ABOUT THE BIGGEST, THE SMALLEST, AND EVERYTHING ELSE

This is a popular science book on physics, astronomy and related sciences, designed for a wider audience.

It is written as a guide for a tour along the ladder of scales from the Universe as a whole to the microcosm. The main scales are the Universe, Solar System, the Earth, normal human size, atoms, and elementary particles. Exotic objects such as black holes and neutron stars are also considered, as well as the foundations of the scientific method, its connection with philosophy, and a story about how modern science arose. This book contains many useful illustrations.

The basic concepts of physics are discussed: forces, fields, quantum phenomena, structure of matter, phase transitions, atoms, molecules, dark matter, and dark energy. And also galaxies, supernova explosions, the Sun, planets, exoplanets, black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, the possibility of space expansion of mankind. The book also discusses phenomena like rainbow, mirages, lightning, climate on Earth, as well as practical applications like nuclear and thermonuclear reactors, superconductivity and helium-3 mining on the Moon. This book has included the latest results.

Contents:

• It Couldn't Get Any Bigger. Scale: Universe
• The Sun and Surroundings. Scale: Solar System
• Global Problems. Scale: Earth
• The Scale of Diversity: The World Around Us
• Atoms. Scale: Atomic and Smaller
• Atomic Nuclei, Subatomic Particles, and Field Quanta. Scale: The Smallest
• Closing the Circle or Ouroboros. Scale: Everything is Complicated
• Bonus Miles

Readership: General public, including pupils, students and teachers, together with physics and astronomy enthusiasts.

Key Features:

• The book is written at a popular level. Although there are no formulas, it manages to explain many difficult questions. It covers many different areas of physics, so it can be a universal introduction to modern physics. Questions on related sciences are touched upon, like astronomy, cosmology, chemistry, space research, geophysics. Many of the issues discussed are interrelated, so this book can be treated as a universal one. It also describes modern results, experiments and theories
• The book explains both fundamental concepts and individual phenomena that are of particular interest to readers. It addresses many common misunderstandings and a number of phenomena not covered in great detail in other publications, such as the diamond rain on Jupiter
• To summarize the advantages of this book are: Universality and description of the relationship between different phenomena; Detailed explanation of many complex phenomena including quantum or cosmological; Simplicity of presentation designed for general readers; An explanation about the scientific method, paradigms and revolutions in science; Inclusion of many specific examples that might be of interest to readers