How to Destroy the Universe: And 34 other really interesting uses of physics

by Paul Parsons

Physics = tedious and unfathomable, right? No longer. How to Destroy the Universe embraces thirty-five key physics ideas in a way that anyone can understand. Read this book and you will discover how to reverse the effects of global warming and fend off killer asteroids. You'll learn essential survival skills such as how to live through a lightning strike and how to fall into a black hole without being turned into spaghetti. You'll discover how to turn lead into gold, how to travel to the centre of the Earth and how to use physics to predict the stock market. How to Destroy the Universe will make you see the world through fresh eyes.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Ebooks, Science Nature

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Bharath · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts well, with a dramatic title and a good foreword. In the foreword, Paul talks about Physics being the most important of the sciences and the need for a good teacher (like he had).

After a good start, the narrative is only a little better than a college physics textbook. There are certainly flashes of interesting passages but unfortunately they are also treated in a shallow manner.

Had a lot of potential and certainly picks the rights topics to talk about but falls well short of sustaining interest.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of How to Destroy The Universe was worth four stars - being relevant to me and understandable, but dang, the second half was like Sheldon Cooper trying to explain advanced physics to me through interpretive dance - more of a two star feeling. So three stars for this book.

[claudia v · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious that the author is an academic, most sentences in this book should be broken up in at least 3 shorter sentences, making him Mr H as opposed to Miss M.

[Inky_7S · Rating 3 out of 5]

No estuvo mal, pero tampoco es como para tirar voladores

[Lisa Emmerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book, although slightly out of date. I did end up googling a few things to check on experiments that the author talked about

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣]

Nice bits:
The Coriolis force.

[Errikos Kalyvas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but still does not "blow your mind". And as some other people have commented it still seems like a textbook.

[Єгор Домачук · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author positioned his book as easy-guide to physics. However, he hasn’t provided sth new or special to make it easy. Regular introduction to main exciting topics

[Dante Loayza · Rating 2 out of 5]

The scope of the book is so wide that inevitably its content is very shallow. The first chapters are somewhat clearer, without doubt because they treat with classical mechanics, but almost all the book is about “modern” physics: relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, etc. and is there that the explanations become assertions that the reader must accept and believe. Really I don’t know how instructive are those chapters to a reader without a previous background in the basic concepts of physics. Nevertheless a less critic reader, a kid or somebody that understands the basic concepts can find a joy reading all the parts related to the most speculative and fringe theories of physics (e.g. Podkletnov’s antigravity experiments).

In short: from my point of view this book tries to explain too much in such a little space, and fails.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though Parsons tried hard to make physics understandable, especially the complex parts about particle physics, I had a hard time understanding the second part of the book, which deals mostly with very complex aspects of modern physics. On the one hand I was happy that Parsons didn't go into a lot of detail as he tried to keep it simple, on the other hand more details might have been a better way to be able to understand what he's talking about. I've read books about quantum physics before and that had helped me to understand those chapters in "How to destroy the Universe" a little bit better. I am no physicist though and therefore to me it's hard to grasp most of these concepts as they're extremely theoretical.

[Thomas Görblich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anstatt dröge über Paralleluniversen, schwarze Löcher und Gravitations-Quanten zu referieren, verpackt Paul Parsons seine Reise in die skurrile Welt der modernen Physik als cleveren Ratgeber in 35 How-to-Anleitungen, darunter "Wie Sie ewig leben", "Wie Sie in der Zeit reisen", "Wie Sie Energie aus dem Nichts gewinnen". Insgesamt ist das Buch ein Beispiel für erstklassigen Wissenschaftsjournalismus: Anspruchsvolle Themen sind gut lesbar erklärt und unterhaltsam verpackt. Gelegentlich hätte ich gerne etwas mehr Details erfahren, aber dafür gibts ja dann andere Quellen. Als Einstiegspunkt und zum Neugier wecken aber auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - it gives an excellent, simple 2-3 page synopsis of many different elements of modern physics and astronomy. While I already knew a lot that was in the book, I still learned a thing or two. I previously had no real idea about the different types of electron microscope and how each different one functioned, now I do!
I would recommend to anyone interested in popular science or wanting to learn a bit more about how the universe works, and I would definitely recommend this as one to buy the kids, I would have loved this book when I was about 8.

[Divya Kaliyaperumal · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a good book that would enable your teen kids to appreciate the beauty of physics. but not a great book for adults. when i took the book i was really excited to read it however the excitement was lost as i skipped through the pages. still a great and amazing book for teenagers which will help them to change their minds and they will say " physics is an amazing subject" the way the author has explained the concepts is just awesome.

[Cas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book for the amateur looking to get a decent bit of insight into the world of physics. If you are already studying physics however you might find it a bit lacking. However, belonging to the latter as I do, I recognise that I am not the target audience and my rating reflects that.

Nonetheless I did find it an entertaining read, something to pass the time during slow periods at work.

[Menglong Youk · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How to Destroy the Universe, and 34 Other Really Interesting Uses of Physics" will serve as quite a fun and educational read for those who are already familiar with the basic concepts of physics. Despite knowing some of the contents in the book, I still enjoyed going through it and picked up what I had missed from my previous reading of other science books. So, if you would love some realistic, sometimes scientifically speculated, answers to exotic questions, I'd recommend you this one.

[Mark Edon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mix of topics explained simply with a nice cross reference feature so you can dip in at random and then follow a trail of related chapters.

I read a lot of popular science so I soaked it all up. If you don't then this might be a good way to start as everything is in bite size chunks.

Clear, interesting and up to date.

[Natascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book also for people that actually have no clue about phisics (like me :D). It is sometimes really confusing and I had to read it like 5,6,7,8,10 or 50 times but it is still really entertaining. The author is describing some really interesting facts but there is no way in life (at least for me) to actually to turn it into reality. But still a great book and a must read ;)

[Sunsteps · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an incredibly interesting book, I enjoyed reading it and studying physics at the same time. I would recommend it to anyone with a basic knowledge of physics, otherwise it could be a bit confusing; that's the only reason I would give it 5/5 stars.

[Eliatan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent introduction to a range of complicated physics concepts presented in a clear and understandable way, making me wish I'd paid more attention in Science classes at high school - physics is really cool!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really recommend this for amateur physicists, or people who don't have much time. Covers a lot very concisely: perfect for people who are interested but might not care for the maths.

[Frank L · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're the kind of person who likes to know how to make a nuclear bomb, how to stop a hurricane or how to make antimatter, then this book is definitely for you.

[Phil Purkiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some bits of the book that I really liked but other bits no so much...

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great book that describes a number of basic physics principles. Great inspiration for explaining concepts to kids and adults alike

[Eva Cg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In places maybe a bit sketchy. Otherwise, a wonderful book. I wish my kids knew enough English to read it!

[Cyprien · Rating 4 out of 5]

35 snapshot ideas applying some of the principal theories of physics to interesting current practices & future possibilities.
Accessible & a good introduction - enjoyed it.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!!!

[Sho]

I read a lot of popular science books and this one seemed right up my street.
Maybe now isn't the time for me to read it, I just couldn't get on with it.
Maybe another time.

[Mackenzie Zhang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just trying out.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

so confusing

[C Mijares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked and ready to argue to those who dont. Bur this isnt facebook so all is well :)