Author:Marcus Chown
Every atom in our bodies has an extraordinary history. Our blood, our food, our books, our clothes - everything contains atoms forged in blistering furnaces deep inside stars, which were blown into space by those stars' cataclysmic explosions and deaths. From red giants - stars so enormous they could engulf a million suns - to supernova explosions - the most violent events in the universe - the birth of every atom was marked by cosmic events on an enormous scale, against a backdrop of unimaginable heat and cold, brightness and darkness, space and time. But how did we discover the astonishing truth about our cosmic origins? THE MAGIC FURNACE is Marcus Chown's extraordinary account of how scientists unravelled the mystery of atoms, and helped to explain the dawn of life. It is one of the greatest detective stories in the history of science. In fact, it is two puzzles intertwined, for the stars contain the key to unlocking the secret of atoms, and the atoms the solution to the secret of stars.
A clear introduction to a fascinating area of physics and astronomy. Chown is to be congratulated on a beautifully crafted book.
—— New ScientistKeeps readers anxious for the next puzzle piece to fall into place. It reads like a Sherlock Holmes novel
—— AstronomyThe work of a literary alchemist who tranmutes the iron of complexity into the gold of lucidity
—— The TennesseanThe strength of The Magic Furnace is in the story. It never gets bogged down in scientific jargon
—— Sky & TelescopeStephen Hawking's final theory is lucidly explained in this splendidly accessible book. Author Thomas Hertog, one of Hawking's closest collaborators, gives us a vivid insight into Hawking as both a brilliant physicist and an astonishingly determined human being.
—— Dr Graham Farmelo, author of The Strangest ManA beautifully written, thought-provoking account of both the physics and the personalities involved in Hawking's visionary struggle to comprehend the cosmos. Thomas Hertog has provided a fascinating insider view.
—— Dr Neil Turok, author of The Universe WithinA must read
—— i newspaperWhy is our universe the way it is? How did everything begin? How might it end? Thomas Hertog probed these overwhelming questions in collaboration with Stephen Hawking - thereby achieving a privileged perspective into how, struggling against daunting physical odds, Hawking's imprisoned mind yielded astonishing insights even in his later years. This superbly written book offers insight into an extraordinary individual, the creative process generally, and the scope and limits of our current understanding of the cosmos.
—— Professor Martin Rees, astronomer royal and author of On the FutureA wonderful book about Stephen Hawking's biggest legacy (which no one outside of physics has heard of)... The origin of the universe, a feeling of cleverness, a possible fresh answer to the ancient metaphysical problem of our insignificance, and a new game - not bad for £20.
—— Alexander Masters , SpectatorA remarkable collaboration
—— ObserverOn the Origin of Time is a gentle polemic, selling a particular theory, but no less rich and fascinating for that.... It alternates between gnomic conversations over tea with Hertog's famous late mentor and deliciously mind-bending ideas, such as that time itself stops inside a black hole.
—— Sunday Telegraph
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