Marcus Chown

Last updated

Marcus Chown (born 1959) is a science writer, journalist and broadcaster, currently cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine. [1]

Contents

Biography

He graduated from the Queen Mary University of London in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in physics (first class). In 1982 he graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in astrophysics. [2] Chown studied under Richard Feynman at the California Institute of Technology. [3]

His books on astronomy and physics are aimed primarily at the popular market, including Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You, for which he was praised for "expressing opaque concepts with a unique clarity". [4]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physics</span> Scientific field of study

Physics is the natural science of matter, involving the study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, with its main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to physics:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Feynman</span> American theoretical physicist (1918–1988)

Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as his work in particle physics for which he proposed the parton model. For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 jointly with Julian Schwinger and Shin'ichirō Tomonaga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravity</span> Attraction of masses and energy

In physics, gravity (from Latin gravitas 'weight') is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have mass. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong interaction, 1036 times weaker than the electromagnetic force and 1029 times weaker than the weak interaction. As a result, it has no significant influence at the level of subatomic particles. However, gravity is the most significant interaction between objects at the macroscopic scale, and it determines the motion of planets, stars, galaxies, and even light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmos</span> Universe as a complex and orderly system or entity

The cosmos is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word cosmos implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in cosmology – a broad discipline covering scientific, religious or philosophical aspects of the cosmos and its nature. Religious and philosophical approaches may include the cosmos among spiritual entities or other matters deemed to exist outside the physical universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niels Bohr Institute</span> Scientific research institute

The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics, and biophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Reynolds</span> Welsh science fiction author (born 1966)

Alastair Preston Reynolds is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannes Alfvén</span> Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and Nobel laureate

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics and electrical engineering. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of aurorae, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth's magnetic field, the terrestrial magnetosphere, and the dynamics of plasmas in the Milky Way galaxy.

The characterization of the universe as finely tuned intends to explain why the known constants of nature, such as the electron charge, the gravitational constant, etc., have the values that we measure rather than some other (arbitrary) values. According to the "fine-tuned universe" hypothesis, if these constants' values were too different from what they are, "life as we know it" could not exist. In practice, this hypothesis is formulated in terms of dimensionless physical constants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Susskind</span> American theoretical physicist (born 1940)

Leonard Susskind is an American theoretical physicist, Professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University and founding director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. His research interests are string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an associate member of the faculty of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a distinguished professor of the Korea Institute for Advanced Study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John D. Barrow</span> British scientist

John David Barrow was an English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician. He served as Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College from 2008 to 2011. Barrow was also a writer of popular science and an amateur playwright.

<i>Physics World</i> Journal

Physics World is the membership magazine of the Institute of Physics, one of the largest physical societies in the world. It is an international monthly magazine covering all areas of physics, pure and applied, and is aimed at physicists in research, industry, physics outreach, and education worldwide.

Edward P. Tryon was an American scientist and a professor emeritus of physics at Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY). He was the first physicist to propose that our universe originated as a quantum fluctuation of the vacuum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gribbin</span> British science writer and astrophysicist (born 1946)

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical Research Laboratory</span> Indian space research institute

The Physical Research Laboratory is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by Department of Space, Government of India. This research laboratory has ongoing research programmes in astronomy and astrophysics, atmospheric sciences and aeronomy, planetary and geosciences, Earth sciences, Solar System studies and theoretical physics. It also manages the Udaipur Solar Observatory and Mount Abu InfraRed Observatory. The PRL is located in Ahmedabad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean M. Carroll</span> American theoretical cosmologist (born 1966)

Sean Michael Carroll is an American theoretical physicist and philosopher who specializes in quantum mechanics, cosmology, and philosophy of science. Formerly a research professor at the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) department of physics, he is currently an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and the Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He has been a contributor to the physics blog Cosmic Variance, and has published in scientific journals such as Nature as well as other publications, including The New York Times, Sky & Telescope and New Scientist. He is known for his atheism, his vocal critique of theism and defense of naturalism. He is considered a prolific public speaker and science populariser. In 2007, Carroll was named NSF Distinguished Lecturer by the National Science Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Halpern</span> Philadelphia physicist and writer.

Paul Halpern is an American author and Professor of Physics at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

Russell Stannard, was a British high-energy particle physicist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Hawking</span> English theoretical physicist (1942–2018)

Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Starobinsky</span> Russian theoretical physicist and cosmologist (1948–2023)

Alexei Alexandrovich Starobinsky was a Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He was a pioneer of the theory of cosmic inflation, for which he received the 2014 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics together with Alan Guth and Andrei Linde.

References

  1. Green, Graeme (2007) "60 SECONDS: Marcus Chown", Metro , 18 January 2007, retrieved 2010-03-27
  2. "Marcus Chown Lecture". Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  3. White, C. (June 2013). Interactions (PDF). Institute of Physics. p. 7. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  4. Trotman, Clive (2008) "Esoteric concepts on relative scale", Otago Daily Times , 5 July 2008, retrieved 2010-03-27
  5. FABER AND FABER AND TOUCHPRESS PARTNER TO CREATE DIGITAL TITLES FOR iPAD, LAUNCHING WITH SOLAR SYSTEM London, England – November 30, 2010