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A Brief History of Infinity
'Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the street to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.' Douglas Adams, Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

We human beings have trouble with infinity - yet infinity is a surprisingly human subject. Philosophers and mathematicians have gone mad contemplating its nature and complexity - yet it is a concept routinely used by schoolchildren. Exploring the infinite is a journey into paradox. Here is a quantity that turns arithmetic on its head, making it feasible that 1 = 0. Here is a concept that enables us to cram as many extra guests as we like into an already full hotel. Most bizarrely of all, it is quite easy to show that there must be something bigger than infinity - when it surely should be the biggest thing that could possibly be.

Brian Clegg takes us on a fascinating tour of that borderland between the extremely large and the ultimate that takes us from Archimedes, counting the grains of sand that would fill the universe, to the latest theories on the physical reality of the infinite. Full of unexpected delights, whether St Augustine contemplating the nature of creation, Newton and Leibniz battling over ownership of calculus, or Cantor struggling to publicise his vision of the transfinite, infinity's fascination is in the way it brings together the everyday and the extraordinary, prosaic daily life and the esoteric.

Whether your interest in infinity is mathematical, philosophical, spiritual or just plain curious, this accessible book offers a stimulating and entertaining read.
Brainjacking

Brainjacking

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

Hot Science Bundle: The Future of Computer Science

Hot Science Bundle: The Future of Computer Science

Brian Clegg, Yorick Wilks

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

Game Theory

Game Theory

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

How it All Works

How it All Works

Adam Dant, Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Gravitational Waves

Gravitational Waves

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

Big Data

Big Data

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

The Graphene Revolution

The Graphene Revolution

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

Quantum Computing

Quantum Computing

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.audiobook

Scientifica Historica

Scientifica Historica

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Physics: A Crash Course

Physics: A Crash Course

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Quantum Theory: A Crash Course

Quantum Theory: A Crash Course

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Math: A Crash Course

Math: A Crash Course

Brian Clegg, Peet Morris

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30-Second Energy

30-Second Energy

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Cracking Quantum Physics

Cracking Quantum Physics

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Cracking Quantum Physics

Cracking Quantum Physics

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

30-Second Einstein

30-Second Einstein

Unknown

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30-Second Einstein

30-Second Einstein

Unknown

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Ten Billion Tomorrows

Ten Billion Tomorrows

Brian Clegg

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Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

Rhodri Evans, Brian Clegg

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Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

Rhodri Evans, Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Roger Bacon

Roger Bacon

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

How to Build a Time Machine

How to Build a Time Machine

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Armageddon Science

Armageddon Science

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

Instant Egghead Guide: Physics

Instant Egghead Guide: Physics

Brian Clegg, Scientific American

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Before the Big Bang

Before the Big Bang

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

The God Effect

The God Effect

Brian Clegg

ui.globals.release_type.ebook

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