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checksoutfine2 t1_j4dcm6h wrote

Reply to comment by mfb- in What is the smallest possible black hole? by Durable_me

Is there a particular "science for the lay-person" type of book you'd recommend, that discusses things like this without requiring the reader to know the math?

I loved books like A Brief History of Time, Cosmos, and Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne, for example, but I'd love to read more about black holes (time and space switch inside the event horizon??), quasi-stars, quark stars, proton structure (what does it mean to have force-carriers inside the proton that would have individual masses greater than that of the proton?), etc..

There seem to be so many books out there on these topics that I have no idea how to tell which ones might be what I'm really looking for.

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mywhitewolf t1_j4e26l4 wrote

PBS Spacetime plug.

its free on youtube, they're very good at explaining difficult concepts that build on previous episodes. plus, its got good graphics that represent the concepts they're trying to build.

the host is an astrophysicist lecturer, they go as far as they can without having to learn the maths.

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AnderstheVandal t1_j4enzgj wrote

I can vouche for PBS as well, super interesting videos and the guys voice is soothing af so it works out when you need a bedtime story before sleep

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FizzyDragon t1_j4ewtvh wrote

I listen to the whole video even when I lose the plot on the mathy ones. It's really pleasant.

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checksoutfine2 t1_j4hspt9 wrote

Thanks for the recommendation. I watched a bunch of episodes and it is definitely great.

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pagalvin t1_j4egarw wrote

I recently read A Brief History of Black Holes by Dr. Becky Smethurst. She also has a great series of YouTubes and really good at explaining things IMO. I highly recommend both. Her book is not overly technical.

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Okonomiyaki_lover t1_j4ovtbu wrote

Many Worlds in One by Alex Valenkin(sp), was a fun cosmology read. Some history thrown in too.

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