About the Author:
RICHARD MORRIS is the critically acclaimed author of eight books in popular science, including Time's Arrows, The Fate of the Universe, and Dismantling the Universe: The Nature of Scientific Theory. He holds a Ph.D. in physics and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
From Library Journal:
Together, these two books provide a fascinating and excellent introduction to modern cosmology in terms of recent scientific discoveries and new theoretical frameworks. They focus on basic questions concerning the origin and history of this universe that remain unanswered despite Albert Einstein's relativity physics, Niels Bohr's quantum mechanics, and Stephen Hawking's speculations on time and black holes. In Cosmic Questions , physicist Morris gives a clear and concise treatment of space; cosmic models, e.g., the Big Bang theory, with its early but short inflationary expansion phase; and the ongoing quest for a grand unified theory (GUT) of subatomic particles. He also briefly discusses quarks, quasars, wormholes, superstrings, antimatter, galactic halos, quantum fluctuations, and nonbaryonic dark matter, e.g., neutrinos. Especially engaging are his comments on theories of time and the anthropic principle. Against the background of the Hubble constant, Guth's inflationary model of this universe, and the author's own scientific involvement in mapping the distribution of galaxies, astronomer Rowan-Robinson's Ripples in the Cosmos stresses the far-reaching consequences of Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson's dicovery of the Big Bang microwave background radiation in 1965 and their discovery of "ripples" in this radiation in 1992. Two remaining difficulties are accounting for the origin of galactic structures and determining the critical density of this universe. Nevertheless, telescopic discoveries are setting limits to cosmic models, theories, and speculations. Also, both authors touch upon the philosophical significance of human life in an evolving cosmos. As a general survey of our expanding universe written to benefit both the lay reader and specialist, these two books are recommended for all science collections. --James Birx, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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