From the Big Bang to the Theory of Everything, Sunday Telegraph Science Correspondent Robert Matthews takes us on a tour of twenty-five of the biggest ideas in modern science. Along the way, he explains how the theory that proved Einstein wrong might one day make teleportation possible; how the principles of mathematics could be used to broker peace treaties; and why the key to understanding some of the deepest mysteries of the universe could be linked to the barcode on our groceries. Matthews uncovers the major personalities in the history of science, from World War Two code breaker Alan Turing and his test for artificial intelligence, to modern scientists such as Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking. He explains key terms throughout and each ‘big idea’ also features a timeline charting the key discoveries.
Robert Matthews is Visiting Research Fellow at Aston University and Science Correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph. He writes regular columns for, among others, The New Scientist and Focus magazine, and has published papers on a range of subjects from cryptography to cosmology. Most famously, his research on Murphy's Law (why toast always lands butter-side down) won him a discourse to the Royal Institution of Great Britain.