From the drop of an apple to the stately dance of the galaxies, gravity is omnipresent in the Cosmos. Even with its high profile, gravity is the most enigmatic of all the known basic forces in nature. The Lighter Side of Gravity presents a beautifully clear and completely nontechnical introduction to the phenomenon of this force in all its manifestations. Astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar begins with an historical background to the discovery of the law of gravitation by Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century. Using familiar analogies, interesting anecdotes, and numerous illustrations to get...

What are the current ideas describing the large-scale structure of the Universe? How do they relate to the observed facts? This book looks at both the strengths and weaknesses of the current big-bang model in explaining certain puzzling data. It arises from an international conference that brought together many of the world's leading players in cosmology. In addition to presenting individual talks, the proceedings of the resulting discussions are also recorded. Giving a comprehensive coverage of the expanding field of cosmology, this text will be valuable for graduate students and researchers...