On the Shores of the Unknown: A Short History of the Universe

ISBN-13: 9780521836272 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 246 str.

Joseph Silk

Opis

Astronomer Joseph Silk explores the Universe from its beginnings to its ultimate fate. He demonstrates how cosmologists study cosmic fossils and relics from the distant past to construct theories of the birth, evolution and future of the Universe. Stars, galaxies, dark matter and dark energy are described, as successive chapters detail the evolution of the Universe from a fraction of a microsecond after the Big Bang. Silk describes how physicists apply theories of subatomic particles to recreate the first moments of the Big Bang, and how astronomers chart the vast depths of space to glimpse how the most distant galaxies formed. He gives an account of the search for dark matter and the dark energy that will determine the ultimate fate of the Universe. Joseph Silk is the Savilian Professor of Astronomy and Head of the Astrophysics Department at the University of Oxford. He was previously Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Clare College, Cambridge, and a PhD in Astronomy from Harvard University. Silk is the author, or co-author, of many books, including The Left Hand of Creation (Basic Books, 1994) and A Short History of the Universe (WH Freeman, 1997). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Recenzje

'This is … a concise and authoritative tour of cosmological thought stripped of unnecessary complexity. … in these 240 pages you will find a pared-down story that covers the essentials … written by one of the greats of the field, Joseph silk, and it shows. The great pleasure of this book is that it does not read like an abridged version: it is written with precision, confidence and a sure eye for the essentials. … it's a page-turner - a really compelling read. One reason for this is the confidence of Silk's style. … The other reason is that the history of the universe is so fascinating - and this is a book that illuminates both that story and the way that scientists have unravelled it so far.' Astronomy & Geophysics

Spis treści

Prologue; 1. Building blocks of the cosmos; 2. The expansion of the universe; 3. Cosmic microwave background; 4. The first 10-43 seconds of the Universe; 5. Genesis of baryons and helium; 6. Testing the Big Bang; 7. Dark matter; 8. Baryonic dark matter; 9. Intergalactic matter; 10. Origin of structure; 11. Large-scale structure; 12. Galaxy formation; 13. What lies ahead.