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 Regents' Professor of Physics and Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. The bestselling author of some thirty books, his many awards include the Templeton Prize and the Faraday Prize of the Royal Society. He is a Member of the Order of Australia and has an asteroid named after him.

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