Timothy Ferris Begins The Whole Shebang With A Succinct Account Of How We Have Come To Know What We Know About The Universe. Then He Explains The Meaning Behind The Exciting New Developments That Have Put Cosmology In The Headlines - Including The Discovery Of Planets Orbiting Stars Other Than Our Sun, Glimpses Through The Hubble Space Telescope Of How The Universe Looked When It Was Only A Fraction Of Its Present Age, And The Detection Of Structure In Relic Radiation From The Big Bang That May Hint At The Mechanisms Of Genesis. Ferris Provides A Lucid, Nontechnical Overview Of Current Research And A Forecast Of Where Cosmological Theory Is Likely To Go In The Twenty-first Century. A Master Analogist, He Presents Accessible Explanations Of Relativity And Quantum Physics, Inflationary Models Indicating That The Universe Is Much Larger Than Had Been Thought, And String Theories That Portray All Matter As Made Of Space. The Centerpiece Of The Whole Shebang Is A Visionary Account Of Near-future Science, In Which Light Is Shed On The Possibility That Our Universe Is One Among Many Universes, Each With Different Physical Laws And Differing Prospects For The Emergence Of Life. The Shores Of Light ... In Which Th Etenets Of The Standard Big Bang Model Are Outlined -- The Expansion Of The Universe ... In Which The Dynamic Cosmos Is Depicted, And Its Prediction By Einstein And The Unheralded Friedmann Recounted -- The Shape Of Space ... In Which We Explore The Geometry Of A Finite But Unbounded Universe -- Blast From The Past ... In Which The Physics Of The Big Bang Is Related To The Origin Of Chemical Elements -- The Black Taj ... In Which The Riddle Of Dark Matter Is Posed, And Various Suspects Interrogated As To Whether They Might Be It -- The Large-scale Structure Of The Universe ... In Which We Ask How It Happens That The Universe At Large Is So Smooth, Yet Locally Is So Lumpy -- Cosmic Evolution ... In Which Th Ehistories Of Plantets, Stars, Galaxies, And The Cosmos Are Scrutinized For Signs Of Darwinian Evolution, And Found Not Entirely Wanting -- Symmetry And Imperfection ... In Which The Universe Is Portrayed As A Shattered Mirror, And Inified Theory As A Way To Fit It Back Together -- The Speed Of Space ... In Which The Inflationary Hypothesis Is Set Forth, Its Ability To Oil The Troubled Waters Of Cosmological Theorizing Appraised, And Its Vision Of A Really Big Universe Presented -- The Origin Of The Universe(s) ... In Which, Like Achilles Chasing The Turtle In Zeno's Paradox, We Pursue But Fail To Snare The Enigma Of Genesis -- Quantum Weirdness ... In Which The Reader Is Asked To Run A Gauntlet Of Puzzling Ideas, And Is Rewarded With A Radical Vision Of The Iniverse As Composed Not Of Many Things But Of One -- A Place For Us ... In Which We Living And (we Think) Thinking Beings Ask What We're Doing Here, And Whether We Would Be Around Were Things Much Different. Timothy Ferris. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [313]-352) And Index.

Whole Shebang a State of the Universes R

A State of the Universe Report

Ferris, Timothy, author

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

New York, NY: Simon & Schuster

Touchstone

United States, United States of America

1st Touchstone ed, New York, NY, ©1998

New York, NY, New York State, 1997

1st Edition, 1997

Reprint, PT, 1998

July 6, 1998

Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-352) and index.

393 pages : 24 cm
Timothy Ferris begins The Whole Shebang with a succinct account of how we have come to know what we know about the universe. Then he explains the meaning behind the exciting new developments that have put cosmology in the headlines - including the discovery of planets orbiting stars other than our sun, glimpses through the Hubble Space Telescope of how the universe looked when it was only a fraction of its present age, and the detection of structure in relic radiation from the big bang that may hint at the mechanisms of genesis. Ferris provides a lucid, nontechnical overview of current research and a forecast of where cosmological theory is likely to go in the twenty-first century. A master analogist, he presents accessible explanations of relativity and quantum physics, "inflationary" models indicating that the universe is much larger than had been thought, and "string" theories that portray all matter as made of space. The centerpiece of The Whole Shebang is a visionary account of near-future science, in which light is shed on the possibility that our universe is one among many universes, each with different physical laws and differing prospects for the emergence of life
Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-352) and index
Preface -- 1. The shores of light ... in which the tenets of the standard big bang model are outlined -- 2. The expansion of the universe ... in which the dynamic cosmos is depicted, and its prediction by Einstein and the unheralded Friedmann recounted -- 3. The shape of space ... in which we explore the geometry of a finite but unbounded universe -- 4. Blast from the past ... in which the physics of the big bang is related to the origin of chemical elements -- 5. The black taj ... in which the riddle of dark matter is posed, and various suspects interrogated as to whether they might be it -- 6. The large-scale structure of the universe ... in which we ask how it happens that the universe at large is so smooth, yet locally is so lumpy -- 7. Cosmic evolution ... in which the histories of planets, stars, galaxies, and the cosmos are scrutinized for signs of Darwinian evolution, and found not entirely wanting -- 8. Symmetry and imperfection ... in which the universe is portrayed as a shattered mirror, and unified theory as a way to fit it back together -- 9. The speed of space ... in which the inflationary hypothesis is set forth, its ability to oil the troubled waters of cosmological theorizing appraised, and its vision of a really big universe presented -- 10. The origin of the universe(s) ... in which, like Achilles chasing the turtle in Zeno's paradox, we pursue but fail to snare the enigma of genesis -- 11. Quantum weirdness ... in which the reader is asked to run a gauntlet of puzzling ideas, and is rewarded with a radical vision of the universe as composed not of many things but of one -- 12. A place for us ... in which we living and (we think) thinking beings ask what we're doing here, and whether we would be around were things much different -- Contrarian theological afterword .. in which God, questioned about cosmological matters, responds with his customary silence -- Notes -- Glossary -- Acknowledgments -- Index

<p><P>From the prizewinning author who has been called "the greatest science writer in the world" comes this delightfully comprehensive and comprehensible report on how science today envisions the universe as a whole.<P>Timothy Ferris provides a clear, elegantly written overview of current research and a forecast of where cosmological theory is likely to go in the twenty-first century. He explores the questions that have occurred to even casual readers &#151; who are curious about nature on the largest scales&#58; What does it mean to say that the universe is "expanding," or that space is "curved"? &#151; and sheds light on the possibility that our universe is only one among many universes, each with its own physical laws and prospects for the emergence of life.<br></p> <h3>Publishers Weekly</h3> <p>Scientists are fond of saying that nature is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine. In this whimsically titled tour de force, Ferris ("Coming of Age in the Milky Way") illustrates that maxim in a vivid and inviting way. He guides his readers through the field of cosmology, where scientists are forced to confront nature at its strangest, yet most profound and fundamental, level. There, physicists envision the universe as a 10-dimensional, ever-expanding entity out of which time and space, energy and matter emerge. It is a field that encompasses theories of the infinitesimally small, the incomprehensibly large and everything in between. Ferris takes us on journeys to black holes, which, though capturing any matter that strays within their "event horizons," are constantly evaporating in a quantum-mechanical haze of "virtual" particles that become tangible. He leads us through our universe, at least 90% of which is made of dark matter, detected only by its gravitational influence. He explores its structure-clusters of galaxies that form bubbles and huge voids hundreds of millions of light years in extent. Is this universe one of many that crystallized in a brief "inflationary" epoch? Is "quantum weirdness" an inescapable description of space-time and matter-energy; or is it a mystery to be unraveled? What are the implications of these discoveries and speculations for philosophy and theology? Ferris touches on all of these, leaving the reader gasping not for more answers but for more questions. BOMC split main selection; QPB and History Book Club alternate selections; Newbridge's Astronomy Book Club and Library of Science main selections.</p>

From the prizewinning author who has been called "the greatest science writer in the world" comes this delightfully comprehensive and comprehensible report on how science today envisions the universe as a whole.
Timothy Ferris provides a clear, elegantly written overview of current research and a forecast of where cosmological theory is likely to go in the twenty-first century. He explores the questions that have occurred to even casual readers -- who are curious about nature on the largest scales: What does it mean to say that the universe is "expanding," or that space is "curved"? -- and sheds light on the possibility that our universe is only one among many universes, each with its own physical laws and prospects for the emergence of life.

This enlightening, engaging look at the universe, the scientists who explore it, and the far-reaching implications of recent discoveries presents an "enjoyable and useful book, a heroic synthesis of cosmic knowledge today" ("The Wall Street Journal")

THIS BOOK will summarize what we know about the cosmos and how we know it, and will speculate about the directions cosmology may take in the future.

2023-06-28