-
Gravity's Century
- From Einstein's Eclipse to Images of Black Holes
- Narrated by: John Patrick Walsh
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $18.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Evidence for Modern Physics
- How We Know What We Know
- By: Professor Don Lincoln, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Don Lincoln
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 24-lesson course aimed at non-scientists, noted particle physicist Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory covers more than a century of progress in physics, describing exactly how scientists reach the conclusions they do. He starts with the atom, which was long hypothesized but wasn’t definitively proven until a paper by Albert Einstein in 1905. That was just the beginning, as researchers probed ever deeper into the atom’s complex structure, leading to the weird findings of quantum mechanics.
-
-
Strongly Recommend for Everyone
- By Liam A on 05-23-21
By: Professor Don Lincoln, and others
-
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces
- Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard P. Feynman
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No 20th-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film.
-
-
Very Interesting, but ...
- By Doug on 01-01-06
-
The Character of Physical Law
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not "how clever we are to have foundit out but…how clever nature is to pay attention to it" and steers his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws.
-
-
Better read than listened to
- By duncan koch on 02-25-18
-
First Light
- Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time
- By: Emma Chapman
- Narrated by: Emma Chapman
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the universe’s history, from recording the afterglow of the big bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There’s a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the universe began and grew up, we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the universe.
-
-
Beanie babies, Mick Jagger and cutting edge cosmology
- By Charles on 05-17-22
By: Emma Chapman
-
The Fabric of the Cosmos
- Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
- By: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past?
-
-
Space and Time for the Common Man
- By Martin on 02-26-04
By: Brian Greene
-
Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
-
-
A rare glimpse into the inner world of physics
- By Joe on 12-08-18
-
The Evidence for Modern Physics
- How We Know What We Know
- By: Professor Don Lincoln, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Don Lincoln
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 24-lesson course aimed at non-scientists, noted particle physicist Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory covers more than a century of progress in physics, describing exactly how scientists reach the conclusions they do. He starts with the atom, which was long hypothesized but wasn’t definitively proven until a paper by Albert Einstein in 1905. That was just the beginning, as researchers probed ever deeper into the atom’s complex structure, leading to the weird findings of quantum mechanics.
-
-
Strongly Recommend for Everyone
- By Liam A on 05-23-21
By: Professor Don Lincoln, and others
-
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces
- Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard P. Feynman
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No 20th-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film.
-
-
Very Interesting, but ...
- By Doug on 01-01-06
-
The Character of Physical Law
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not "how clever we are to have foundit out but…how clever nature is to pay attention to it" and steers his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws.
-
-
Better read than listened to
- By duncan koch on 02-25-18
-
First Light
- Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time
- By: Emma Chapman
- Narrated by: Emma Chapman
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the universe’s history, from recording the afterglow of the big bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There’s a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the universe began and grew up, we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the universe.
-
-
Beanie babies, Mick Jagger and cutting edge cosmology
- By Charles on 05-17-22
By: Emma Chapman
-
The Fabric of the Cosmos
- Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
- By: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past?
-
-
Space and Time for the Common Man
- By Martin on 02-26-04
By: Brian Greene
-
Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
-
-
A rare glimpse into the inner world of physics
- By Joe on 12-08-18
-
The 4 Percent Universe
- Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality
- By: Richard Panek
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past few decades, a handful of scientists have been racing to explain a disturbing aspect of our universe: only four percent of it consists of the matter that makes up you, me, our books, and every star and planet. The rest is completely unknown. Richard Panek tells the dramatic story of the quest to find this “dark” matter and an even more bizarre substance called “dark energy”. This is perhaps the greatest mystery in all of science, and solving it will bring fame, funding, and certainly a Nobel Prize.
-
-
Just Right - Not too technical not boring
- By Michael on 11-13-11
By: Richard Panek
-
The Alchemy of Us
- How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
- By: Ainissa Ramirez
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions - clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips - and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer.
-
-
Excellent Content, Horrible Narration
- By F. AHMAD on 05-01-21
By: Ainissa Ramirez
-
Fundamentals
- Ten Keys to Reality
- By: Frank Wilczek
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Frank Wilczek
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the 10 profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world.
-
-
Precious knowledge explained well
- By MP on 01-13-21
By: Frank Wilczek
-
The Bastard Brigade
- The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During World War II, in the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research; Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses - dubbed the Alsos Mission - and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club.
-
-
Awesome
- By Solar red on 07-12-19
By: Sam Kean
-
The God Equation
- The Quest for a Theory of Everything
- By: Michio Kaku
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Newton discovered the law of gravity, he unified the rules governing the heavens and the Earth. Since then, physicists have been placing new forces into ever-grander theories. But perhaps the ultimate challenge is achieving a monumental synthesis of the two remaining theories - relativity and the quantum theory. This would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science: What happened before the Big Bang?
-
-
Not what you may think
- By Anne85 on 04-11-21
By: Michio Kaku
-
The End of Everything
- (Astrophysically Speaking)
- By: Katie Mack
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Katie Mack
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now?
-
-
My New Favorite!
- By Hannah Crazyhawk on 08-16-20
By: Katie Mack
-
Einstein's Fridge
- How the Difference Between Hot and Cold Explains the Universe
- By: Paul Sen
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Einstein’s Fridge tells the incredible epic story of the scientists who, over two centuries, harnessed the power of heat and ice and formulated a theory essential to comprehending our universe. “Although thermodynamics has been studied for hundreds of years…few nonscientists appreciate how its principles have shaped the modern world” (Scientific American).
-
-
Amazing book!
- By Verma Ajay on 03-29-21
By: Paul Sen
-
The Apocalypse Factory
- Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age
- By: Steve Olson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It began with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured in quantity by humans. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction of inconceivable explosive power. In a matter of months, the Hanford nuclear facility was built to produce and weaponize the enigmatic and deadly new material that would fuel atomic bombs.
-
-
Lacking in many aspects
- By Etienne on 08-27-20
By: Steve Olson
-
Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field
- How Two Men Revolutionized Physics
- By: Nancy Forbes, Basil Mahon
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these two men - separated in age by 40 years - discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time.
-
-
Amazing narration of an incredibly well told story
- By Paul de Jong on 03-01-21
By: Nancy Forbes, and others
-
A Brief History of Time
- By: Stephen Hawking
- Narrated by: Michael Jackson
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This landmark book is for those of us who prefer words to equations; this is the story of the ultimate quest for knowledge, the ongoing search for the secrets at the heart of time and space. Its author, Stephen W. Hawking, is arguably the greatest mind since Einstein. From the vantage point of the wheelchair, where he has spent the last 20 years trapped by Lou Gehrig's disease, Professor Hawking has transformed our view of the universe. A Brief History of Time is Hawking's classic introduction to today's most important scientific ideas.
-
-
Easily Digestible Presentation of Complex Topics
- By James on 05-19-04
By: Stephen Hawking
-
Fundamental
- How Quantum and Particle Physics Explain Absolutely Everything (Except Gravity)
- By: Tim James
- Narrated by: Tim James
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fundamental is a comprehensive beginner's guide to quantum mechanics, explaining not only the weirdness of the subject but the experiments that proved it to be true. Using a humorous and light-hearted approach, Fundamental tells the story of how the most brilliant minds in science grappled with seemingly impossible ideas and gave us everything from microchips to particle accelerators.
-
-
Brilliant!
- By Larry on 11-10-20
By: Tim James
-
Welcome to the Universe
- An Astrophysical Tour
- By: Michael A. Strauss, J. Richard Gott, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all - from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel.
-
-
Excellent
- By Bryan Webb on 05-06-17
By: Michael A. Strauss, and others
Publisher's Summary
A sweeping account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory.
Albert Einstein did nothing of note on May 29, 1919; yet that is when he became immortal. On that day, astronomer Arthur Eddington and his team observed a solar eclipse and found something extraordinary: gravity bends light, just as Einstein predicted. The findings confirmed the theory of general relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time.
A century later, another group of astronomers is performing a similar experiment on a much larger scale. The Event Horizon Telescope, a globe-spanning array of radio dishes, is examining space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. As Ron Cowen recounts, one foremost goal of the experiment is to determine whether Einstein was right on the details. Gravity lies at the heart of what we don't know about quantum mechanics, but tantalizing possibilities for deeper insight are offered by black holes. By observing starlight wrapping around Sagittarius A*, the telescope will not only provide the first direct view of an event horizon - a black hole's point of no return - but will also enable scientists to test Einstein's theory under the most extreme conditions.
Gravity's Century shows how we got from the pivotal observations of the 1919 eclipse to the Event Horizon Telescope, and what is at stake today. Breaking down the physics in clear and approachable language, Cowen makes vivid how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
More from the same
What listeners say about Gravity's Century
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 10-30-20
Good stuff
Great book, well read. Definitely worth it if you're into physics, particularly as it pertains to gravity and Einstein's work.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ken
- 12-15-20
incredible story!
This book gave a much better understanding of the science, math, and history behind relativity, and quantum mechanics. Good job!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bruce
- 02-04-21
gravity waves
if you ever wanted to know more about gravity waves , this is the book for you. It goes into lots of detail that Ordinary People can understand.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. Chase
- 01-25-22
Excellent!
This is a very well-written book made even more enjoyable by an excellent narrator! Narration skills are so important. if the book is not narrated well, it can destroy an audible book. I hope the narrator continues to narrate science books.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ironfrown
- 11-16-21
Great story telling but slightly disjointed
This is a great story of scientific pursuit for greater understanding of what gravity is. It is actually great many fascinating stories, intersecting time and space. However, the stories are slightly fragmented and on many occasions repeated, overall giving an impression of a disjointed whole. Moreover, the book inexplicably ends, suddenly, almost in half sentence.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazing
- 08-30-21
A layperson's Comment
Not a book for the impatient reader/listener. Rather amazed at this ever evolving, abstruse subject and the amount of astronomical dart throwing by so many experts. At least we can taste the complexities while the articulate book narrator leads our curiosity all the way into a black hole, providing an ending.
The narrator eased my dread from start to finish. Thanks.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- nikkisprite
- 08-13-21
understandable and entertaining
The author does a good job of making a material a digestible. It was a little bit annoying when equations were being red because it's easier to see equations than hear them but all in all the book was a very enlightening read.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-07-21
This is a great listen for the causal lovers of universal physics!
I’ve been reading quite a few different viewpoints of the same material, and so far this has been the best of the lot.
The flow of speaker adds incredible value to the information this book shares.
I’m going to listen to it again two - three times this summer just so I can capture more ideas from it.
Highly recommended!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cb
- 06-24-21
The speed of light remains constant...
The speed of light remains constant, time and space are the variables.
If your interested in physics give this a listen.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-04-21
I don't know what to say
I didn't pay attention at all. I don't know if it's because of the monotonous narrator or because of lot of equations, but I couldn't focus. I have read and listened several books about Einstein, relativity and science where I was so into it and many things stayed in my mind. But here, it was so unenjoyable. There was nothing interesting that would get my full attention. But maybe this book is more for real physicists that would appreciate it better.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kaelem
- 06-20-22
Mind blowing
I do not pretend to understand much of he math in this reading but found it fascinating nonetheless.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- MJ
- 05-11-22
Well read
A highly entertaining and informative read about some very complex topics. Very well read by the reader, would love to hear more from him.
Physics undergrad.