Time Cosmology

Scientists in the past few decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: We still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history.

What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon - the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space - appears to be almost magical.

Christophe Galfard's mission in life is to spread modern scientific ideas to the general public in entertaining ways. Using his considerable skills as a brilliant theoretical physicist and successful young-adult author, The Universe in Your Hand employs the immediacy of simple, direct language to show us, not explain to us, the theories that underpin everything we know about our universe.

Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, and yet they are ubiquitous. Frighteningly enigmatic, these dark giants continue to astound even the scientists who spend their careers studying them. Einstein’s Monsters reveals how our comprehension of black holes is intrinsically linked to how we make sense of the universe and our place within it. From the small questions to the big ones - from the tiniest particles to the nature of space-time itself - black holes might be the key to a deeper understanding of the cosmos.

Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the universe’s history, from recording the afterglow of the big bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There’s a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the universe began and grew up, we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the universe.

Today, across the universe, at the heart of every galaxy, and dotted throughout, mature black holes are creating chaos. And in a quiet part of the universe, the Swift satellite has picked up evidence of a gruesome death caused by one of these dark powers. High-energy X-ray flares shooting out from deep within the Draco constellation are thought to be the dying cries of a white dwarf star being ripped apart by the intense tides of a supermassive black hole—heating it to millions of degrees as it is shredded at the event horizon.

A journey across time, from our most refined understanding of the universe's beginning, to the closest science can take us to the very end. Explore how life and mind emerged from the initial chaos and how our minds, in coming to understand their own impermanence, seek in different ways to give meaning to experience: in story, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth and our longing for the timeless or eternal.

Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past? Greene uses these questions to guide us toward modern science’s new and deeper understanding of the universe.

In 2000, Martin Bojowald, then a 27-year-old post-doc at Pennsylvania State University, used a relatively new theory called loop quantum gravity - a cunning combination of Einstein’s theory of gravity with quantum mechanics - to create a simple model of the Universe. Loop quantum cosmology was born, and with it, a theory that managed to do something even Einstein’s general theory of relativity had failed to do - illuminate the very birth of the Universe.

"The Beginner's Guide to Parallel Realities" transforms mind-bending concepts into accessible insights that will forever change how you view reality. Using clear examples and engaging thought experiments, this guide breaks down complex theories about the multiverse, time travel, and alternate dimensions into digestible pieces that anyone can understand.

Written in simple and accessible language, this nontechnical introduction to cosmology, or the creation and development of the universe, explains the discipline, covers its history, details the latest developments, and explains what is known, what is believed, and what is purely speculative. In addition, the author discusses the development of the Big Bang theory, and more speculative modern issues like quantum cosmology, superstrings, and dark matter.

Unlock the universe's secrets with "Gravitational Waves," an exhilarating journey into the forefront of modern astrophysics. Dive into the cosmos' hidden symphony where ripples in space-time hold the key to understanding both the vast and the minute. This eBook invites you on a voyage starting from the dawn of gravitational wave astronomy, ushering you into a world where Einstein’s groundbreaking predictions meet cutting-edge technology like LIGO and Virgo. Embark on a historical exploration of space-time, tracing the lineage of thought from Einstein’s revolutionary ideas to today’s ...

This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics will also find their nagging questions addressed, like whether the universe can expand faster than light.

Have you ever wondered why you exist? What had to happen for you to be alive and conscious? Scientists have come a long way in answering this question, and this book describes what they have found out. It also examines whether our existence was inevitable at the universe's birth 13.77 billion years ago—or whether we are just incredibly lucky. The book is aimed at those who are interested in science but are not experts.

In this special thematic anthology, we traverse the solar system, the galaxies and the multiverse, voyaging across space to explore 25 celestial objects and phenomena. Included are programmes on the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets - among them our near neighbours, Venus and Mars. Also featured are discussions on comets, asteroids and black holes, as well as eclipses, exoplanets and the mysterious, invisible substance known as 'dark matter'.

One of the biggest questions Stephen Hawking tried to answer in his extraordinary life was how the universe could have created conditions so perfectly hospitable to life. But his famous theory on the Big Bang ran into a crisis when the equations predicted a multiverse - countless different universes, most of which were too bizarre to support life. Holed away in the physics department at Cambridge, Stephen Hawking and his collaborator Thomas Hertog worked for twenty years on a new theory of the cosmos.

In this vibrant, eye-opening tour of milestones in the history of our universe, Chris Impey guides us through space and time, leading us from the familiar sights of the night sky to the dazzlingly strange aftermath of the Big Bang. What if we could look into space and see not only our place in the universe but also how we came to be here? As it happens, we can. Because it takes time for light to travel, we see more and more distant regions of the universe as they were in the successively greater past.

Let us journey, with beloved physicist Carlo Rovelli, into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble - on and on - down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we'll see geometry fold, we'll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we'll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then - the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born.

Space is the biggest, oldest, hottest, coldest, strangest thing a human can study. It's no surprise then, that the weirdest facts in science (not to mention the weirdest scientists themselves) are found in astrophysics and cosmology. If you're looking for instructions on how to set up your grandad's telescope this book probably isn't for you. In Astronomical, Tim James takes us on a tour of the known (and unknown) Universe, focusing on the most-mind boggling stuff we've come across, as well as unpacking the latest theories about what's really going on out there.

Imagine if The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy were a real, practical book about the mysteries of the universe.... The Universe in Your Hand takes us on a wonder-filled journey to the surface of our dying sun, shrinks us to the size of an atom and puts us in the deathly grip of distant black holes. Along the way you might come to understand, really understand, the mind-bending science that underpins modern life, from quantum mechanics to Einstein's theory of general relativity.