Spectrums  : our mind-boggling universe from infinitesimal to infinity, by David Blatner. Walker & Co., 2012.

Size, Speed, Light, Number, Heat & Time - from the smallest subatomic particles to the ever-expanding universe; from the coldest "absolute zero" to unimaginably hot temperatures - Blatner leads us through abstruse and theoretical science in a way that makes it understandable.

This isn't something I would normally have picked up; it was recommended to me by a teen. He was at such a loss to explain it, but so obviously engaged with the ideas, I had to give it a try. And I'm grateful for the recommendation. "Spectrums" is definitely worth reading!

It is a summary of scientific information about the extremes in our universe that will shake your belief in everything you have been taught or have ever experienced. Things behave unexpectedly at the extremes of each spectrum, and the explanations are fascinating.  My particular "aha!" chapter was the last one: Time. Blatner hints at parallel universes, time travel, and other science "fictions" that turn out to be ... possible!