The Shortest History of Time

The Shortest History of Time is more than a lengthy commentary on the complex concepts and theories described in the legendary A Brief History. The authors, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, after 17 years in which much has changed in astrophysics, look at eternal questions anew: about the nature of space and time, the role of God in the creation of the world, about the past and future of the Universe. Data obtained from astronomical observatories, space telescopes, and physical laboratories have become a solid foundation for theoretical physics, which has fought for decades for a coherent, unified field theory that should integrate all known types of interactions. Many believe this is string theory, the principles and consequences of which are elaborately interpreted by Professors Hawking and Mlodinow. Dark matter and dark energy, of which we know only due to gravitational effects, time travel, which the authors believe are not worth betting on yet - all this has become the focus of their attention. The book makes the most complex puzzles and sharp contradictions understandable, which are being attempted to resolve at the forefront of the science of the Universe. The edition contains 37 illustrations that complement and decorate the text.