The universe in the rearview mirror : how hidden symmetries shape reality / Dave Goldberg.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-315) and index.

Introduction: In which I set everything up, so it's probably best not to skip ahead -- Antimatter : in which we learn why there is something rather than nothing -- Entropy : in which we explore where time comes from or whether it just is -- The cosmological principle : in which we learn why it is dark at night -- Emmy Noether : in which we determine what symmetry really means -- Relativity : in which we fail to build an intergalactic ansible -- Gravity : in which we learn why black holes don't last forever -- Replacement : in which we consider the design specifications for a teleportation device -- Spin : in which we investigate why you aren't a sentient cloud of helium and what a spoonful of neutron star would do to you -- Higgs : in which we explore the origin of mass and why physics isn't stamp collecting -- Hidden symmetries : in which objects in the mirror are closer than they appear -- Appendix -- Roadside attraction 1: The particle zoo -- Roadside attraction 2: A side of symmetrie.

The "Ask a Physicist" columnist for io9.com explains how space, time, and everything in between are shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven recent discoveries about the universe.

English.