Very Short Introduction discusses early ...
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Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction
Stephen J. Blundell
Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction explains the mysteries and importance of magnetism. For centuries magnetism has been used for various exploits: as a great healer, a ...
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Matter: A Very Short Introduction
Geoff Cottrell
Matter: A Very Short Introduction explains matter—the stuff of which your body and the universe is made—from elementary particles, to atoms, humans, planets, up to the ...
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Measurement: A Very Short Introduction
David J. Hand
Measurement is a fundamental concept central to the sciences, social sciences, medicine, economics, government, and indeed also to everyday life. The history of measurement goes back to the ...
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Moons: A Very Short Introduction
David A. Rothery
Moons: A Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to the varied and fascinating moons of our Solar System. Beginning with the early discoveries of Galileo and others, it ...
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Nothing: A Very Short Introduction
Frank Close
Nothing: A Very Short Introduction explores the science and history of the elusive Void: from Aristotle, who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton ...
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Nuclear Physics: A Very Short Introduction
Frank Close
Nuclear Physics: A Very Short Introduction gives an account of how this area of physics has progressed since the discovery of the electron at the end of the 19th century, which ...
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Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction
Frank Close
Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino. Along the way ...
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Physics: A Very Short Introduction
Sidney Perkowitz
Physics, the fundamental science of matter and energy, encompasses all levels of nature from the sub-atomic to the cosmic, and underlies much of the technology around us. Physics: A Very ...
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Planets: A Very Short Introduction
David A. Rothery
Planets: A Very Short Introduction demonstrates the excitement, uncertainties, and challenges faced by planetary scientists, and provides an overview of our Solar System and ...
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Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction
John Polkinghorne
Quantum Theory is the most revolutionary discovery in physics since Newton. Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction gives a lucid, exciting, and accessible account of the surprising and ...
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