Artículos relacionados a The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy,...

The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos (Princeton Science Library) - Tapa blanda

Libro 25 de 61: Princeton Science Library

Kirshner, Robert P.

 
9780691117423: The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos (Princeton Science Library)
Tapa blanda
ISBN 10: 069111742X ISBN 13: 9780691117423
Editorial: Princeton University Press, 2004

Sinopsis

The Extravagant Universe tells the story of a remarkable adventure of scientific discovery. One of the world's leading astronomers, Robert Kirshner, takes readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary cosmological discovery: the expansion of the universe is accelerating under the influence of a dark energy that makes space itself expand. In addition to sharing the story of this exciting discovery, Kirshner also brings the science up-to-date in a new epilogue. He explains how the idea of an accelerating universe--once a daring interpretation of sketchy data--is now the standard assumption in cosmology today. This measurement of dark energy--a quality of space itself that causes cosmic acceleration--points to a gaping hole in our understanding of fundamental physics. In 1917, Einstein proposed the "cosmological constant" to explain a static universe. When observations proved that the universe was expanding, he cast this early form of dark energy aside. But recent observations described first-hand in this book show that the cosmological constant--or something just like it--dominates the universe's mass and energy budget and determines its fate and shape. Warned by Einstein's blunder, and contradicted by the initial results of a competing research team, Kirshner and his colleagues were reluctant to accept their own result. But, convinced by evidence built on their hard-earned understanding of exploding stars, they announced their conclusion that the universe is accelerating in February 1998. Other lines of inquiry and parallel supernova research now support a new synthesis of a cosmos dominated by dark energy but also containing several forms of dark matter. We live in an extravagant universe with a surprising number of essential ingredients: the real universe we measure is not the simplest one we could imagine.

"Sinopsis" puede pertenecer a otra edición de este libro.

Acerca del autor

Robert P. Kirshner is Clowes Professor of Science and Master of Quincy House at Harvard University. He teaches Harvard's large undergraduate course "Matter in the Universe" and is the author of more than 200 scientific publications. President of the American Astronomical Society, he has also written for "National Geographic, Natural History, Scientific American", and "Sky & Telescope".

De la contraportada

'"This book describes a remarkable era in cosmology. Over the last three years several lines of evidence have gelled into a consistent but--to most of us--unexpected picture of what our universe consists of and how it is expanding. Told by a key participant, the story will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in astronomy or cosmology, or even merely a general curiosity about science."--Martin Rees, author ofOur Cosmic Habitat

"This is a wonderful book on one of the hottest topics in science, written by one of the main contributors to the breakthrough. It presents a history of modern cosmology written in a very lively style with amusing personal stories that make the reading easy and entertaining."--Bohdan Paczynski, Princeton University

"Sobre este título" puede pertenecer a otra edición de este libro.

Editorial
Princeton University Press
Año de publicación
2004
Idioma
Inglés
ISBN 10 
069111742X
ISBN 13 
9780691117423
Encuadernación
Tapa blanda
Número de páginas
304
Contacto del fabricante
no disponible
Persona responsable
no disponible