Gravity : how the weakest force in the universe shaped our lives / Brian Clegg.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

What goes up -- A natural tendency -- Gravity falters -- And yet it moves -- Action at a distance and other gravitational mysteries -- Warping the universe -- Einstein's masterpiece -- One of four -- Enter the quantum -- Particles and waves in the ether -- Cavorite returns -- Center of attraction.

"Physicists will tell you that four forces control the universe. Of these, gravity may be the most obvious, but it is also the most mysterious. Newton managed to predict the force of gravity but couldn't explain how it worked at a distance. Einstein picked up on the simple premise that gravity and acceleration are interchangeable to devise his mind-bending general relativity, showing how matter warps space and time. Not only did this explain how gravity worked - and how apparently simple gravitation has four separate components - but it predicted everything from black holes to gravity's effect on time. Whether it's the reality of anti-gravity or the unexpected discovery that a ball and a laser beam drop at the same rate, gravity is the force that fascinates"--Jacket.