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Helgoland

The Sunday Times bestseller

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Helgoland

By: Carlo Rovelli, Erica Segre - translator, Simon Carnell - translator
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Number One bestselling author of The Order of Time is back with a stunning book about the enigma of quantum physics

In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, retreated to a small, treeless island in the North Sea called Helgoland. It was there that he came up with one of the most transformative scientific concepts: quantum theory.

Almost a century later, quantum physics has given us many startling ideas: ghost waves, distant objects that seem magically connected to each other, cats that are both dead and alive. Countless experiments have led to practical applications that shape our daily lives. Today our understanding of the world around us is based on this theory. And yet it is still profoundly mysterious.

In this enchanting book, Carlo Rovelli, one of our most celebrated scientists, tells the extraordinary story of quantum physics and reveals its deep meaning: a world made of substances is replaced by a world made of relations, each particle responding to another in a never ending game of mirrors.

Shifting our perspective once again, Rovelli takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better understand our place in it.

© Carlo Rovelli 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

History History & Philosophy Physics Science Feel-Good

Critic Reviews

With the publication of his million-selling book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Rovelli took his place with Stephen Hawking and Richard Feynman as one of the great popularisers of modern theoretical physics (Sam Leith)
Modern physics has found its poet. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist (John Banville)
A global superstar. . . Rovelli is making the grammar of the universe accessible to a new generation
The most fun physicist to be with -- as well as the greatest explainer of physics (Bryan Appleyard)
The man who makes physics sexy. . . the new Hawking. . . His writing is luminous. By the time I had finished reading Seven Brief Lessons on Physics I was in serious awe of the author (David Aaronovitch)
All stars
Most relevant
As per usual Carlo Rovelli provides a brilliant, warm and engaging insight into the world of Quantum Mechanics and his Relational Interpretation. This leading physicist, and science writer makes these topics accessible to non-scientific readers, and all with a humility and sense of wonderment that belies the authoritative position he rightly deserves.

Brilliant, Beautiful -apu

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I listened to this book from the moment I woke up and finished it in one setting. Carlo Rovelli made me subscribed to Audible because I want to listen to all his books.

Engrossing

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Excellent book that shows the merging of science and philosophy. It is true how mysterious existence becomes when the imagined world of things and their labels fall away to allow relationship with the unknown be realised and experienced. Who would have thought that eyes simply confirm or amend what is seen by the brain? Thanks for this book. A breath of fresh air.

A merging of science and philosophy

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best book on quantum theory that I have ever read. Not much about maths but lots about the philosophical implications. Well worth a second read.

Best book on quantum theory

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