Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe (P.S.)
by Simon Singh
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Book Summary Information
Author: Simon SinghEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-11-01
ISBN: 0007162219
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe (P.S.)
Book Review: A Bigger Bang: A Fantastic Trip into the Unknown
Summary: 5 Stars
This time, in his 3rd book with the similar approach, Simon Singh dwelves into the world of Cosmology (leaving Fermat's Theorem and Coding Theory behind) with the intension of popularizing this field, making it approachable for a broader audience. Does he succeed? Yes, he does (as always this far).
Starting out with the presentation of thoughts on the universe by Greek philosophers, continuing with outlining the ideas (and personalities) of, for instance, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galilei & Einstein, and in the final run describing the back-and-forth battle between the believers of a stationary in contrast to a expanding universe (assuming an infinitely old universe in contrast to creation through a 'Big bang') he takes us on a long, but both fascinating and inspirational journey.
Throughout this trip, we are exposed to a rich amount of facts corresponding to thoughts and derivations based on scientific logic and brilliance from such diverse fields as atomic theory, general physics, chemistry, mathematics and (of course) astronomy. Though the mathematics are kept to a minimum, it might help the reader to be to some extent acquainted with scientifc reasoning based on logical arguments and to hold some tiny insight into the world of academics.
You will meet a set of truly outstanding personalities and make your way through the accumulation of knowledge (in the paradigm-sense) through brilliant theories and observations, all presented in a logically, lively, well-structured and exciting way. You will most likely learn exlicitly by absorbing the actual content, and implicitly through kick-starting your knowledge-searching inherent ability, ending up a brighter and/or better person so to speak. A must read!
[Note: The Swedish-version contains some extra material through comments by the translator Margareta Brogren (for example putting some things into a Swedish context) and the expert reader Hans-Uno Bengtsson (for example making some concepts up-to-date or extending them). Impressive!]
Summary of Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe (P.S.)
A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick theory the Big Bang. In this amazingly comprehensible history of the universe, Simon Singh decodes the mystery behind the Big Bang theory, lading us through the development of one of the most extraordinary, important, and awe-inspiring theories in science.
A baffling array of science books claim to reveal how the mysteries of the universe have been discovered, but Simon Singh's Big Bang actually delivers on that promise. General readers will find it to be among the very best books dealing with cosmology, because Singh follows the same plan he used in his brilliant Code Book: he puts people--not equations--first in the story. By linking the progression of the Big Bang theory with the scientists who built it up bit by bit, Singh also uncovers an important truth about how such ideas grow.
Death is an essential element in the progress of science, since it takes care of conservative scientists of a previous generation reluctant to let go of an old, fallacious theory and embrace a new and accurate one.As harsh as this statement seems, even Einstein defended an outmoded idea about the universe when an unknown interloper published equations challenging the great man. Einstein didn't have to die for cosmology to move forward (he reluctantly apologized for being wrong), but stories like this one show how difficult it can sometimes be for new theories to take root. Fred Hoyle, who coined the term "big bang" as a way to ridicule the idea of a universe expanding from some tiny origin point, strongly believed that the cosmos was in a steady state. But Singh shows how Hoyle's research, meant to prove the contrary, added evidence to the expansion model. Big Bang is also a history of astronomical observation, describing the development of new telescopes that were crucial to the development of cosmology. Handwritten summary notes at the end of each long chapter add a charming, classroom feel to this revealing and very readable book. --Therese Littleton
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