What is your favorite black hole book?
January 12, 2018 9:37 AM Subscribe
If you are interested in slightly better than a layman's knowledge of black holes, what was your favorite book? Some commonly read authors on this subject are Thorn, Hawking, Bartusiak, and Tyson. Who did the better job of explaining there existence and history of discovery? Any others you especially liked? Perhaps you liked a YouTube video? Black hole scholars and enthusiasts please weigh in!
Best answer: There are lots of books on this (and several aimed at the science-interested citizen), but I'm going to recommend one a little more technical on the chance that's what you're looking for. Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne is a bit on the older side and could be a "project" depending on where your math/science knowledge is, but it's a really good book. Thorne is an engaging writer and the "real deal" (by which I mean he just won the Nobel Prize in Physics).
posted by Betelgeuse at 10:03 AM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Betelgeuse at 10:03 AM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
My two favorites are Matt O'Dowd from PBS Space Time and Robbert Dijkgraaf from the Institute of Advanced Physics. Both have numerous lectures available on YouTube. Great lecturers.
posted by effluvia at 11:11 AM on January 12, 2018
posted by effluvia at 11:11 AM on January 12, 2018
I watched the first half of the Nova episode mentioned in the first comment this morning. It's fantastic, with great visuals and really clear analogies. Seconded.
posted by wittgenstein at 1:48 PM on January 12, 2018
posted by wittgenstein at 1:48 PM on January 12, 2018
The recently-published Little Book of Black Holes belies its title, packing delightful descriptions and pragmatic physics into its succinct chapters. I read it after hearing a talk presented by the authors, Steven S. Gubser and Frans Pretorius.
posted by lasagnaboy at 6:12 PM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lasagnaboy at 6:12 PM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you want your blackholes with a bigger smattering of the math and physics behind them, I can't recommend viascience enough (He also covers quantum theory and relativity). You don't need to understand the math, and the math takes a back seat to the concepts, with the main goal explaining the physics behind the black holes.
No fancy CGI, but plenty of diagrams and explanations of the physics.
Relativity - spherical bodies and black holes
11a , 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f
posted by forforf at 6:56 PM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
No fancy CGI, but plenty of diagrams and explanations of the physics.
Relativity - spherical bodies and black holes
11a , 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f
posted by forforf at 6:56 PM on January 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Thirding the NOVA show. I only watched the first part, but it was easy to understand and taught me a lot.
posted by kathrynm at 10:05 AM on January 13, 2018
posted by kathrynm at 10:05 AM on January 13, 2018
Response by poster: I ended up reading Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne and it was just what I wanted. Thanks!
posted by Rad_Boy at 6:21 PM on March 21, 2018
posted by Rad_Boy at 6:21 PM on March 21, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by H21 at 9:55 AM on January 12, 2018 [3 favorites]