Helgoland

Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.

This volume presents complete and annotated facsimiles of the official builders’ plans for Germany’s WWI era dreadnaught battleship, SMS Helgoland. Launched in 1909, SMS Helgoland was the lead battleship in her class and represented a major improvement over the earlier Westfalen class. Helgoland featured 12-inch guns, matching those of her British counterparts, and served in the German Imperial Navy’s High Seas Fleet throughout the First World War. She fought in the Battle of Jutland, was ceded to Britain as part of the peace terms and was broken up in 1924. The official builders’ plans are now preserved by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality, this volume reproduces the complete set of documents in full color, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. The result is a supremely authoritative reference that will be a revelation to any warship enthusiast.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Heisenberg was the first to glimpse one of the most vertiginous of Nature’s secrets, and he was twenty-three. He was on the island of Helgoland to immerse himself in the problem with which he was obsessed: the strange behavior of the electrons in atoms. #2 In the summer of 1925, Heisenberg had the idea that would transform physics. He believed that the most obvious assumptions can be wrong, and that knowledge should be based on observations alone. #3 Heisenberg’s leap is as daring as it is simple. He attempts to calculate the behavior of the electron using quantities that are observable, instead of the physical variables that were previously used. He succeeds in giving up describing the electron’s movement, and only describes what can be observed. #4 Heisenberg’s new theory was very simple. The forces were the same as in classical physics, but the variables were replaced by tables of numbers. The equations were the same as those of classical physics, except for one equation that I will discuss later.

The instant Sunday Times bestseller -- a beautiful story of rebellion and science 'Popular science has rarely been so good' Prospect 'A triumph. . . We are left in a world that is not disenchanted by science, but even more magical' Financial Times In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, had retreated to the treeless, wind-battered island of Helgoland in the North Sea in order to think. Walking all night, by dawn he had wrestled with an idea that would transform the whole of science and our very conception of the world. In Helgoland Carlo Rovelli tells the story of the birth of quantum physics and its bright young founders who were to become some of the most famous Nobel winners in science. It is a celebration of youthful rebellion and intellectual revolution. An invitation to a magical place. Here Rovelli illuminates competing interpretations of this science and offers his own original view, describing the world we touch as a fabric woven by relations. Where we, as every other thing around us, exist in our interactions with one another, in a never-ending game of mirrors. A dazzling work from a celebrated scientist and master storyteller, Helgoland transports us to dizzying heights, reminding us of the many pleasures of the life of the mind. Translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell Chosen as a Book of the Year by The Times, Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and Prospect

A delightful intellectual feast from the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time One of the world’s most prominent physicists and fearless free spirit, Carlo Rovelli is also a masterful storyteller. His bestselling books have introduced millions of readers to the wonders of modern physics and his singular perspective on the cosmos. This new collection of essays reveals a curious intellect always on the move. Rovelli invites us on an accessible and enlightening voyage through science, literature, philosophy, and politics. Written with his usual clarity and wit, this journey ranges widely across time and space: from Newton's alchemy to Einstein's mistakes, from Nabokov’s lepidopterology to Dante’s cosmology, from mind-altering psychedelic substances to the meaning of atheism, from the future of physics to the power of uncertainty. Charming, pithy, and elegant, this book is the perfect gateway to the universe of one of the most influential minds of our age.

This volume covers the history of the Deutschland to Osfriesland classes of German battlecruisers, beginning with the last of the pre-dreadnought battleships and explaining the revolutionary developments, particularly the vast increases in size and armament, that took place within the German Imperial Navy as it readied itself for war. Gary Staff describes the design and technology of these classes, focusing on the development and combat experiences of individual ships. Supported by official documents, first-hand accounts and drawings, this book also contains specially commissioned artwork depicting the battleship Pommern fighting at Jutland and ships of the Osfriesland class destroying HMS Black Prince in a dramatic night-time engagement.