Creation: The Story of the Origin and Evolution of the Universe - Softcover

Parker, Barry R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306429527 ISBN 13: 9780306429521

Publisher: Springer, 1988

Synopsis

I remember once watching a presentation of the creation of the universe in a planetarium. It was a fascinating experience: lights flashing, particles appearing to rush by as an explosive roar echoed throughout the planetarium. Then suddenly ... black­ ness. And after a few seconds ... tiny lights--stars blinking into existence. I tried to imagine myself actually going back to this event. Was this really what it was like? It was an interesting facsimile, but far from what the real thing would have been like. The creation of the universe is an event that is impossible to imagine accurately. Fortunately, this has not discouraged peo­ ple from wondering what it was like. In Creation I have attempted to take you back to the begin­ ning-the big bang explosion-so that you can watch the uni­ verse grow and evolve. Starting with the first fraction of a sec­ ond, I trace the universe from its initial dramatic expansion through to the formation of the first nuclei and atoms. From here I go to the formation of galaxies and the curious distribu­ tion they have taken in space. Finally I talk about the formation of elements in stars, and the first life on the planets around them.

About this title

Reviews

Contemplating the Big Bang, scientists now speak of the Planck era, the electroweak era, the lepton era, etc.minute subdivisions of the first nanoseconds in the universe's birth. In a delightfully readable tour for the layperson, Parker ( Einstein's Dream , Search for a Supertheory ) keeps getting deliberately sidetracked as he takes us back to those earliest moments, for, to understand the primordial universe, one must understand quarks, pions, bosons, weak and strong forces. The author, a professor at Idaho State University, bounces around this strange subatomic world. He also interweaves earthy profiles of Edwin Hubble, George Gamow, Andrei Sakharov and other cosmologists. By halfway through this illustrated survey, the reader is able to make some sense of current dilemmas, such as: Is the universe made of space-time foam riddled with mini-black holes? Why do vast, bubble-like voids separate superclusters of galaxies? Parker sheds light on the latest batch of enigmas.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306429527
• ISBN 13: 9780306429521
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 310