By building and populating a virtual universe, Clegg demonstrates that reality is not a system of immovable absolutes; instead, the ever-shifting world of relativity is what provides the frame of reference that allows us to understand both the universe and humanity’s place within it.

Brian Clegg’s quiz book-cum-science compendium explores surprising facts about physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, technology and the history of science. Each of the 100 questions is accompanied by related facts and anecdotes and, on the following page, a fully explained answer.

During the 20th century it became clear that our traditional understanding of cosmology was too simplistic, since there must be not only some invisible material holding together galaxies but also an unknown phenomenon that is driving the universe’s accelerating expansion. Brian Clegg describes how the existence of this ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ was discovered and explains the different theories and experiments that researchers have been employing as they seek knowledge about this challenging aspect of modern science.

By building and populating a virtual universe Clegg demonstrates that reality is not a system of immovable absolutes; instead, the ever-shifting world of relativity is what provides the frame of reference that allows us to understand both the universe and humanity’s place within it.

The strongest substance ever discovered, a better conductor than any metal and able to act as a molecular sieve to purify water, graphene is set to revolutionize technology. This guide explores the properties and potential uses of this remarkable new material.

Brian Clegg explores a question fundamental to science: would numbers still exist without people to think about them, or is mathematics just a tool to help us understand the universe? Beginning with the devising of a new system to count goats, he traces the history of numbers, explaining their application to our everyday lives and asking whether the direction of contemporary physics has become too influenced by mathematics.

Although HG Wells’s Victorian time machine would not have worked, there is no law of physics that prevents travel through the fourth dimension. Brian Clegg combines his enthusiasm for science fiction with his insights as a writer on real science to explore ways in which time travel could theoretically be achieved. He also traces the development of our modern understanding of time, from Einstein’s first daydreams about the speed of light to neutrino experiments and the latest theories about wormholes.