Before the Big Bang, there was a tiny fraction of a second during which a process called inflation expanded a seed much smaller than the nucleus of an atom into a fireball the size of a basketball -- the Big Bang itself. From this fireball, the Universe as we know it developed. The origin of the seed from which the Universe began is not known with certainty, but as John Gribbin explains the most likely explanation is that it was a fluctuation of quantum energy in an eternal sea of cosmic energy. And that means that other seeds must surely have inflated to become other universes, bubbles in the cosmic sea. It is even possible that a collision between our universe and another bubble on the sea of eternity may have left an imprint on the cosmic background radiation, the echo of the Big Bang itself. John Gribbin is an award winning science writer best known for his book In Search of Schrodinger's Cat. He studied astrophysics under Fred Hoyle in Cambridge, and is now a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

    To understand the universe in the far future, we must first describe its present state and structure on the grand scale, and how its present properties arose. Dr Islam explains these topics in an accessible way in the first part of the book. From this background he speculates about the future evolution of the universe and predicts the major changes that will occur. The author has largely avoided mathematical formalism and therefore the book is well suited to general readers with a modest background knowledge of physics and astronomy.

    Written by one of the world's leading experimental cosmologists, this short but deeply insightful book describes what scientists are revealing through precise measurements of the faint thermal afterglow of the Big Bang--known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB--and how their findings are transforming our view of the cosmos.Blending the latest findings in cosmology with essential concepts from physics, Lyman Page first helps readers to grasp the sheer enormity of the universe, explaining how to understand the history of its formation and evolution in space and time. Then he sheds light on how spatial variations in the CMB formed, how they reveal the age, size, and geometry of the universe, and how they offer a blueprint for the formation of cosmic structure.Not only does Page explain current observations and measurements, he describes how they can be woven together into a unified picture to form the Standard Model of Cosmology. Yet much remains unknown, and this incisive book also describes the search for ever deeper knowledge at the field's frontiers--from quests to understand the nature of neutrinos and dark energy to investigations into the physics of the very early universe.

    Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Astronomy; History / General; Juvenile Nonfiction / Science

    

    Bestselling authors and acclaimed astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott take readers on an unforgettable journey of exploration to reveal how our universe actually works.Propelling you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space, this book builds your cosmic insight and perspective through a marvelously entertaining narrative. How do stars live and die? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Exploring these and many other questions, this pocket-friendly book is your passport into the wonders of our evolving cosmos.

    His first was that nothing can travel faster than light-the ultimate speed limit. This simple fact leads to the unavoidable conclusion that space and time must be linked together forever as Spacetime. With his second monumental insight, Einstein showed how Spacetime is warped and stretched by the gravity of all objects in the Universe and even punctured by black holes. But such possible twisting of Spacetime allowed a magic not even Einstein could have imagined: time-travel.Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili finally lays science fiction to rest as he opens up Einstein's Universe. Leading us gently and light-heartedly through the dizzying world of our space and time, he even gives us the recipe for a time machine, capable of taking us Back to the Future, to Alice's Wonderland, or on a trip with the Terminator.

    A number of the key figures in the new edition are revised to provide a more inviting and informative treatment. The figures are broken into component parts with supporting commentary so that they can more readily see the key ideas. Material from The Flying Circus is incorporated into the chapter opener puzzlers, sample problems, examples and end-of-chapter problems to make the subject more engaging. Checkpoints enable them to check their understanding of a question with some reasoning based on the narrative or sample problem they just read. Sample Problems also demonstrate how engineers can solve problems with reasoned solutions.

    Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way. There is a lot of mileage in the 'weirdness' of the quantum world, and it often leads to confusion and, frankly, bad science. The Quantum Universe cuts through the Wu Li and asks what observations of the natural world made it necessary, how it was constructed, and why we are confident that, for all its apparent strangeness, it is a good theory.The quantum mechanics of The Quantum Universe provide a concrete model of nature that is comparable in its essence to Newton’s laws of motion, Maxwell’s theory of electricity and magnetism, and Einstein’s theory of relativity.

    Filled with data about the Earth, Moon, the planets, the stars, our Galaxy, and the myriad galaxies in deep space, it also reveals the latest scientific discoveries about black holes, quasars, and the origins of the Universe. Written by a premier astronomy expert, this book begins with a discussion of the Sun, from sunspots to solar eclipses. It then features over 100 tables on characteristics of the Moon, and the names, positions, sizes, and other key descriptors of all the planets and their satellites. The book tabulates solar and lunar eclipse, comets, close-approach asteroids, and significant meteor showers dates. Twenty-four maps show the surface features of the planets and their moons. The author then looks to the stars, their distances and movements, and their detailed classification and evolution. Forty-eight star charts cover both northern and southern hemispheres, enabling you to track down and name the main stars in all the constellations. The maps are supported by detailed tables of the names, positions, magnitudes, and spectra of the main stars in each constellation, along with key data on galaxies, nebulae, and clusters. There is a useful catalogue of the world's great telescopes and observatories, a history of astronomy and of space research, and biographies of 250 astronomers who have been most influential in developing the current understanding of the subject.

    Beginning at Stonehenge and ending with the current crisis in String Theory, the story of this eternal question to uncover the mysteries of the universe describes a narrative that includes some of the greatest discoveries of all time and leading personalities, including Aristotle, Copernicus, and Isaac Newton, and the rise to the modern era of Einstein, Eddington, and Hawking.

    David Peat explains the development and meaning of this Superstring Theory in a thoroughly readable, dramatic manner accessible to lay readers with no knowledge of mathematics. The consequences of the Superstring Theory are nothing less than astonishing.

    It discusses how to plan your stargazing and what you can see with your eyes, as well as how to choose binoculars and telescopes and what you can see using them. The book also offers seasonal star charts and constellation charts and gives readers specific objects to look for in the sky. This guide from Royal Observatory Greenwich provides all you need to know to get started in stargazing and discover the universe.

    The New Physics tells us that they are not, and in the process, blurs the line between science and science fiction. Here are six accessible essays by those who walk that line, moving ever further out in discovering the patterns of nature, aimed at readers who share their fascination with the deepest mysteries of the universe.• Richard Price: "An Introduction to Spacetime Physics"• Stephen Hawking: "Chronology Protection"• Igor Novikov: "Can We Change the Past?"• Kip S. Thorne: "Speculations about the Future"• Timothy Ferris: "On the Popularization of Science"• Alan Lightman: "The Physicist as Novelist"

    Here he explains how our image of the world has changed throughout centuries. Fom Aristotle to Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday to the Higgs boson, he takes us on a wondrous journey to show us that beyond our ever-changing idea of reality is a whole new world that has yet to be discovered.