Space Time Infinity: The Smithsonian Views the Universe

Large Book. With the rush of information brought by each new space probe, increasingly sophisticated technology, and breakthroughs in the field of theoretical physics, today's scientists regard the nature and origins- and the likely future- of the universe very differently than did astronomers even a few years ago. Each day Smithsonian Institution scientists and their affiliates, at the center of the nation's push to the edges of the universe, receive the latest astronomical research from around the world, and work to develop advanced equipment to further this research. The eminent physicist and acclaimed author Dr. James Trefil has worked with these scientists to assemble this book: the only clear, comprehensive, authoritative, and dazzlingly illustrated primer of the new astronomy and cosmology. Here is a portrait of the universe as it is understood by today's most informed scientists. Beginning as near as possible to "Time Zero"-a fraction of a millisecond after the moment of creation-Dr. Trefil takes us on an exhilarating tour through time and space, bringing us finally to the brink of mankind's first glimpses of infinity. Moving from the ancients, the neolithic "howling barbarian" school of archaeology, to the moderns, the new physicists who are on the verge of formulating a "grand unification theory" as powerful as Einstein's, linking the atom to the force of gravity and to the evolution of stars and galaxies, he traces not only the history of astronomy but also the evolution of microseconds or thousand-year sweeps, elementary particles such as quarks, bosons, and gluons; technology such as ultraviolet telescopes and infrared searches; or large scientific concepts such as the riddle of the singularity or the problem of the inflationary universe, Trefil's text is always illuminating and evocative. His scientifically accurate and stylistically captivating, lucid explanations tie the most distant phenomena and complex theories to what is familiar, engaging our active participation. Over 300 outstandingly reproduced full-color illustrations, many never before released for publication and many commissioned especially for this book, amplify and ornament its every page. The grandeur of such extraterrestrial wonders as newly discovered cosmic jets and synchrotron galaxies; rare and curious historical artifacts, and phenomenal futuristic technology are stunningly displayed and integrated to make the text more easily understood. Dr. Trefil and the Smithsonian Institution have truly prepared the ultimate book for every reader who wants to join the great cosmological quest to probe the origins of our star system, our universe, and ourselves.