The Illustrated A Brief History of Time Updated 时间简史英文插图版

Intheyearssinceitspublicationin1988，StephenHawking'sABriefHistoryOfTimehasestablisheditselfasalandmarkvolumeinscientificwriting.Ithasbecomeaninternationalpublishingphenomenon，translatedintofortylanguagesandsellingoverninemillioncopies.Thebookwasonthecuttingedgeofwhatwasthenknownaboutthenatureoftheuniverse，butsincethattimetherehavebeenextraordinaryadvancesinthetechnologyofmacrocosmicworlds.TheseobservationshaveconfirmedmanyofProfessorHawkin'stheoreticalpredictionsinthefirsteditionofhisbook，includingtherecentdiscoveriesoftheCosmicBackgroundExplorersatellite(COBE)，whichprobedbackintimetowithin300，000yearsofthefabricofspace-timethathehadprojected.Eagertobringtohisoriginaltextthenewknowledgerevealedbythesemanyobservations，aswellashisrecentresearch，forthisexpandededitionProfessorHawkinghaspreparedanewintroductiontothebook，writtenanentirelynewchapteronthefascinatingsubjectofwormholesandtimetravel，andupdatedtheoriginalchapters.Inaddition，toheightenunderstandingofcomplexconceptsthatreadersmayhavefounddifficulttograspdespitetheclarityandwitofProfessorHawking'swriting，thiseditionisenhancedthroughoutwithmorethan240full-colorillustrations，includingsatelliteimages，photographsmademadepossiblebyspectaculartechnologicaladvancesuchastheHubbleSpaceTelescope，andcomputergeneratedimagesofthreeandfour-dimensionalrealities.Detailedcaptionsclarifytheseillustrations，enablereaderstoexperiencethevastnessofintergalacticspace，thenatureofblackholes，andthemicrocosmicworldofparticlephysicsinwhichmattersandantimattercollide.Aclassicworkthatnowbringstothereaderthelatestunderstandingofcosmology，ABriefHistoryOfTimeisthestoryoftheongoingsearchforthetantalizingsecretsattheheartoftimeandspace.