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This beautifully illustrated companion to celebrated scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s popular podcast and National Geographic Channel TV show is an eye-opening journey for anyone curious about the complexities of our universe.?For decades, beloved astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has interpreted science with a combination of brainpower and charm that resonates with fans everywhere. In 2009, he founded StarTalk, the wildly popular podcast that became an Emmy-nominated talk show on the National Geographic Channel this year. Tyson’s pioneering, provocative book will take the greatest hits from the airwaves to the page in one smart, richly illustrated compendium. Featuring vivid photography, thought-provoking sidebars, enlightening facts, and fun quotes from science and entertainment luminaries like Bill Nye and Dan Aykroyd, StarTalk reimagines science’s most challenging topics—from how the brain works to the physics of comic book superheroes—in a relatable, humorous way that will delight fans and new readers alike. 作者简介
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON earned his BA in physics from Harvard and his PhD in astrophysics from Columbia. His professional research interests are broad and include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structures of our Milky Way. Tyson was appointed by President Bush in 2001 and 2004 to serve on committees studying the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry (published in 2002) and the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy. He has also served on the Advisory Council for NASA. He is a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine and has published nine books, including the best-selling Death By Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries. He also is the first occupant of the Fredrick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium. Tyson lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
CHARLES LIU is an astrophysics professor at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island, and an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. His research focuses on colliding galaxies, quasars, and the star formation history of the Universe. He earned degrees from Harvard University and the University of Arizona, and held postdoctoral positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory and at Columbia University. Together with co-authors Robert Irion and Neil Tyson, he received the 2001 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award for his book “One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos.” More recently, he is the author of “The Handy Astronomy Answer Book,” now in its third edition. He and his wife, who is way smarter than he is, have three children who are also way smarter than he is.
JEFFREY LEE SIMONS is the social media director of StarTalk Radio. When he’s not busy engaging with the greatest fans in the universe, he’s also a writer. He is the author of Spirit In Realtime, the first installment of his near-future, virtual reality/cyberpunk young adult science fiction series. Jeffrey is also the co-author of the cause-related marketing handbook, Making Money While Making A Difference, with Dr. Richard Steckel, and the author of two works with noted artist Viktor Koen: Lexicon: words and images of strange and Toyphabet. He has a BA in Literature from Georgetown University. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, daughter, and four cats.,,,,
寰宇之声:探索宇宙的无限可能 一部超越既有认知的宏大叙事,带领读者深入探寻宇宙深处的奥秘与哲思。 本书并非对既有科学普及作品的简单重复,而是一次大胆而深邃的知识重构与认知拓展。它聚焦于那些在主流叙事中被轻描淡写,却对理解我们自身在浩瀚宇宙中位置至关重要的前沿概念、未解之谜以及跨学科的思辨。我们邀请您,暂时放下对标准模型和既定事实的依赖,与我们一同踏上这场思想的远征,去触摸那些构成现实的、更为基础和奇异的底层逻辑。 第一部分:时空的底层结构与量子世界的隐秘律动 本卷着重于解构我们对空间和时间感知的局限性。我们不再满足于描述狭义和广义相对论的结论,而是深入探讨“时空织物”在极端条件下的表现——从黑洞视界边缘的几何失真,到引力波探测所揭示的宇宙涟漪背后的高维张力。 我们将详细剖析圈量子引力 (Loop Quantum Gravity, LQG) 和超弦理论 (Superstring Theory) 在尝试统一量子力学与广义相对论方面的核心论点与最新进展。书中将清晰阐释,在普朗克尺度上,空间和时间是否真的可以被“量子化”为离散的单元,而非连续的背景。我们不仅会介绍弦论中的“膜宇宙”概念,还会探讨M理论中对十一维时空结构的构想,以及这些理论对我们理解宇宙大爆炸奇点内部状态的潜在意义。 更进一步,我们将深入研究量子纠缠 (Quantum Entanglement) 的哲学含义。它不仅仅是微观粒子间的奇特关联,更是对“定域性 (Locality)”这一经典物理学基石的根本挑战。书中会通过详尽的数学框架和思想实验,描绘贝尔不等式的深刻启示,探讨信息如何在不违反光速限制的前提下,实现超距的“幽灵般的超距作用”。我们还将探讨这些量子现象在构建下一代计算范式——拓扑量子计算中所扮演的关键角色。 第二部分:生命、信息与宇宙的熵增 本书的第二核心在于探讨生命在宇宙中的地位,不再将其视为一个孤立的生物学现象,而是将其置于信息论和热力学的大背景下进行考察。 我们考察生命起源 (Abiogenesis) 的化学路径时,不再局限于地球的早期环境,而是扩展到对普适生命 (Universal Life) 形式的推测。这包括对基于硅或其他溶剂的生命形态的理论建模,以及在极端环境——例如木卫二冰下海洋或系外行星大气层中——生命化学反应的能量学可行性分析。 书中将重点阐述信息熵 (Information Entropy) 与热力学第二定律之间的微妙关系。生命体如何通过局部逆转熵增,实现自我组织和复杂性的提升?我们将运用朗道尔原理 (Landauer's Principle) 来量化信息处理的物理成本,并探究在宇宙尺度上,信息是否具有某种形式的“物理实在性”或守恒律。此外,耗散结构理论 (Dissipative Structures Theory) 在理解宇宙如何从无序走向有序,直至诞生出如星系、恒星和生命这般复杂结构的过程中,所扮演的驱动角色将被详尽剖析。 第三部分:宇宙学的未决议题与实在的边界 本卷聚焦于我们当前宇宙学模型中最令人困惑的两个谜团:暗物质与暗能量,并探索挑战宇宙学原理的新兴观点。 我们对暗物质 (Dark Matter) 的探索将超越对WIMP(弱相互作用大质量粒子)的传统搜寻。书中将详细考察修正牛顿动力学 (MOND) 理论的成功之处及其局限性,对比轴子 (Axions) 和惰性中微子 (Sterile Neutrinos) 等替代候选者。更重要的是,我们将分析星系形成模拟如何依赖于对暗物质粒子性质的特定假设,以及大型结构观测(如斯隆数字巡天)对这些模型的约束。 对于暗能量 (Dark Energy),我们不仅讨论了标准宇宙学常数 ($Lambda$) 所面临的“真空灾难”——即理论预测值与观测值之间高达 $10^{120}$ 倍的差异——还将深入探讨第五种力 (Quintessence) 模型的动态演化。我们将审视最新的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜 (JWST) 对早期星系观测结果,这些结果对宇宙加速膨胀的时间点提出了新的挑战。 最后,我们将触及多重宇宙 (Multiverse) 理论的严谨性。这不仅仅是科幻概念,而是某些物理学理论(如永恒暴胀理论或弦景观)的逻辑推论。书中将仔细区分不同类型的多重宇宙(如平行泡泡宇宙、分支宇宙),并探讨在当前科学方法论框架下,如何对这些不可观测的实体提出可证伪的预测或间接证据。 结语:人类认知的天顶与地平线 本书的最终目标,是引导读者认识到,科学的边界恰恰在于我们所能提出的最深刻、最难以回答的问题。我们不是提供终极答案,而是呈现当前人类思想最前沿的探索路径。通过对这些复杂主题的深入梳理,我们希望激发读者对基础物理学、宇宙学和生命哲学之间深刻联系的全新洞察力。这是一次对“我们知道什么”和“我们如何知道”的彻底审视,是对宇宙图景的宏伟重绘。