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Black Holes and Uncle Albert
This is the second book that describes the scientific processes of eccentric Uncle Albert as he and Gedanken, his 13 year old niece, explore the mysteries of time and space. This time they elaborate on the General Theory of Relativity, enter the world of the thought bubble and explore the land of the short-sighted beetles and their horrible professor. Join Dick the talking computer in an investigation of the Moon and the stars. Go for a space walk and marvel at the mysteries of the universe. This fantasy story manages to describe scientific theories in an entertaining manner. This book is designed as a companion volume to "The Time and Space of Uncle Albert" and introduces children to the theory of time and space that was Einstein's General Theory of Relativivty.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 1991
3 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Russell Stannard
73 books42 followersRussell Stannard is a retired high-energy particle physicist, who was born in London, England, on 24 December 1931. He currently holds the position of Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Open University. In 1986, he was awarded the Templeton UK Project Award for ‘significant contributions to the field of spiritual values; in particular for contributions to greater understanding of science and religion’. He was awarded the OBE for ‘contributions to physics, the Open University, and the popularisation of science’ (1998) and the Bragg Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics for ‘distinguished contributions to the teaching of physics’ (1999). He was admitted as a Fellow of University College London in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 27, 2022
I only read this cute pop science book to improve my terrible Italian - I think it helped - but after a while I wondered if I'd made a little discovery. There are a striking number of parallels between Russell Stannard's "Uncle Albert" series, the first of which appeared in 1989, and Jostein Gaarder's far more famous
Sofies verden,
which came out in 1991. In Stannard's series, Gedanken (German for "thought") is a bright teenage girl whose eccentric uncle Albert combines magic and the Socratic method to help her discover the world of physics by herself. In Gaarder's novel, Sofie (Greek for "wisdom") is a bright teenage girl whose eccentric older mentor Alberto combines magic and the Socratic method to help her discover the world of philosophy by herself.
Gaarder's book is much the better of the two. The story and the characters are far more interesting, and IMHO it thoroughly deserves its huge success. But Stannard's series is not without its charm either, at least as far as I can judge from this translation, and I can't help wondering if Gaarder read it shortly after it was published and somehow appropriated the idea. It seems ridiculous to accuse him of stealing anything - if theft is what he'd had in mind, he wouldn't have left all these obvious clues lying around. But if it's a coincidence, it's a remarkable one. Is it possible that it's one of Gaarder's many clever Easter eggs? Having Sofie come from another book, or turn up in another book, would fit perfectly well with the plot. Conceivably it went the other way, and Gaarder, who must have started writing his novel well before 1991, asked Stannard to assist him.
A quick search on the names of the two authors turns up nothing at all. Even more mysterious...
Gaarder's book is much the better of the two. The story and the characters are far more interesting, and IMHO it thoroughly deserves its huge success. But Stannard's series is not without its charm either, at least as far as I can judge from this translation, and I can't help wondering if Gaarder read it shortly after it was published and somehow appropriated the idea. It seems ridiculous to accuse him of stealing anything - if theft is what he'd had in mind, he wouldn't have left all these obvious clues lying around. But if it's a coincidence, it's a remarkable one. Is it possible that it's one of Gaarder's many clever Easter eggs? Having Sofie come from another book, or turn up in another book, would fit perfectly well with the plot. Conceivably it went the other way, and Gaarder, who must have started writing his novel well before 1991, asked Stannard to assist him.
A quick search on the names of the two authors turns up nothing at all. Even more mysterious...
May 5, 2017
يتناول الكتاب النظرية النسبية العامة
كالجزء الأول، الكتاب مهم جدا للناشئة (وللكبار أيضا) في شرح وتوضيح النظرية النسبية بطريقة سهلة
والجميل في الكتاب أنه يستلهم أحداثه من سيرة أينشتاين نفسه
كالجزء الأول، الكتاب مهم جدا للناشئة (وللكبار أيضا) في شرح وتوضيح النظرية النسبية بطريقة سهلة
والجميل في الكتاب أنه يستلهم أحداثه من سيرة أينشتاين نفسه
January 4, 2023
While the format of this book is that of an intermediate reader chapter book, I feel like most middle grade students would need some coaxing and companionship to stick with this. The characters and plot are not compelling. It seems like it would work well for a class to read together and discuss. I have seen the same concept done with more literary finesse by other authors but the science and critical thinking are excellent. A good “science book lite .”
February 2, 2023
أنه الكتاب الذي يود الكل أن يقرأوه، لم نعتد على العبقري ألبرت اينشتاين ان يُقدم بطريقة كهذه، فهنالك الكثير من كتب الفيزياء التي قد تكون ممله لا تجد فيها متعة غير متعة اكتشاف المعلومات المتراكمة.
منذ الوهلة الأولى توقعت انه كتاب يحمل قصة بليدة للأطفال لكن تبين انه كتاب مشوق جداً، يحمل في طياته الكثير من الدروس، ليست فقط للطفل إنما لأي مستكشف راغب بفهم الحقائق والاكتشافات الثقيله فهماََ ابسط واقرب للتحقيق، الفتاة الصغيرة برفقة العم ألبرت (العالم ألبرت اينشتاين) المحبوب الغريب الأطوار الذي يستمتع بأشباع فضول الأطفال الصغار واجابة أسئلتهم مهما كانت في الأمور العلمية.
يجيب الكتاب عن اسئلة كثيرة كالعالم المتفجر، الفضاء الهلامي المهتز، الثقوب السوداء التي تبتلع كل شي، تسارع الزمن، المسار المستقيم والمنكفئ للضوء، إنعكاس واختلاف اللون، وتكويننا الاساس من غبار النجوم. كل هذا بمغامرات السفر على متن سفينة فضائية برفقة ذكاء اصطناعي متنقلاََ بين القمر والكواكب والفضاء الشاسع وعلى وشك ان يتم ابتلاعك بواسطة الثقوب السوداء.
منذ الوهلة الأولى توقعت انه كتاب يحمل قصة بليدة للأطفال لكن تبين انه كتاب مشوق جداً، يحمل في طياته الكثير من الدروس، ليست فقط للطفل إنما لأي مستكشف راغب بفهم الحقائق والاكتشافات الثقيله فهماََ ابسط واقرب للتحقيق، الفتاة الصغيرة برفقة العم ألبرت (العالم ألبرت اينشتاين) المحبوب الغريب الأطوار الذي يستمتع بأشباع فضول الأطفال الصغار واجابة أسئلتهم مهما كانت في الأمور العلمية.
يجيب الكتاب عن اسئلة كثيرة كالعالم المتفجر، الفضاء الهلامي المهتز، الثقوب السوداء التي تبتلع كل شي، تسارع الزمن، المسار المستقيم والمنكفئ للضوء، إنعكاس واختلاف اللون، وتكويننا الاساس من غبار النجوم. كل هذا بمغامرات السفر على متن سفينة فضائية برفقة ذكاء اصطناعي متنقلاََ بين القمر والكواكب والفضاء الشاسع وعلى وشك ان يتم ابتلاعك بواسطة الثقوب السوداء.
April 20, 2024
So I am in two minds about this book. On one hand it was very interesting and I think the way complex concepts were explained and aligned with things we can relate to. On the other, I felt that the book maybe needed some diagrams to help the reader picture what the author was trying to describe.
I am not a physicist (in any universe) but I am in the STEM field and so I have an interest in Physics, made stronger by the fact that I know a very brilliant professor in the subject. We’ve talked a lot about the mad world of quantum physics and so I have a very basic understanding and appreciate of its complexity. If you think it’s easy, you don’t understand it at all. Maybe this made the book hard to read because at some (very low) level, I understand the idea of things like curved space and time, black holes and the like.
Now clearly there are things in physics that we cannot imagine, we can’t picture them at all and it took me a while to accept that there are some mad theories about mad things happening that unfortunately we may never have the capability to observe ourselves. We just have to trust in the some solid maths that tells us it’s happening.
This book doesn’t delve too far into the quantum realm but it talks about gravity, curved space, the shape of the universe and black holes to name a few topics. Nothing too insane, but a little weird,
I found it very hard to visualise some of the scenes in the experimental lab that Gedanken visited, and my mind perhaps visualised them incorrectly, making the explanation make no sense based on what I already knew. So that was confusing! I needed my physics friend (With infinitely more knowledge than I can ever dream of having) to help me picture it, because he had a better idea at what the author was getting at.
Anyway, it’s a good book and a fun read for anyone interested in physics and I think the characters were fun and created a nice world in which to learn some physics. I also like the girls name, Gedanken, which my friend told me is ‘thought experiment’ in German. Nice touch!
I am not a physicist (in any universe) but I am in the STEM field and so I have an interest in Physics, made stronger by the fact that I know a very brilliant professor in the subject. We’ve talked a lot about the mad world of quantum physics and so I have a very basic understanding and appreciate of its complexity. If you think it’s easy, you don’t understand it at all. Maybe this made the book hard to read because at some (very low) level, I understand the idea of things like curved space and time, black holes and the like.
Now clearly there are things in physics that we cannot imagine, we can’t picture them at all and it took me a while to accept that there are some mad theories about mad things happening that unfortunately we may never have the capability to observe ourselves. We just have to trust in the some solid maths that tells us it’s happening.
This book doesn’t delve too far into the quantum realm but it talks about gravity, curved space, the shape of the universe and black holes to name a few topics. Nothing too insane, but a little weird,
I found it very hard to visualise some of the scenes in the experimental lab that Gedanken visited, and my mind perhaps visualised them incorrectly, making the explanation make no sense based on what I already knew. So that was confusing! I needed my physics friend (With infinitely more knowledge than I can ever dream of having) to help me picture it, because he had a better idea at what the author was getting at.
Anyway, it’s a good book and a fun read for anyone interested in physics and I think the characters were fun and created a nice world in which to learn some physics. I also like the girls name, Gedanken, which my friend told me is ‘thought experiment’ in German. Nice touch!
August 11, 2019
This book is a fun story that whilst being educational always has upbeat feel. I would whole heartedly recommend.
November 15, 2013
كتاب خفيف جدا و في غاية البساطة. يتكلم عن قصة الفتاة (جيدانكن) و عمّها (ألبرت) و مغامراتهما عبر الكون و الفضاء و القيام برحلات استكشافية في الثقوب السوداء و الكثير من النظريات العلمية.
رغم ان الكتاب هو بمثابة قصة قصيرة، الا ان المعلومات الواردة فيه صحيحة و لا يوجد فيها خيال.
الجميل في الكتاب انه موجه لجميع الفئات من الأطفال و البالغين.
رغم ان الكتاب هو بمثابة قصة قصيرة، الا ان المعلومات الواردة فيه صحيحة و لا يوجد فيها خيال.
الجميل في الكتاب انه موجه لجميع الفئات من الأطفال و البالغين.
March 21, 2016
ในหนังสือเล่มที่สองเล่มนี้ คุณลุงแอลเบิร์ตยังคงตีกรอบความคิดอันเดิมของเรา
ให้แตกกระจายออกไปมากกว่าเดิมอีก
และเราก็คิดว่า มันออกจะเข้าใจยากมากกว่าเล่มแรกนิดหน่อยด้วยซ้ำ
เป็นหนังสือเล่มบางๆ ที่อ่านไปได้อย่างช้าๆ
เหมาะแก่การฉกฉวยช่วงเวลาเช้าๆ อันปรอดโปร่ง
ค่อยๆ สร้างจินตนาการตามคุณลุงไป
ถึงจะดูเข้าใจยากยังไง แต่อ่านจบแน่นอนค่ะ
ให้แตกกระจายออกไปมากกว่าเดิมอีก
และเราก็คิดว่า มันออกจะเข้าใจยากมากกว่าเล่มแรกนิดหน่อยด้วยซ้ำ
เป็นหนังสือเล่มบางๆ ที่อ่านไปได้อย่างช้าๆ
เหมาะแก่การฉกฉวยช่วงเวลาเช้าๆ อันปรอดโปร่ง
ค่อยๆ สร้างจินตนาการตามคุณลุงไป
ถึงจะดูเข้าใจยากยังไง แต่อ่านจบแน่นอนค่ะ
February 21, 2013
This book is my favorite book of all , it's the reason why I'm so into space and space science , it's great for everyone , shows , describes and inform people about black holes in a distinctive and easy way !
August 20, 2018
بأسلوب جميل استطعت أن أحصل على معلومات مهمة بعلم الفيزياء ... بأسلوب يجعل القارئ في أن يتخيل المشهد ... عند انتهائي منه كنت قد استفدت من هذا الكتاب أكثر مما تعلمته من المدرسة لسبب واحد وهو أن في أوطاننا العربية يلقنونا العلم بدلا من أن يشركوننا بالتجارب كما ورد ب كيف أن العم ألبرت الذي أعتقد ان المقصود به ألبرت أينشتاين نفسه يشرك جيدانكن في هذه التجارب ...
عن الزمن والجاذبية والضوء والكثافة والحفر السوداء والإنفجار الكبير والكتلة والحجم والإرتفاعات جميع هذه المصطلحات عدت أحبها من بعد تجارب سيئة لي في فهم الفيزياء ...
عن الزمن والجاذبية والضوء والكثافة والحفر السوداء والإنفجار الكبير والكتلة والحجم والإرتفاعات جميع هذه المصطلحات عدت أحبها من بعد تجارب سيئة لي في فهم الفيزياء ...
April 23, 2020
A great inspiration for me to study physics.Amasing for kids,and adults fascinated with relativity
November 8, 2020
الكتاب حفزني لقراءة المزيد عن الكون واسراره
جدا مفيد للمبتدئين مثلي بهذا المجال ، ستفهم نظرية انشتاين بطريقة مبسطة
جدا مفيد للمبتدئين مثلي بهذا المجال ، ستفهم نظرية انشتاين بطريقة مبسطة
September 10, 2025
Excellent "popularised science" book!! So many interesting questions posed in the most approachable way!
Read
November 2, 2025نمیدونم چرا وقتی سنم کمتر بود برای یاد گرفتن عجله داشتم.😂به اطف این کتاب تو ۹ سالگی با اثر داپلر آشنا شدم😂
September 16, 2011
Gedanken has the luck to have a brilliant and imaginative uncle. Uncle Albert is a world-famous scientist, although he prefers to spend his time with this niece now. Together, they are taking on some of the universe's biggest mysteries. From gravity to black holes, Uncle Albert can conjure up images so vivid that Gedanken can visit experimental labs and space ships inside her uncle's mind. That part of the story is a little far fetched, but the science explained within is quite real. Luckily Gedanken has a very basic understanding of physics, so Uncle Albert takes plenty of time to explain and let her (and the reader) make their own conclusions. Even though the text is so heavy with educational information, the plot does not suffer. The experiments that are funny and entertaining and every reader will want to take off in the spaceship too. Budding scientist from 9-12 will greatly benefit from this book.
February 27, 2019
ohoh. ma ei oodanud "räägime lastele arusaadavas keeles relatiivsusteooriast" raamatust teab mis palju, aga olgem ausad, see oli esimene kord, kui ma Einsteini mõtteeksperimentidest päriselt ka aru sain. (järelsõna seletab ilusti ära, miks onul polnud sokke ja miks peategelase nimi oli Gedanken.)
täiesti paras tasakaal niisama vestlemise ja "eksperimentide" vahel (mille puhul polnudki teeseldud, et need on päris); ja isegi parajalt põnev oli, sest ootasin suht läbematult, millal jõutakse pealkirjas lubatud mustade aukudeni, ja kui jõuti, siis elasin üsna aktiivselt kaasa sellele, kas nende juurest tagasi ka jõutakse.
tõlge natuke segas, sest no mis pagana sõna on "vaakumtolmuimeja" ja... mõned jaburused olid seal veel. siiski, täiesti soovitusväärne nii lastele kui täiskasvanutele.
täiesti paras tasakaal niisama vestlemise ja "eksperimentide" vahel (mille puhul polnudki teeseldud, et need on päris); ja isegi parajalt põnev oli, sest ootasin suht läbematult, millal jõutakse pealkirjas lubatud mustade aukudeni, ja kui jõuti, siis elasin üsna aktiivselt kaasa sellele, kas nende juurest tagasi ka jõutakse.
tõlge natuke segas, sest no mis pagana sõna on "vaakumtolmuimeja" ja... mõned jaburused olid seal veel. siiski, täiesti soovitusväärne nii lastele kui täiskasvanutele.
September 22, 2014
This is the second book in this series that I have read aloud to my 7- and 10-year-old. We continue to learn so much from this series. We were particularly excited about this book because it offers many interesting and accessible ideas about black holes. Uncle Albert is a great series for children with a natural curiosity and interest in the world. Next up: Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest.
November 25, 2019
Amazingly easy to understand! Not just children but also adults should have a go and read it if they want to grasp the whole idea of Einstein and relativity. Stannard has such a way of telling things that it's impossible to miss a thing. It gives you the feeling that it's so easy to understand the space and science so that there's nothing to be afraid.
October 22, 2012
راق لي اسلوب استخدام الخيال في ايصال معلومات وحقائق علمية -
لاول مرة اعلم ان اينشتاين كان يجري تجارب علمية خيالية بذهنه وكانت تسمى بالالمانية " جيدانكن "وهذا وان دل على شيء يدل على عبقرية اينشتاين فكيف يتنقل من خيالاته واحلامه البسيطة الى فهم معمق للكون
لاول مرة اعلم ان اينشتاين كان يجري تجارب علمية خيالية بذهنه وكانت تسمى بالالمانية " جيدانكن "وهذا وان دل على شيء يدل على عبقرية اينشتاين فكيف يتنقل من خيالاته واحلامه البسيطة الى فهم معمق للكون
August 25, 2008
A really good book and well worth reading if you are into science as it makes a subject fun and informative.
June 29, 2013
Fantastic way to easily tell about black holes so it is easily understandable to anybody
September 6, 2015
totally a reason why I became a physicist!!! Buy it for every kid that has an interest in science!!!!
September 5, 2016
amazing
May 1, 2024
My son loved it, and couldn't help telling his mom about what he'd learned each chapter.
October 28, 2019
Ootamatult lihtne kirjeldus üldrelatiivsusteooriast. Jah, see raamat tõestab, et eelnev lause ei olegi oksüümoron :) Sobis väga hästi ka 9-aastasele huvilisele.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews