The bestselling author of E=mc2 weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through an account of the invisible force that permeates our universe—electricity—and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets. For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. In harnessing its power, we have created a world of wonders—complete with roller coasters and radar, computer networks and psychopharmaceuticals. In Electric Universe, the great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Samuel Morse, a painter who, before inventing the telegraph, ran for mayor of New York City on a platform of persecuting Catholics. Here too is Alan Turing, whose dream of a marvelous thinking machine—what we know as the computer—was met with indifference, and who ended his life in despair after British authorities forced him to undergo experimental treatments to “cure” his homosexuality. From the frigid waters of the Atlantic to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery.

A radical reinterpretation of human history and the evolution of the solar system based on the witness of ancient catastrophe caused by major electrical activity between the planet gods. Includes DVD inside back cover.

This volume is intended to further elucidate the author's theories of electrical creation, to cover some points lightly touched upon in the author's previous books; also to bring forward to date the most recent scientific facts and discoveries tending to show that the universe is a vast electric machine or organism. This is the electrical age of the world, the age of magnetic marvels and electrical wonders. The people of this generation have witnessed the most astounding development of electrical machinery, appliances and utilities. In every department of effort human genius has called forth this invisible, mysterious magician, electricity, to work the miracles of Omnipotence.

Modern physics is full of mathematical formulas, and woefully lacking in simple explanations. Its jargon is convoluted and strange. How are we for example to imagine a two dimensional energy momentum, or a ten dimensional string. We are told that space is curved. But what does that mean?Yet, the formulas that have been produced over the years have been impressively accurate and demonstrably correct. Modern engineering would be impossible without them. For all its complexity and weirdness, modern physics works in real life, and the consensus is that we really do live in a weird world, pretty much unfathomable to mere mortals.However, the interpretations that have been derived from observations and formulas may in fact be incorrect. A much simpler physics, outlined in this book, yields very similar results. It is similar to modern quantum mechanics, but with a number of key differences in interpretation, most important of them being that there are no mysterious variables that can only be understood in mathematical terms. Everything is explained in terms of particles hooking up with each other to produce structures, or bumping into each other to produce force. This makes for a radically simpler explanation of the observed universe.

During the past decade our understanding of plasma physics has witnessed an explosive growth due to research in two areas: work directed toward controlled nuclear fusion and work in space physics. This book addresses the growing need to apply these complementary discoveries to astrophysics. Today plasma is recognized as the key element to understanding the generation of magnetic fields in planets, stars and galaxies, the accel- eration and transport of cosmic rays, and many other phenomena occurring in interstellar space, in radio galaxies, stellar atmospheres, quasars, and so forth.

A challenge to the myths of modern astronomy based on stunning and extensive evidence that it is electricity that powers the universe. Science for the expert written for the public.

Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place. In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets. Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos. It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” (USA Today).

Introduces the superstring theory that attempts to unite general relativity and quantum mechanics.