Terms such as "expanding Universe," "big bang," and "initial singularity," are nowadays part of our common language. The idea that the Universe we observe today originated from an enormous explosion (big bang) is now well known and widely accepted, at all levels, in modern popular culture. But what happens to the Universe before the big bang? And would it make any sense at all to ask such a question? In fact, recent progress in theoretical physics, and in particular in String Theory, suggests answers to the above questions, providing us with mathematical tools able in principle to reconstruct the history of the Universe even for times before the big bang.

In the emerging cosmological scenario the Universe, at the epoch of the big bang, instead of being a "new born baby" was actually a rather "aged" creature in the middle of its possibly infinitely enduring evolution. The aim of this book is to convey this picture in non-technical language accessibile also to non-specialists. The author, himself a leading cosmologist, draws attention to ongoing and future observations that might reveal relics of an era before the big bang.

The early 21st century marks a new era in space exploration. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States, The European Space Agency (ESA), as well as space agencies of Japan, China, India, and other countries have sent their probes to the Moon, Mars, and other planets in the solar system. Planetary Remote Sensing and Mapping introduces original research and new developments in the areas of planetary remote sensing, photogrammetry, mapping, GIS, and planetary science resulting from the recent space exploration missions. Topics covered include: Reference systems of planetary bodies Planetary exploration missions and sensors Geometric information extraction from planetary remote sensing data Feature information extraction from planetary remote sensing data Planetary remote sensing data fusion Planetary data management and presentation Planetary Remote Sensing and Mapping will serve scientists and professionals working in the planetary remote sensing and mapping areas, as well as planetary probe designers, engineers, and planetary geologists and geophysicists. It also provides useful reading material for university teachers and students in the broader areas of remote sensing, photogrammetry, cartography, GIS, and geodesy.

Space is far bigger than humanity can conceive. Although our ancestors visually examined the skies to make sense of the Universe, space exploration in its truest sense is just a moment in this historical timeline, yet it is how we've significantly improved our understanding of the cosmos. Space Exploration begins with the evolution of astronomy, including notable characters, scientific breakthroughs and pinnacle moments. It delves into the development of robotic spacecraft and what uncrewed and crewed missions above and beyond our planet have uncovered. It questions how this knowledge will aid us in our future space endeavours, and the myriad questions that remain unanswered.

The Colour of Angels uncovers the gender politics behind our attitude to the senses. Using a wide variety of examples, ranging from the sensuous religious visions of the middle ages through to nineteenth-century art movements, this book reveals a previously unexplored area of womens history.

eBook available with sample pages: 020300759X

The Colour of Angels uncovers the gender politics behind our attitude to the senses. Using a wide variety of examples, ranging from the sensuous religious visions of the middle ages through to nineteenth-century art movements, this book reveals a previously unexplored area of womens' history.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415180732

This book presents a new approach to the subject of cosmology. It fully exploits Einstein's theory of general relativity. It is found that the most general formal expression of the theory replaces the (10-component) tensor formalism with a (16-component) quaternion formalism. This leads to a unified field theory, where one field incorporates gravitation and electromagnetism. The theory predicts an oscillating universe cosmology with a spiral configuration. Dark matter is explained in terms of a sea of particleantiparticle pairs, each in a particular (derived) ground state. This leads to an explanation for the separation between matter and antimatter in the universe. There is a brief discussion of black holes and pulsars. The final chapter delves into philosophical considerations such as the different types of 'truth', positivism versus realism and a discussion of the role of the Mach principle in physics and cosmology.

The popularity of Stephen Hawking's work has put cosmology back in the public eye. The question of how the universe began, and why it hangs together, still puzzles scientists. Their puzzlement began two and a half thousand years ago when Greek philosophers first 'looked up at the sky and formed a theory of everything.' Though their solutions are little credited today, the questions remain fresh.
The early Greek thinkers struggled to come to terms with and explain the totality of their surroundings; to identitify an original substance from which the universe was compounded; and to reconcile the presence of balance and proportion with the apparent disorder of the universe.
Rosemary Wright examines the cosmological theories of the `natural philosophers' from Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes to Plato, the Stoics and the NeoPlatonists. The importance of Babylonian and Egyptian forerunners is emphasised.
Cosmology in Antiquity is a comprehensive introduction to the cosmological thought of antiquity, the first such survey since Neugebauer's work of 1962.

The popularity of Stephen Hawking's work has put cosmology back in the public eye. The question of how the universe began, and why it hangs together, still puzzles scientists. Their puzzlement began two and a half thousand years ago when Greek philosophers first "looked up at the sky and formed a theory of everything". Though their solutions are little credited today, the questions remain fresh. The early Greek thinkers struggled to come to terms with and explain the totality of their surroundings, to identitify an original substance from which the universe was compounded, and to reconcile the presence of balance and proportion with the apparent disorder of the universe. M.R. Wright examines the cosmological theories of the "natural philosophers" from Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes to Plato, the Stoics and the neo-Platonists. The importance of Babylonian and Egyptian forerunners is emphasized. This is an introduction to the cosmological thought of antiquity.

This book guides readers (astronomers, physicists, and university students) through central questions of Practical Cosmology, a term used by the late Allan Sandage to denote the modern scientific endeavor to find the cosmological model best describing the universe of galaxies, its geometry, size, age, and matter composition. The authors draw on their personal experience in astrophysics and cosmology to explain key concepts of cosmology, both observational and theoretical, and to highlight several items which give cosmology its special character. These highlighted items are: Ideosyncratic features of the "cosmic laboratory," Malmquist bias in the determination of cosmic distances, Theory of gravitation as a cornerstone of cosmological models, Crucial tests for checking the reality of space expansion, Methods of analyzing the structures of the universe as mapped by galaxies, Usefulness of fractals as a model to describe the large-scale structure and new cosmological physics inherent in the Friedmann world model.

With stunning regularity, the search for our cosmic roots has been yielding remarkable new discoveries about the universe and our place in it. In his compelling book, Origins: The Quest for Our Cosmic Roots, veteran science journalist Tom Yulsman chronicles the latest discoveries and describes in clear and engaging terms what they mean. From the interior of protons to the outer reaches of the universe, and from the control room of one of the world's most powerful particle accelerators to an observatory atop the tallest mountain in the Pacific basin, Yulsman takes readers on a fantastic voyage at the cutting edge of science. How could the universe have sprouted from absolute nothingness? What is the origin of galaxies? How do stars and planets form? And despite what now seem to be incredible odds, how did Earth come to be a rich oasis of biodiversity-one that has given rise to a species intelligent enough to ask these questions? In laying out the answers, Origins addresses some of the most profound issues humans have ever confronted.

This book is a collection of contributions examining cosmology from multiple perspectives. It presents articles on traditional Native American and Chinese cosmologies and traces the historical roots of western cosmology from Mesopotamia and pre-Socratic Greece to medieval cosmology.

The last decade has witnessed a breathtaking expansion of ideas concerning the origin and evolution of the universe. Researchers in cosmology thus need an unprecedented wide background in diverse areas of physics. Bridging the gap that has developed, Physics of the Early Universe explains the foundations of this subject. This postgraduate-/research-level volume covers cosmology, gauge theories, the standard model, cosmic strings, and supersymmetry.

General relativity and quantum mechanics have become the two central pillars of theoretical physics. Moreover, general relativity has important applications in astrophysics and high-energy particle physics. Covering the fundamentals of the subject, Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation describes the universe as revealed by observations and presents a theoretical framework to enable important cosmological formulae to be derived and numerical calculations performed. Avoiding elaborate formal discussions, the book presents a practical approach that focuses on the general theory of relativity. It examines different evolutionary models and the gravitational effects of massive bodies. The book also includes a large number of worked examples and problems, half with solutions.

Relativistic cosmology has in recent years become one of the most exciting and active branches of current research. In conference after conference the view is expressed that cosmology today is where particle physics was forty years ago, with major discoveries just waiting to happen. Also gravitational wave detectors, presently under construction or in the testing phase, promise to open up an entirely novel field of physics. It is to take into account such recent developments, as well as to improve the basic text, that this second edition has been undertaken. The most affected is the last part on cosmology, but there are smaller additions, corrections, and additional exercises throughout. The books basic purpose is to make relativity come alive conceptually. Hence the emphasis on the foundations and the logical subtleties rather than on the mathematics or the detailed experiments per se. Aided by some 300 exercises, the book promotes a deep understanding and the confidence to tackle any fundamental relativistic problem. To request a copy of the Solutions Manual, visit: http: //global.oup.com/uk/academic/physics/admin/solutions

One of the most important works of modern anthropology. Written against the backdrop of the student uprisings of the late 1960s, the book took seriously the revolutionary fervour of the times, but instead of seeking to destroy the rituals and symbols that can govern and oppress, Mary Douglas saw instead that if transformation were needed, it could only be made possible through better understanding. Expressed with clarity and dynamism, the passionate analysis which follows remains one of the most insightful and rewarding studies of human behaviour ever written.

Translations of the Yi jing into western languages have been biased towards the yili ('meaning and pattern') tradition, whereas studies of the xiangshu ('image and number') tradition - which takes as its point of departure the imagery and numerology associated with divination and its hexagrams, trigrams, lines, and related charts and diagrams - has remained relatively unexplored. This major new reference work is organised as a Chinese-English encyclopedia, arranged alphabetically according to the pinyin romanisation, with Chinese characters appended. A character index as well as an English index is included. The entries are of two kinds: technical terms and various other concepts related to the 'image and number' tradition, and bio-bibliographical information on Chinese Yi jing scholars. Each entry in the former category has a brief explanation that includes references to the origins of the term, cross-references, and a reference to an entry giving a more comprehensive treatment of the subject.

Scientific and popular literature on modern cosmology is very extensive; however, scholarly works on the historical development of cosmology are few and scattered. The Oxford Handbook of the History of Modern Cosmology offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of cosmology from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. It provides historical background to what we know about the universe today, including not only the successes but also the many false starts. Big Bang theory features prominently, but so does the defunct steady state theory. The book starts with a chapter on the pre-Einstein period (1860-1910) and ends with chapters on modern developments such as inflation, dark energy and multiverse hypotheses. The chapters are organized chronologically, with some focusing on theory and others more on observations and technological advances. A few of the chapters discuss more general ideas, relating to larger contexts such as politics, economy, philosophy and world views.

Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology gives undergraduate students an overview of the fundamental ideas behind the geometric theory of gravitation and spacetime. Through pointers on how to modify and generalise Einstein's theory to enhance understanding, it provides a link between standard textbook content and current research in the field.Chapters present complicated material practically and concisely, initially dealing with the mathematical foundations of the theory of relativity, in particular differential geometry. This is followed by a discussion of the Einstein field equations and their various properties. Also given is analysis of the important Schwarzschild solutions, followed by application of general relativity to cosmology. Questions with fully worked answers are provided at the end of each chapter to aid comprehension and guide learning. This pared down textbook is specifically designed for new students looking for a workable, simple presentation of some of the key theories in modern physics and mathematics.

You have just discovered the literary masterpiece that answers your questions about God, life in the inhabited universe, the history and future of this world, and the life of Jesus. The Urantia Book harmonizes history, science, and religion into a philosophy of living that brings new meaning and hope into your life. If you are searching for answers, read The Urantia Book! The world needs new spiritual truth that provides modern men and women with an intellectual pathway into a personal relationship with God. Building on the world's religious heritage, The Urantia Book describes an endless destiny for humankind, teaching that living faith is the key to personal spiritual progress and eternal survival. These teachings provide new truths powerful enough to uplift and advance human thinking and believing for the next 1000 years. A third of The Urantia Book is the inspiring story of Jesus' entire life and a revelation of his original teachings. This panoramic narrative includes his birth, childhood, teenage years, adult travels and adventures, public ministry, crucifixion, and 19 resurrection appearances. This inspiring story recasts Jesus from the leading figure of Christianity into the guide for seekers of all faiths and all walks of life.

In this thought-provoking book Kuppers, an internationally renowned physicist, philosopher and theoretical biologist, addresses a number of science's deepest questions: Can physics advance to the origin of all things and explain the unique phenomena of life, time and history? Are there unsolvable enigmas of the world? How did life originate? Is language a general phenomenon of Nature? What is time? Is it possible to express the history of the world in formulae? Where is science leading us? These and other provocative questions essential for a deeper understanding of the world are treated here in a refreshing and stimulating manner.

A new look at the first few seconds after the Big Bang-and how research into these moments continues to revolutionize our understanding of our universe Scientists in recent decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But we still know little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have learned and are striving to understand about this mysterious period at the beginning of cosmic history. Delving into the remarkable science of cosmology, Dan Hooper describes many of the extraordinary questions that scientists are asking about the origin and nature of our world. Hooper examines how the Large Hadron Collider and other experiments re-create the conditions of the Big Bang, how we may finally discover the way dark matter was formed during our universe's first moments, and how, with new telescopes, we are lifting the veil on the era of cosmic inflation. At the Edge of Time presents an accessible investigation of our universe and its birth.

This book accompanies another book by the same authors, Introduction to the Theory of the Early Universe: Hot Big Bang Theory and presents the theory of the evolution of density perturbations and relic gravity waves, theory of cosmological inflation and post-inflationary reheating. Written in a pedagogical style, the main chapters give a detailed account of the established theory, with derivation of formulas. Being self-contained, it is a useful textbook for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students. Essential materials from General Relativity, theory of Gaussian random fields and quantum field theory are collected in the appendices. The more advanced topics are approached similarly in a pedagogical way. These parts may serve as a detailed introduction to current research.