Revealing the Universe: Prediction and Proof in Astronomy - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262530430 ISBN 13: 9780262530439

Publisher: The MIT Press, 1983

Synopsis

The contributors to this book, in the process of describing for the general reader the most recent advances in man's understanding of the cosmos, at the same time clarify one of the oldest questions in scientific thought: the nature of the mutual interaction between theory and observation, concept and experiment, prediction and proof.

Contributors include Owen Gingerich, Kenneth Bracher, Robert F. C. Vessot, Fred L. Whipple, Fred Franklin, Robert W. Noyes, Robert Rosner, Harvey Tananbaum, Alan P. Lightman, Walter H. G. Lewin, William H. Press, John Huchra, and George B. Field.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Lightman, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences since 1996, is adjunct professor of humanities at MIT. He is the author of several books on science, including "Ancient Light: Our Changing View of the Universe" (1991) and "Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists" (with R. Brawer, 1990). His works of fiction include "Einstein's Dreams" (1993), "The Diagnosis" (2000), which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and, most recently, "Reunion" (2003).

Review

"Revealing the Universe explores the interaction of theory and observation as it occurs today on the frontiers of astronomy. In doing so, it traces the development of Einstein's theory of relativity and conveys current ideas about quasars and black holes, X-ray bursters, the Sun's corona; the evolution of the solar system, and the age and structure of the universe. ...Each of these topics is addressed by two authorities - one a theorist and the other an observer."
- Astronomy

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0262530430
• ISBN 13: 9780262530439
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 264
• Editor: James Cornell