Astrophysics For People In A Hurry By Neil De Grasse Tyson

Description

Neil deGrasse’s Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Tyson is a great way to learn about the mind-blowingly beautiful and complicated world. It breaks down important principles in physics and cosmology into short, interesting chapters for people who don’t have time to read hard science books.

Tyson makes everything clear, funny, and amazing, from the creation of the cosmos to the unusual features of dark matter and dark energy. He starts by setting the scene: right after the Big Bang, the universe grew from something so little that we can’t even imagine it to a huge, changing cosmos governed by physical principles that we’re just starting to understand.

Tyson explains gravity, the force that holds galaxies together and tells planets how to move. He talks about Einstein’s general relativity in simple, non-mathematical language, explaining how mass bends space-time and how this idea changed the way we think about physics today. He also talks about quantum mechanics, admitting that it’s strange but illustrating how it affects everything from chemistry to electronics.

Tyson’s ability to make these hard subjects seem not just intelligible but also exciting is what makes Astrophysics for People in a Hurry so exceptional. He uses examples from ordinary life to make abstract ideas more real. Dark matter isn’t just a strange idea; it’s the “stuff” we know is there because of how it affects gravity, but we can’t see it. Dark energy is the strange force that makes the cosmos expand faster and faster. It is a mystery that shows us how much we still don’t know.

Tyson also writes on the chemical elements that stars make, the cosmic microwave background radiation that is the echo of the Big Bang, and the idea that there may be more than one universe. He speaks about our place in this huge cosmic drama with a sense of poetic wonder, saying that the atoms in our bodies were once part of stars that lived and perished billions of years ago. This link between the personal and the cosmic is a concept that comes up again and again in the book, making it both emotionally and intellectually interesting.

Tyson stays lighthearted throughout. He recognizes that science may be scary, so he doesn’t just explain things. It feels like he’s talking to you over coffee, making jokes and smart comments that make even the hardest ideas easy to understand. But he never talks down to the reader. He trusts that with the appropriate guide, everyone can see how amazing astrophysics is, and he respects their intelligence and curiosity.

The book is not only about facts and theories; it is also about how you look at things. Tyson tells readers to remember how humbling it is to study the universe. We are small, short-lived creatures living on a small planet that orbits an average star in an unremarkable galaxy. But it’s amazing that we can grasp so much of the universe. Tyson does a great job of showing the dual notion of being important and not important, which is what makes astronomy so interesting.

Tyson gives readers a gift in Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: the ability to take a break from their daily lives and think about the universe itself. You can read it in short spurts or all at once, and it will make you smarter and give you a new feeling of awe about the world outside of our own.

About the Author

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, author, and one of the world’s leading science communicators. He is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and StarTalk. Tyson is known for making complex scientific ideas engaging, understandable, and entertaining for readers and viewers of all ages.

Product Details

• Title: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

• Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson

• ISBN-13: 9780393609394

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

• Published: May 2017

• Pages: 224

• Binding: Paperpack