The British Astronomer Royal speaks out in clear and accessible
language about the nature of the universe we live in. The birth and
death of the universe, the possible existence of other universes,
black holes and time travel all feature: There is some overlap with
Rees's book, The Stuff of the Universe, but if you don't already
have that this is an excellent introduction to current cosmological
thinking - far more accessible than A Brief History of Time.
(Kirkus UK)
In this landmark book, one of the twentieth century's greatest
astronomers presents scientific evidence that our vast universe may
be only a grain of sand on the infinite cosmic shore.It is now
widely accepted that our universe exploded around 15 billion years
ago from an unimaginably energetic initial event: the big bang. As
the primordial material expanded and cooled, it evolved into the
exquisite patterns of stars and galaxies we now observe. The mix of
energy and radiation that characterizes our universe was imprinted
in that initial instant,as were the binding forces of nuclear
physics and gravity that controlled our universe's evolution.The
experimental triumphs and theoretical insights of recent years,from
the detection of neutrinos from exploding stars to the search for
extraterrestrial life,offer the most dramatic enlargement in our
concept of the universe since astronomers first realized the sun's
true place among the stars. In this illuminating work, Sir Martin
Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal and one of the most creative and
original of contemporary scientists, draws these advances together
with up-to-the-minute research on black holes, dark matter, and
nucleosynthesis of the elements. He also sheds light on some of the
personalities behind the science, offering first-hand impressions
of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Stephen Hawking, John Archibald
Wheeler, and Fred Hoyle, among others.With stunning clarity,
Professor Rees argues that a family,even an infinity,of universes
may have been created, each by its own big bang, and each acquiring
a distinctive imprint and its own laws of physics. These baby
universes will either live out their immense cosmic cycle, or die
because those laws do not allow them to achieve longevity.Our "home
universe," then, is just one element in a cosmic archipelago where
impassable barriers prohibit communication between the islands.
But, as Rees demonstrates, our universe is an exceptional member of
this infinite ensemble, for it is still near the beginning of a
fascinating evolutionary process that will end either in the
heat-death of external expansion, or in what scientists call a "big
crunch." Most remarkable of all, our universe contains creatures
able to observe it. The multi-universe revolution in cosmological
thought limned by Rees casts a piercing light on man's place in the
cosmos, and argues that the conditions permitting the evolution of
life stand on the razor's edge between a dead universe and one
filled with living beings.
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