The accelerating Universe. Livio M.

The accelerating Universe



Download The accelerating Universe



The accelerating Universe Livio M. ebook pdf
Publisher: Wiley
Language: English
Page: 289
ISBN: 0471399760, 9780471399766

From Publishers Weekly

One of the most important recent discoveries in cosmology--and science in general--is that the expansion rate of the universe is not staying steady or getting slower, as most scientists had assumed; on the contrary, it is accelerating. Something is counteracting gravity and making it so that in billions of years, the universe will be an even vaster, emptier realm, filled with stars and galaxies flickering out one by one until there is only darkness. In this book, Livio, a senior scientist at Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute, evaluates current theories about the universe in terms of whether or not they are "beautiful." Livio defines beauty for purely scientific purposes: a beautiful scientific theory, he explains, must be symmetric and simple (reductionist), and it must follow the Copernican principle that man is not the center of the universe--it need not be elegant. Livio's discussion, however, carefully constructed (like a well-laid-out mathematical proof), certainly is elegant. Readers who only hazily remember high school math and science classes will enjoy the author's clear, jargon-free explanation of such complicated astronomical concepts as inflationary theory, "pocket" or multiple universes and the anthropic principle. Although the opening chapters are weighed down with extraneous references to art and literature, once Livio gets into his subject, he employs such references more selectively. Any educated individual interested in current theories about the past and future of the universe will want to read this lucid book. 10 b&w photos and drawings. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Like Donald W. Goldsmith's The Runaway Universe (LJ 1/00), this is a survey of modern cosmology, with an emphasis on recent observations that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating speed. But while Goldsmith focuses on the techniques of astronomical research, Livio, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, concentrates on scientific aesthetics. He argues that a fundamental theory of the universe must be beautiful--symmetrical, reductionist, and compliant with the generalized Copernican principle (i.e., assuming no special circumstances)--even though an eternally expanding universe appears to violate the requisites for scientific beauty. Along the way, Livio often digresses, recounting sometimes irrelevant anecdotes about astronomers or works of art. Superbly accessible explanations of physical and astronomical concepts compensate, however. More appropriate for general readers than Goldsmith's book, this is recommended for public and academic libraries.
-Nancy Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



MORE EBOOKS:
online Graduate Mathematical Physics, with MATHEMATICA Supplements
online Men at Arms No. 118 - the Jacobite Rebellions 1689 - 1745
online The accelerating Universe







Tags: The accelerating Universe ebook pdf djvu epub
The accelerating Universe download pdf epub djvu
Download The accelerating Universe free ebook pdf
Read The accelerating Universe online book
The accelerating Universe cheap ebook for kindle and nook
The accelerating Universe download book
Livio M. ebooks
The accelerating Universe download pdf rapidshare mediafire fileserve 4shared torrent