Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time

By: Sean Carroll, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Sean Carroll

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Time rules our lives, woven into the very fabric of the universe - from the rising and setting of the sun to the cycles of nature, the thought processes in our brains, and the biorhythms in our day. Nothing so pervades our existence and yet is so difficult to explain.

But now, in a series of 24 riveting lectures, you can grasp exactly why - as you take a mind-expanding journey through the past, present, and future, guided by a noted author and scientist. Designed for nonscientists as well as those with a background in physics, the lectures show how a feature of the world that we all experience - a process known as entropy - connects us to the instant of the formation of the universe, and possibly to a multiverse that is unimaginably larger and more varied than the known cosmos.

Drawing on such exciting ideas as black holes, cosmic inflation, and dark energy, the lectures also address a momentous question that until recently was considered unanswerable: What happened before the big bang? And while the focus is on physics, Professor Carroll also examines philosophical views on time, how we perceive and misperceive time, the workings of memory, and serious proposals for time travel, as well as imaginative ways that time has been disrupted in fiction.

"What is time?" asked Saint Augustine 1,600 years ago. "If no one asks me, I know. But if I wish to explain it to someone who asks, I know not." These lectures will move you much closer to an answer.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

Mixing Milk and Coffee - Entropy At its Best!

If you could sum up Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time in three words, what would they be?

Worth the ... TIME!

(1, 2 ... 3 - yes, looks about right)
(Audible, could you please come up with even more stupid questions?)

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time?

Let me ignore Audible's blabla for a sec and try to say it with my own words:

Sean Carroll really manages to take even the layman (I am from the philosophical side of science) on a tour through classic physics up to more or less the most modern theories about what's "the kernel of the brute". Pace of the lectures, examples and even the honest outlooks on what "we don't know" are one great inspiration for the mind.
Mr. Carroll describes several ideas about how our universe may have come into existence, how the "Arrow of Time" (time always going into one direction and not being reversible) works and why it is there. He does not pretend to have an answer, but gives a nice kaleidoscope of working (and not so working) theories. On sidelines he gives some basics about Quantum physics, the differences to classic physics and ... lots of stirring up milk in coffee to test entropy.

Have you listened to any of Professor Sean Carroll’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

So far I haven't listened to any other of Mr. Carroll's "performances" (Audible, PLEASE rethink the phrasing of your questions, this typing-in of comments is making me feel like a complete idiot).
But the good feeling I have after listening through this course, the believe that I "got it", or at least some of it, makes me think: "Gimme more, Mr. Carroll!"

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What really "moved" me is the fact that - although I don't claim to have understood everything - especially not why anyone would actually pour milk in his coffee! - it feels like I have some "vocabulary", to say the least, from the world of Quantum Physics. That's surely not the worst one can say about listening to an audio book. What's next? Rocket Science? Understanding Women?

Well Done Exploration Into Entropy

The audiobook is a bit uneven, but overall well done. Sean Carroll is always pleasant to listen to. Some lectures seem quite basic at the start, time goes forward, then it goes into the arrow time, entropy, Boltzmann statistics, then it gets basic again, then it goes into some good relativity lectures, and onto a few detailed lectures on dark matter and dark energy, the early universe, the Big Bang, and finally the multiverse.

Sean Carroll is an excellent science communicator

This course qualifies as life changing. It has something for all levels, though I would recommend you have at least taken a class or two of physics in order to get the most out of it. No matter what, you'll learn some great things with this course.

Excellent.

Sean Carroll is the best at simplifying the complicated. In particular, his thoughts on cosmic inflation alone are worth the price of admission.

essential physics listening

If you have ever wondered about the nature of the universe, then this is an essential course. Deep enough to be interesting while still keeping the focus on the concepts with just enough basic math to make it make sense. This should be part of everyone's STEM education.

Sean Carroll is spiffy

I hope he breeds prodigiously. Interesting topic, clear communication, good voice. I wish he taught at my school - the universe would be improved dramatically if another hundred of him fluctuated into existence.

great fun

great intro to fun physics ideas with all the technically hard (math) stuff mostly out. love this stuff and Sean Carroll.

Fun introduction to time

Good material and explanation might benefit from a bit of editing- since there seemed to be redundant material. However still interesting!

Intriguing, exciting, at times head-spinning.

Without providing any clear answers (spoiler: There are none, at least not yet), this delves into some of the most fascinating and complex questions about our world, universe, and existence in a way that is thought-provoking, and yet quite clear and understandable. Highly recommended for anyone who likes to think about time, time travel, relativity, and other questions right on the border between science and philosophy.

Just missing one thing for me

I thought it was excellent especially the beginning and end. I had to slog through the middle but I am glad I did. There were a lot of topics covered that I wasn't expecting. My only gripe is that one topic I was expecting to be in there and I really wanted to learn about and it wasn't included. That topic is why we use a 24 hour day and a 12 hour clock and if throughout history of there have been other ways of keeping track of time throughout the day other than hours, minutes and seconds.