The Janus Point

In a universe filled by chaos and disorder, one physicist makes the radical argument that the growth of order drives the passage of time -- and shapes the destiny of the universe. Time is among the universe's greatest mysteries. Why, when most laws of physics allow for it to flow forward and backward, does it only go forward? Physicists have long appealed to the second law of thermodynamics, held to predict the increase of disorder in the universe, to explain this. In The Janus Point, physicist Julian Barbour argues that the second law has been misapplied and that the growth of order determines how we experience time. In his view, the big bang becomes the "Janus point," a moment of minimal order from which time could flow, and order increase, in two directions. The Janus Point has remarkable implications: while most physicists predict that the universe will become mired in disorder, Barbour sees the possibility that order -- the stuff of life -- can grow without bound. A major new work of physics, The Janus Point will transform our understanding of the nature of existence.

Richard Feynman once quipped that "Time is what happens when nothing else does." But Julian Barbour disagrees: if nothing happened, if nothing changed, then time would stop. For time is nothing but change. It is change that we perceive occurring all around us, not time. Put simply, time does not exist. In this highly provocative volume, Barbour presents the basic evidence for a timeless universe, and shows why we still experience the world as intensely temporal. It is a book that strikes at the heart of modern physics. It casts doubt on Einstein's greatest contribution, the spacetime continuum, but also points to the solution of one of the great paradoxes of modern science, the chasm between classical and quantum physics. Indeed, Barbour argues that the holy grail of physicists--the unification of Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics--may well spell the end of time. Barbour writes with remarkable clarity as he ranges from the ancient philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides, through the giants of science Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, to the work of the contemporary physicists John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, and Steven Hawking. Along the way he treats us to enticing glimpses of some of the mysteries of the universe, and presents intriguing ideas about multiple worlds, time travel, immortality, and, above all, the illusion of motion. The End of Time is a vibrantly written and revolutionary book. It turns our understanding of reality inside-out.

Ever since Newton created dynamics, there has been controversy about its foundations. Are space and time absolute? Do they form a rigid but invisible framework and container of the universe? Or are space, time, and motion relative? If so, does Newton's 'framework' arise through the influence of the universe at large, as Ernst Mach suggested? Einstein's aim when creating his general theory of relativity was to demonstrate this and thereby implement 'Mach's Principle'. However, it is widely believed that he achieved only partial success. This question of whether motion is absolute or relative has been a central issues in philosophy; the nature of time has perennial interest. Current attempts to create a quantum description of the whole universe keep these issues at the cutting edge of modern research. Written by the world's leading expert on Mach's Principle, The Discovery of Dynamics is a highly original account of the development of notions about space, time, and motion. Widely praised in its hardback version, it is one of the fullest and most readable accounts of the astronomical studies that culminated in Kepler's laws of planetary motion and of the creation of dynamics by Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, and Newton. Originally published as Absolute or Relative Motion?, Vol. 1: The Discovery of Dynamics (Cambridge), The Discovery of Dynamics provides the technical background to Barbour's recently published The End of Time, in which he argues that time disappears from the description of the quantum universe.

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's spree of torture, sexual abuse, and murder of children in the 1960s was one of the most appalling series of crimes ever committed in England, and remains almost daily fixated upon by the tabloid press. In The Gates of Janus, Ian Brady himself allows us a glimpse into the mind of a murderer as he analyzes a dozen other serial crimes and killers. Criminal profiling by a criminal was not invented by the dramatists of Dexter. Novelist and true-crime writer Colin Wilson, author of the famous and influential book The Outsider, remarks in his introduction to Brady's book that one must first explore the depraved reaches of human consciousness to truly understand human character. When first released in 2001, The Gates of Janus sparked controversy attended by a huge media splash. The new edition, the first in paperback, provides the reader with a decade and a half of updates, including Brady's letters to the publisher, both providing information regarding his own demented history along with demands that Feral House remove its unflattering afterword written by author Peter Sotos.

Einstein shocked the world by revealing that time can be different for different observers. This book offers a possible explanation of why it is so. It offers a never-attempted-before approach to understand the secret of time. As we all know, there is an intimate relationship between time and age of objects. But what is this relationship? The author dives deep into the possible relationships between time and age of objects- animate or inanimate- and, in turn, emerges with a novel concept of time- time is a measurement of age. The book proposes that time is acquired by age, not required for it; and thus, time is an acquired property of objects. The author also proposes that just as length, width and height are the measurements of physical extensions of objects (their three spatial dimensions) and not any independent entities; time too, being the measurement of their age, is not independent of objects. In this sense, time seems to be the fourth dimension of objects instead of space. The book attempts to justify its hypothesis by testing its compatibility with Theory of Relativity. Also discussed is the meaning of the so called passage of time and the arrow of time on the basis of the model of time proposed here. The meaning of the much debated concept of time-travel is thoroughly discussed here and it is proposed that this concept, in the sense that we usually take, is a myth. Even if you can manage to reach your future by overcoming all technological limitations (as we all know, theory of relativity allows it), all your friends will be there with you, witnessing the same future. The only difference will be- your clocks will not agree with those of your friends.

Named after the two-faced roman god, Janus particles have gained much attention due to their potential in a variety of applications, including drug delivery. This is the first book devoted to Janus particles and covers their methods of synthesis, how these particles self-assemble, and their possible uses. By following the line of synthesis, self-assembly and applications, the book not only covers the fundamental and applied aspects, but it goes beyond a simple summary and offers a logistic way of selecting the proper synthetic route for Janus particles for certain applications. Written by pioneering experts in the field, the book introduces the Janus concept to those new to the topic and highlights the most recent research progress on the topic for those active in the field and catalyze new ideas.

Not many refuse heaven. Fewer reject paradise. Certainly rare are those who would find themselves before a being of unknown power and point out the demerits of nirvana.One man does.When the aloof fourth son of a business mogul makes the decision to save a life at the cost of his own, he discovers that what awaits him at the end of his mortality is not eternal oblivion.He cannot help but be disappointed.When he realizes the world he's been brought to works like the old fantasy games he used to love, he begins to see the merits.If only he did not start out as the weakest thing in existence, and if only the world he was in was not populated with madness-inducing creatures and fates worse than death. "Decide for yourself, your fantasies and your Nightmares, your companions and your adversaries, your angels and your demons, your gods and your monsters. Alamir stretches to you a hand of a thousand possibilities -You only need take it."

A young nobleman confronts a specter from the past that could threaten his family’s legacy. A brash young aristocrat, Lucius Antonius anticipates Emperor Augustus Caesar will support his lofty ambitions to serve as a praetor in the Roman justice system in 2 BC Rome. As the son of the distinguished politician and poet, Iullus Antonius, Lucius prays to Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, to open the door for him to rise politically. But he is unaware of the political firestorm ready to erupt in the imperial family. Augustus must confront evidence that his daughter, Julia, has behaved scandalously in public and that Iullus is her lover. The prospect that Julia might want to marry Iullus—the only surviving son of Marcus Antonius—threatens to redirect the glory from Augustus to his most hated rival beyond the grave. Caught in the political crossfire, Lucius must demonstrate his loyalty to Augustus by meeting all of his demands or face the destruction of his family’s legacy and possibly his own life. Will Lucius ultimately choose to betray and abandon his disgraced father?

A cloth bag containing ten copies of the title.

Pushing Ice is the brilliant tale of extraordinary aliens, glittering technologies, and sweeping space opera from award-winning science fiction author Alastair Reynolds. 2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed. As layers of camouflage fall away, it becomes clear that Janus was never a moon in the first place. It's some kind of machine -- and it is now headed toward a fuzzily glimpsed artifact 260 light-years away. The Rockhopper is the only ship anywhere near Janus, and Bella Lind is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach. In accepting this mission, she sets her ship and her crew on a collision course with destiny -- for Janus has more surprises in store, and not all of them are welcome.