An interesting variety of ideas
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Gribbin updates his previous similar books ( In the Begining & The Case of the missing neutrinos ) with quite a diverse book. It is obvious that to understand large scale events in the universe, also requires a grasp of the very small. Gribbin kicks off with several chapters to bridge this gap and his analogies are spot on.
However, despite reading loads of popular science and being educated in A-level physics, I still found the first hundred pages a bit of a labour of love. It could have done with a chart to help picture the relationship of the small particles mentioned. The glossary of terms was a helpful aid.
After this small matter (sorry), the actual universe description was characteristically spectacular. This was Gribbin on home territory and generally describing areas of science that seem better understood.
All things considered, if you want up to date cosmology knowledge without equations, this is highly recommended. If you would prefer a slightly easier read on a similar subject, consider "Our cosmic origins" by Armand Delsemme or "The 5 ages of the Universe" by Gregory Laughlin, which I thought were both fantastic reads.
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Big ideas in a small book
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John Gribbin's deserved reputation is well endorsed by this book. His ability to make the arcane or obscure clear and understandable is brought to bear on some of the most difficult topics in science - the complex physics of the Big Bang, the actions taking place within an atom, and the very origins of life on Earth. He even reaches into the future to consider "How Will It All End?" That track, from chaotic beginnings to some poorly defined end, constitutes a "life". Hence "A Biography" is explained in the title.
The "birth" of the universe had no midwives and the certificate can be read only by some instruments and inspired perception. However, as Gribbin makes serious effort to explain, those early times can be deduced to a large extent. The deductions are explained in the preliminary opening chapter where he discusses what "we think we know" and why. The foundation of much scientific thinking rests on "models" which are representative of reality, not reality itself. Models are the means whereby reality is tested, which is what renders the model subject to modification. In his chapters on the big bang and atomic theory, Gribbin shows how models have been refined as new information is accumulated from space or derived in the laboratory.
The author is effusive in his admiration of how much new knowledge, and the models explaining it, arose in the 20th Century. The forces comprising atomic "particles" are carefully explained, with credits acknowledging the researchers identifying them and their significance. More than any other aspect, the universality of those forces is key to understanding how the universe developed from the initial outburst. Although that universality has prompted attempts to devise a "theory of everything", there remain too many variants to allow a single concept to encompass them all. Why, for example, is the universe dominated by particles instead of their "anti-" equivalent? Gribbin takes us through the steps, showing how forces shaping our known universe were the result of its cooling and dispersion. His explanation of the "inflation" phase of the universe's development is a fine example of his prose skills. Most compelling in his description is the proposal that new "universes" could be emerging from within our own, going through similar processes, but invisible to us through their propagation of new dimensions in their formation.
From its abrupt beginning, the author continues, the universe had "reached the ripe old age of thirteen minutes" when all the particles we know today had been formed. For another hundred thousand years [in a universe nearly 14 billion years old!] "nothing much happened" beyond further expansion and cooling. The expansion was constant, but there were "ripples" in the material composing the universe. These inconsistencies allowed gravity to impose its weak but ever-present force to begin the formation of the first stars and galaxies. He notes how recently [2004] the Hubble Deep Field survey has detected light from those stellar groupings. A prize aspect of this book is the updating of information accomplished in recent years. That research is providing new insights into how "flat" the cosmos is and what its likely finish will be like - the topic of his conclusion.
Before that time, however, we must address the origins of those doing the research and predictions. Life on Earth is the focus of many fields, from astronomy, nuclear physics and the actions that take place in forming stars - and their planets. His chapter on the origins of life is the most enthralling of all. Far from a unique occurrence in the universe, planetary formation and the stirrings of life are almost certainly common occurrences. Gribbin explains how organic molecules occur in such diverse environments as stellar birth and death. He notes than more than 130 complex organic molecules, most based on carbon, but some on other elements are formed and transported across space. The material of cell membranes is seen in space, and in contact with water, spontaneously generate the structure of microbes. All these compounds are arriving here borne by space debris - comets and meteorites.
His conclusion, given how little we still "know" about universe development, is understandably sparse. No definitive answer of how the universe will "die" is available at this time. Gribbin explains the background ideas and speculations on the universe's finale with his usual skill. His grasp of ideas is firm and skillfully presented. In fact, about the only thing that can be said to be missing is some illustrative material to enhance his prose. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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A great book if you are
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Curious in a scientific sense. I was not looking for literary genius - I was looking to information and answers to questions that I have had for ages. This book provides that to a good degree.
I would say that it covers or tries to cover too many aspects at the same time. May be that is required to go to the depths that Gribbin has gone into. One weak area that I did find - is the discussion on String theories and M-theories. Then again, it is difficult to get into the detailed understanding of these, without the mathematics and physics of it all. Overall, and excellent book to gain more insight.
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Perfectly pitched guide to a mind blowing subject
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I am also surprised at the negative reviews of this book.
For me, the literary approach could not have been better. The subject matter in itself is so far reaching and mind blowing that I don't need it to be dressed up with unnecessarily flowery language. I don't want to be told to think 'Wow!'; I want to read the facts and feel the 'Wow!' for myself. And, did I ever feel it having read this.
Often, the only cutting edge astronomy which filters down to the lay person is in the form of shock news headlines like 'Scientists say life came from Comets!', and you are left with little appreciation of how or why anyone came to such conclusions; or indeed if it is even a prevailing opinion in the scientific community at large or rather a piece of crank research pounced upon by a desperate hack.
This book addresses many such remarkable conclusions and explains, in terms most of us can appreciate, where such ideas come from. The clear explanation early in the book of what a good scientist means by a 'model' is crucial to this understanding. It is because astonishing predictions made by such models have come to be observably true again and again that we can have some faith in further predictions that have yet to be conclusively observed.
To return briefly to the writing style: I found it to be clear and straightforward and the book was a real page-turner because of, rather than in spite of this. As with any good guide, there was nothing to get in the way of understanding and appreciating the subject, which is quite amazing enough in itself. But if I did detect any hint of John Gribbin coming through, it was his pleasure in being able to share his own sense of wonderment on themes he obviously loves and understands so well.
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The eye of the Beholder
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I'm fascinated by the way this book provokes either a 5 star response or a 1 star response, with nothing in between. I''m a five-star fan myself, and I think the reason for the dichotomy (hem hem, as Molesworth would say) is that John Gribbin is so careful to get his facts right and to spell out what he means by words like "model." If you don't care and just want an easy but sloppy read, this might annoy you. But if you want the real stuff and proper science, there is nothing better. For as big a subject as the universe, of course it makes sense to start by spelling things out. And why shouldn't red shift come in where it does, if that's the proper place? I'm sure my views wont win any converts, and no doubt John Gribbin would aggree that any publicity is good publicity, but I just wanted to get this off my chest.
Dave
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