{"title":"Marcus Chown","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to our Marcus Chown collection, where science meets intrigue and complex ideas are effortlessly untangled. Marcus Chown is celebrated for his ability to make the most daunting aspects of science accessible and engaging, even for those who might not consider themselves science enthusiasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis books, such as \u003cem\u003eA Crack in Everything\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBreakthrough\u003c\/em\u003e, reveal fascinating insights into both the universe and the human discoveries that illuminate it. Dive into the realm of physics with \u003cem\u003eQuantum Theory Cannot Hurt You\u003c\/em\u003e and discover how these seemingly abstract ideas form the bedrock of our understanding of nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Ascent of Gravity\u003c\/em\u003e, Chown explores one of the universe's most fundamental forces, blending history with modern scientific thought. For those interested in a broader perspective, \u003cem\u003eThe One Thing You Need to Know\u003c\/em\u003e distils complex principles into singular, life-changing insights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarcus Chown's books, including \u003cem\u003eWe Need to Talk About Kelvin\u003c\/em\u003e, artfully blend humour, science, and biography, making them an excellent choice for readers looking to deepen their appreciation of the natural world. Explore the wonders of science through the uniquely engaging lens of Marcus Chown's storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"we-need-to-talk-about-kelvin-by-marcus-chown-9780571244034","title":"We Need to Talk About Kelvin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook around you. The reflection of your face in a window tells you that the universe is orchestrated by chance. The iron in a spot of blood on your finger tells you that somewhere out in space there is a furnace at a temperature of 4.5 billion degrees. Your TV tells you that the universe had a beginning. In fact, your very existence tells you that this may not be the only universe but merely one among an infinity of others, stacked like the pages of a never-ending book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarcus Chown, author of \u003cem\u003eQuantum Theory Cannot Hurt You\u003c\/em\u003e, takes familiar features of the world we know and shows how they can be used to explain profound truths about the ultimate nature of reality. His new book, \u003cem\u003eWe Need to Talk About Kelvin\u003c\/em\u003e, will change the way you see the world: with Chown as your guide, cutting-edge science is made clear and meaningful by a falling leaf, or a rose, or a starry night sky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46556801958124,"sku":"9780571244034","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10116453482391.jpg?v=1750169707"},{"product_id":"breakthrough-by-marcus-chown-9780571366712","title":"Breakthrough","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'Marcus Chown rocks!' - Brian May\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHow does it feel to know something about the universe that no one has ever known before? And why is mathematics so good at revealing nature's secrets?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the story of the scientists who, using mathematics, predicted the existence of unknown planets, black holes, invisible force fields, ripples in the fabric of space-time, unsuspected subatomic particles, and even antimatter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe journey from prediction to proof transports us from seats of learning in Paris and Cambridge to the war-torn Russian front, to bunkers beneath nuclear reactors, observatories in Berlin and California, and huge tunnels under the Swiss-French border. From electromagnetism to Einstein's gravitational waves to Wolfgang Pauli's elusive neutrino, acclaimed science writer Marcus Chown takes us on a breathtaking, mind-altering tour of the major breakthroughs of modern physics and highlights science's central mystery: its astonishing predictive power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePraise for Marcus Chown:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'What good popular science writing is all about.' - Jim Al-Khalili\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Pretty wonderful.' - Richard Dawkins\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Entertaining and at times mind-boggling.' - \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46799660941548,"sku":"9780571366712","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11343233482391.jpg?v=1757243117"},{"product_id":"the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-by-marcus-chown-9781789296853","title":"The One Thing You Need to Know","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom gravity to black holes, special relativity to global warming,\u003c\/strong\u003e bestselling author Marcus Chown breaks down complex science into manageable chunks, explaining the one thing you really need to know to get to grips with the subject.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRather than trying to bend your mind around all the vast and confounding details of things such as gravitational waves, electricity and black holes, wouldn’t it be easier to \u003cstrong\u003eunderstand just one central concept\u003c\/strong\u003e from which everything else follows?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’ve ever found yourself fascinated by the idea of \u003cstrong\u003equantum computing\u003c\/strong\u003e but feel a little overwhelmed by the mind-blowing subject of quantum mechanics, or if you are concerned by climate change but haven’t been able to get to grips with the details of \u003cstrong\u003eglobal warming\u003c\/strong\u003e, this book is for you. Let’s take \u003cstrong\u003eatoms\u003c\/strong\u003e, for example – what on earth are they? Well, if you start to think of them less like things you can’t see with complex little nuclei and more like the alphabet of nature, which in different configurations can make a rose, a galaxy, or a newborn baby, they might start to feel a little more understandable. Or \u003cstrong\u003egravitational waves\u003c\/strong\u003e – they sound poetic, but why are they creating so much excitement? Think of them as the voice of space, vibrations on the drumskin of space-time – before delving into all their complexities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cstrong\u003etwenty-one short and engaging chapters\u003c\/strong\u003e, Chown explains the one thing you need to know to understand some of \u003cstrong\u003ethe most important scientific ideas of our time\u003c\/strong\u003e. Packed full of \u003cstrong\u003eastounding facts\u003c\/strong\u003e, scientific history, and the \u003cstrong\u003eentertaining personalities\u003c\/strong\u003e at the heart of \u003cstrong\u003ethe most pivotal discoveries\u003c\/strong\u003e about the workings of our universe, this is an accessible guide to all the tricky stuff you’ve always wanted to understand more about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46813384966380,"sku":"9781789296853","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1411783482825.jpg?v=1757693192"},{"product_id":"a-crack-in-everything-by-marcus-chown-9781804544327","title":"A Crack in Everything","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is space? What is time? Where did the universe come from? The answers to mankind’s most enduring questions may lie in science’s greatest enigma: black holes.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. This can occur when a star approaches the end of its life. Unable to generate enough heat to maintain its outer layers, it shrinks catastrophically down to an infinitely dense point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen this phenomenon was first proposed in 1916, it defied scientific understanding so much that Albert Einstein dismissed it as too ridiculous to be true. But scientists have since proven otherwise. In 1971, Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the first black hole: Cygnus X-1. Later, in the 1990s, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found that not only do black holes exist, supermassive black holes lie at the heart of almost every galaxy, including our own. It would take another three decades to confirm this phenomenon. On 10 April 2019, a team of astronomers made history by producing the first image of a black hole.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Crack in Everything\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of how black holes came in from the cold and took cosmic centre stage. As a journalist, Marcus Chown interviews many of the scientists who made the key discoveries, and, as a former physicist, he translates the most esoteric of science into everyday language. The result is a uniquely engaging page-turner that tells one of the great untold stories in modern science.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46832130359532,"sku":"9781804544327","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/13457573482830.jpg?v=1758367190"},{"product_id":"quantum-theory-cannot-hurt-you-by-marcus-chown-9780571315024","title":"Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe two towering achievements of modern physics are quantum theory and Einstein's general theory of relativity. But, almost a century after their advent, most people haven't the slightest clue what either is about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDid you know that there's so much empty space inside matter that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube? Or that you grow old more quickly on the top floor of a building than on the ground floor?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuantum Theory Cannot Hurt You\u003c\/em\u003e by Marcus Chown explains all with characteristic wit, colour and clarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46854793625836,"sku":"9780571315024","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/120feb081c3d7d0594512c83509ae811.jpg?v=1759264971"},{"product_id":"the-ascent-of-gravity-by-marcus-chown-9781474601887","title":"The Ascent of Gravity","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Science Book of the Year 2017\u003c\/b\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Does Einstein proud . . . Eminently readable' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e– Guardian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'No one has covered the topic with such a light touch and \u003c\/i\u003ejoie de vivre\u003ci\u003e . . . a delight' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e– Brian Clegg\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ascent of Gravity\u003c\/i\u003e explores how gravity was the first force to be recognised and described, yet it remains the least understood. Understanding its secrets could unlock some of the biggest questions in science: What is space? What is time? What is the universe? And where did it all come from?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAward-winning writer Marcus Chown takes us on an unforgettable journey from the recognition of the 'force' of gravity in 1666 to the discovery of gravitational waves in the twenty-first century. As we stand on the brink of a seismic revolution in our worldview, Chown brings us up to speed on the greatest challenge ever to confront physics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46998659891436,"sku":"9781474601887","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/70603482713.jpg?v=1763224941"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/marcus-chown.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}