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Magnitude

The Scale of the Universe

Contributors

By Megan Watzke

By Kimberly Arcand

Formats and Prices

Price

$27.99

Price

$36.49 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $27.99 $36.49 CAD
  2. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around November 7, 2017. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

In the tradition of illustrated science bestsellers, like Thing Explainer andharkening back to the classic film The Powers of Ten, this unique, fully-illustrated, four-color book explores and visualizes the concept of scale in our universe.

In Magnitude, Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke take us on an expansive journey to the limits of size, mass, distance, time, temperature in our universe, from the tiniest particle within the structure of an atom to the most massive galaxy in the universe; from the speed at which grass grows (about 2 to 6 inches a month) to the speed of light. Fully-illustrated with four-color drawings and infographics throughout and organized into sections including Size and Amount (Distance, Area, Volume, Mass, Time, Temperature), Motion and Rate (Speed, Acceleration, Density, Rotation), and Phenomena and Processes (Energy, Pressure, Sound, Wind, Computation), Magnitude shows us the scale of our world in a clear, visual way that our relatively medium-sized human brains can easily understand.

  • "How big is big? How small is small? As an astronaut and citizen explorer, I love having someone explain some of the more puzzling aspects of our universe to me in terms that make sense. With Magnitude, my brain cried "Eureka!" every time I turned the page."
    Cady Coleman, PhD, former NASAAstronaut
  • "We live in a universe bigger and smaller than our brains can fathom. Magnitude is an enjoyable and essential guide to appreciating our place among it all."
    Joe Hanson, author and host of It's Okay to Be Smart
  • "Arcand and Watzke have crafted a masterpiece. A must-read for anyone wishing to appreciate the richness of the cosmos from its microscopic building blocks to its largest structures."
    Avi Loeb, chair, Harvard Astronomy department
  • "Through clear text and illuminating illustrations, the authors tackle questions ranging from 'how does the mass of a human eyelash compare to the mass of the black hole at the center of our galaxy?' to 'how fast does a dentist's drill rotate?' A fascinating journey through the measure of all things."
    Mario Livio, astrophysicist, and author of Why?: What Makes Us Curious
  • "Magnitude brilliantly illustrates the relative scale of so many aspects of the universe that you will feel so much smarter about EVERYTHING after reading this!"
    Curtis Wong, principal researcher, Microsoft Research

On Sale
Nov 7, 2017
Page Count
192 pages
ISBN-13
9780316502917

Megan Watzke

About the Author

Megan Watzke is the press officer for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, specializing in communicating astronomy with the public. She lives in Seattle, WA. Together, colleagues/authors Arcand and Watzke are the authors of Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond and Magnitude, among other titles.

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Kimberly Arcand

About the Author

Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke are award-winning directors, producers, and authors who have spent their careers in science and technology. Dr. Arcand is the visualization scientist and emerging tech lead for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, specializing in image and meaning research, and data representation. She lives near Providence, RI. Watzke is the press officer for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, specializing in communicating astronomy with the public. She lives in Seattle, WA. They are co-authors of several popular science books including Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe, Your Ticket to the Universe, and have written dozens of articles in print and online.

Learn more about this author