The Three Big Bangs: Comet Crashes, Exploding Stars, And The Creation Of The Universe - Hardcover

Dauber, Philip M.; Muller, Richard A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0201407523 ISBN 13: 9780201407525

Publisher: Basic Books, 1995

Synopsis

Examines the three violent cosmic events that gave birth to the universe and paved the way for human life, from the original ""Big Bang"" to the explosion of a supernova that seeded the solar system with heavy elements and the crash of the comet that killed off the dinosaurs and led to the evolution of mammals.

About this title

About the Author

Richard A. Muller is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

How did the universe begin? The Big Bang. How did our solar system start and where were the elements formed that make up our planet, not to mention our own species? From a supernova explosion. What force drives the pattern of punctuated equilibrium evolution that pervades the geologic record and includes the demise of the dinosaurs, which opened the way for mammals and eventually humans? A comet or asteroid that collided with the earth. In addition to the well-written descriptions of the phenomena mentioned above, we get a cogent synopsis of the pros and cons of developing a detection-and-destruction system to try to protect the earth from another cosmic collision and a defense of Muller's "death star" theory. That, in a nutshell, is the content of the book, but it is worth reading to see the whole story. Recommended for larger public libraries.?Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Working backward in time, physicists Dauber and Muller, both engagingly lucid writers, identify and describe the three main events that brought life to planet Earth. They begin 65 million years ago when a comet or asteroid slammed into the earth and so disrupted the balance of life that two-thirds of all plant and animal species, including the dinosaurs, became extinct. This cataclysmic collision triggered the growth of mammals that led, eventually, to human evolution. Dauber and Muller relate the story of how the Nobel Prize winner Luis Alvarez and his son, Walter Alvarez, presented and then had to defend this theory, which initially sparked heated debate. But back to the cosmos. The next crucial occurrence the authors discuss is the explosion of a giant star, a supernova that brought into being all the chemical elements essential to life. As Dauber and Muller explain the dynamics of this stellar destruction, we suddenly grasp the literal truth of the song lyric "We are stardust." Finally, they get to the ultimate big bang, the original and nearly inconceivable explosion that created not only matter, but space itself, and maybe even time. Donna Seaman

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0201407523
• ISBN 13: 9780201407525
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 207