Joseph Silk - Horizons of Cosmology Exploring Worlds Seen and U

General Information =================== Title............: Horizons of Cosmology: Exploring Worlds Seen and Unseen Author...........: Joseph Silk Read By..........: Joe Barrett Genre............: Science - Cosmology, Physics Publisher........: University Press Audiobooks Year.............: 2010 Unabridged.......: Yes Language.........: English Original Media Information ========================== Media............: Audible enhanced (.aax) File Information ================ Number of MP3s...: 54 Total Duration...: 7 hours 5 minutes Total MP3 Size...: 197 MB Ripped by........: deandominic Ripper...........: Tunebite Encoder..........: LAME 3.98 Encoder Settings.: CBR 64 kbit/s 22500 Hz Mono ID3 Tags.........: v1.1, v2.3 (includes embedded album art) Book Description ================ Horizons of Cosmology: Exploring Worlds Seen and Unseen is the fourth title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, highly esteemed astrophysicist Joseph Silk explores the vast mysteries and speculations of the field of cosmology in a way that balances an accessible style for the general reader and enough technical detail for advanced students and professionals. Indeed, while the physical laws and origins of the universe can be endlessly complex, even Einstein once mused that they could be explained simply enough to be grasped by nonspecialists. To that end, Silk begins by introducing the basic story of the major discoveries in cosmology over the past century—wherein we learned that we live in an expanding universe populated with galaxies and stars. The middle chapters examine a number of contemporary puzzles such as dark matter and dark energy. The last third of the book looks at the human side of cosmology and moves to the more philosophical frontiers of the field, such as concepts of multiverses and time travel—areas of exploration where some crossover into speculative territory becomes unavoidable. In the past century alone, our understanding of the universe has expanded exponentially, and it will be fascinating to see what discoveries the next hundred years hold. Few books will provide such a thorough understanding of where we have been and what might lie ahead as Horizons of Cosmology. Review ====== This is not a book for beginners, but those with some grounding in stellar physics and also those who dislike equations can expect a delicious feast of mysteries and ways to solve them in store. I found it difficult, but incredibly rewarding, with some of the best ‘Eureka!’ moments I've yet experienced, especially in understanding dark matter. The birth of the Universe, inflation, and galaxy formation are examined through the context of dark matter and dark energy. Exquisite structures, more than stars, galaxies and clusters, emerged through thought and technology. Unsolved problems, such as the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, are treated as necessary for an ever-interesting future. We visit scientists too, and the mistakes of some of the greatest. It is not explicitly spelled out, but the attempts at a ‘grand unification’, and trying to think of theory first and facts later, come out as the worst paths to failure. The only annoyance I found with this book is in the final chapter, when this principle itself is contradicted by the author's assumption that time travel and wormholes will be found in or near black holes. He explains that physics does not forbid time travel, but not where black holes come into it, which felt like sudden science fiction after a very rigorous emphasis on fact. Although the book is almost all physics, apart from some forecasting and a chapter on the anthropic principle and its variants at the end, it's listed as Science and Religion. It was written for the Templeton Series, which attempts to either contrast, or unite, science with religion. Horizons of Cosmology does something cleverer than either, offering courteous support to both religious and non-religious approaches; I think the author has a preference, but this was only hinted at the end. The three imaginary characters used – a master chef, a physicist on a cloudy world and a time traveller – are pointedly all made female. ‘Don't be prejudiced’ is a very clear message, in both scientific method and socially – you won't be in any doubt that science does not obey our way of thinking! Alice Sheppard

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wendun (2011-04-13)

Thanks very much.