Measuring the Universe: The Historical Quest to Quantify Space - Hardcover

Kitty Ferguson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747221324 ISBN 13: 9780747221326

Publisher: Headline Book Publishing, 1999

Synopsis

If you want to measure how big a stick is, you can use a ruler. Want to know how tall a windmill is? Don't waste time climbing to the top with a long measuring tape. Instead, use the old shadow trick--measure the length of a yardstick's shadow, then measure the windmill's shadow and use ratios to figure out the windmill's height. Even though the windmill is big and intimidating, you can find out its size while remaining safely on the ground. This is the first example in science author Kitty Ferguson's fine book Measuring the Universe , and it sets the reader's brain firmly on the right track for understanding. The topic here is measurement of faraway, distant, difficult things. Starting with Eratosthenes, who found a way of measuring the earth's circumference, and continuing through to modern astrophysicists' quest to measure the universe itself, Ferguson takes us on a full tour of the seemingly immeasurable. Readers are treated to enthusiastic chapters covering all the basic steps astronomers (dating back to Aristarchus of Samos) have taken to understand the arrangement of astronomical objects. How big are stars? Is that black hole moving toward us or away from us? Where is the edge of everything? And how big will the universe get before it stops expanding? You'll meet the men and women who have sought answers to these seemingly impossible questions in this accessible history. Ferguson brilliantly illuminates their personal quests and demonstrates the usefulness of each discovery in driving the next attempt to measure the universe. --Therese Littleton

About this title

About the Author

Kitty Ferguson is a highly acclaimed popular science writer and lecturer, with a special interest in physics and cosmology. She has worked closely with Stephen Hawking who recommends only Kitty's books and his own on the suggested reading list which he sends out to any queries.

Review

The reader is drawn on by some of the best scientific definitions, analogies, simple explanations and downright interesting writing I have ever seen. --Standard

Ferguson is at her best when describing complex ideas in terms that a non-specialist can both understand and enjoy. --Sunday Times

Fascinating...our taste for wonder is well catered for. --Anthony Burgess, Observer

Edition details

• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747221324
• ISBN 13: 9780747221326
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288