What's Eating the Universe?: And Other Cosmic Questions

Description

The story of the universe in thirty cosmological conundrums In the constellation of Eridanus there lurks a cosmic mystery. It's as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe, leaving a super-void. What could be the culprit? A super massive black hole? Another, bigger universe? Or an expanding vacuum bubble, destined to envelop and annihilate everything in existence? Scientists now understand the history of our universe better than the history of our own planet, but they continue to uncover startling new riddles-the hole in the universe being just one. In this electrifying book, award-winning physicist Paul Davies walks us through the puzzles and paradoxes that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day. Laying bare the audacious research that has led us to mind-bending solutions, Davies reveals how we might begin to approach the greatest outstanding enigmas of all.

Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, author and broadcaster. On 1 September 2006 Paul Davies will take up a new position as college professor at Arizona State University, the largest public university campus in the USA. He will have the distinctive assignment to establish a new centre on foundational questions in science, to encompass cosmology, life, astrobiology and philosophy - a think tank for addressing complex issues in these areas.He has achieved an international reputation for his ability to explain the significance of advanced scientific ideas in simple language. He is the author of some twenty-five books including The Mind of God, The Last Three Minutes and How to Build a Time Machine. Among other awards he has won the Templeton Prize, The Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize for science communication and a Glaxo Science Writers' Fellowship. In April 1999 the asteroid 1992 OG was officially named (6870) Pauldavies in his honour. Davies has extensive experience in all facets of the media. He writes regularly for newspapers, journals and magazines in several countries. Notable among his contributions to radio are a series of documentaries on BBC Radio 3, and his television work has ranged from chat shows to scripting and presenting various documentaries, including his own series entitled The Big Questions and More Big Questions. Committed to bringing science to the wider public, Davies engages in a heavy program of public lecturing around the world, addressing scientific and religious topics. As a supporter of the arts, he is also frequently involved in literary and artistic events both in Australia and internationally. The recipient of many awards and commendations, Davies won the Eureka Prize in 1991 for the promotion of science in Australia, and in 1993 he was presented with an Advance Australia Award for outstanding contributions to science. In 1995 Davies was awarded the Templeton Prize for progress in religion, the world's largest prize for intellectual endeavour. Paul Davies is married, and has four children. He remains a British citizen. In addition to his passion for both traditional and contemporary art, he is interested in the history of the second world war, politics and economics. He also enjoys keeping fit and discussing geographical trivia.

Brilliant. You won't find a clearer, more engaging guide to what we know (or would like to know) about the universe and how it is put together. -- Bill Bryson * author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants * Paul Davies gives us a thought-provoking, fascinating, and delightful journey through some of the big questions that have perplexed and tantalized scientists throughout history. These are the questions and paradoxes that have stumped and teased history's greatest minds. What happened before the beginning? What is the meaning of the universe? Are there other universes? -- Michio Kaku Paul Davies brings his customary lucidity to a survey of some of the most fascinating and puzzling aspects of our universe, simultaneously educating us about its vertiginous wonders and giving us a real sense of science's questions as it confronts and explores them and wrestles with their mystery. It is an absorbing and stimulating read, one of the best of its kind. -- A.C. Grayling * author of The Frontiers of Knowledge * Compelling ... Davies excels in succinctly addressing the cosmological conundrums that haven't received as much attention as dark matter, dark energy, what triggered the big bang and the fate of the universe * Forbes * A whistle-stop tour of the biggest mysteries that cosmologists are investigating today ... a fun way of making sure you're all caught up on where cosmology is at today * Physics World * What's Eating the Universe? is a veritable feast for curious minds. Davies, a polymath and lyrical writer, masterfully tackles all the big questions ranging from why this Universe to the meaning of life and the significance of the present moment-a whirlwind journey through ideas that have shaped our understanding of the cosmos and its constituents. -- Priyamvada Natarajan * author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos * A great introduction for readers new to physics ...Lessons in cosmology and astrophysics abound in this enthusiastic primer * Publishers Weekly * Understanding theoretical physics is a daunting task, but What's Eating the Universe?is here to guide readers through the field. Each chapter is short-less than 10 pages-but jargon-free and full of information ... Regardless of the reader's prior physics knowledge, the book provides an accessible introduction to cosmology * Physics Today * What's Eating the Universe? is Paul Davies at his very best. He brings a lifetime of experience in explaining mysteries of space and time to offer thought-provoking essays on deep questions in bite-sized, easily digestible chunks. There is no better overview of the advances made by cosmologists in recent decades. -- John Gribbin * author of Six Impossible Things: The 'Quanta of Solace' and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World * A delightful account of the cutting edge of modern cosmology. He is truly exceptional at explaining all of this in his inimitable style--let's say 'astropoetry' -- Simon Mitton, University of Cambridge A whistle-stop tour of the major questions in contemporary cosmology -- Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different