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Summary
Summary
A celebrated astronomer makes a powerful case for the harmony between two of physics' most important and seemingly contradictory theories
The twentieth century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behavior of very large things, and quantum theory the behavior of very small things. In this landmark book, John Gribbin--one of the best-known science writers of the past thirty years--presents his own version of the Holy Grail of physics, the search that has been going on for decades to find a unified "Theory of Everything" that combines these ideas into one mathematical package, a single equation that could be printed on a T-shirt, containing the answer to life, the Universe, and everything. With his inimitable mixture of science, history, and biography, Gribbin shows how--despite skepticism among many physicists--these two great theories are very compatible, and point to a deep truth about the nature of our existence. The answer lies, intriguingly, with the age of the universe: 13.8 billion years.
Author Notes
John R. Gribbin (born 19 March 1946) is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. The topical range of his prolific writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.
In 1984, Gribbin published In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality, the book that he is best known for, which continues to sell well even after years of publication. At the 2009 World Conference of Science Journalists, the Association of British Science Writers presented Gribbin with their Lifetime Achievement award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Acclaimed science writer Gribbin (Einstein's Masterwork), a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex, delivers a lively and accessible look at how astronomers determined the age of our universe. Popular science titles tend to cover the same ground from similar perspectives, but Gribbin takes a fresh angle by working from two different directions: the physics of the very small (quantum theory) and the physics of the very large (Einstein's general relativity). The development of quantum theory in the early 20th century provided the tools to work out how stars produce energy, how they evolve, and how to calculate how old they are. Then, switching tracks, Gribbin shows how determining stellar distances led to the realization that our universe is expanding. Einstein's general theory of relativity let scientists give shape to the universe and determine both how it evolved and its age. Along the way, Gribbin intrigues with background details on such figures as the ground-breaking women astronomers Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Cecilia Payne, crack Mt. Wilson observer Milton Humason, and cosmologist Thomas Gold, who found cosmic inspiration in a horror film. Readers who are weary of typical pop science books will find themselves highly entertained. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Astrophysicist Gribbin (Erwin Schrodinger and the Quantum Revolution, 2013, etc.) clearly explains how the accidental discovery of "the cosmic microwave background radiation" in the mid-1960s led to the assignment of a definitive date for the origin of the universe. Despite the fact that physicists have yet to unify quantum physics and relativity into one coherent theory, the author believes that the implications stemming from the discovery that the universe is 13.8 billion years old definitively proves the fundamental correctness of both. "The age of the Universe calculated by cosmologistsis just a tiny bit older than the age of the stars it contains," writes the author. The most profound of these is that our universe is not unchangeably "infinite in time and space." In the 1950s, astrophysicists were divided between those who believed in a steady-state universe (led by Albert Einstein) and proponents of the rival Big Bang theory. One way of resolving the dispute was to accurately determine the densities of galaxies in space. This allowed an inference to be drawn about their development over time. The placement of radio telescopes on satellites, which used photographic plates to build up images of the universe, made this possible. Analysis of the data lent credibility to the Big Bang theory, but it was the chance discovery of pervasive cosmic microwave radiation that decisively tipped the balance in its favor. The 1980s discovery of the existence of dark matter and energy (which exert a gravitational force but are impervious to radiation) has allowed scientists to recalculate the rate of expansion of the universe more precisely to fit the observed data. In order to bring lay readers up to speed, Gribbin first reprises the crucial developments, beginning in the 19th century, that have led scientists to their current understanding. An exciting chronicle of a monumental scientific accomplishment by a scientist who participated in the measuring of the age of the universe. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
How old is the universe? The answer is relatively important, but more important is what astrophysicists learned about the universe and its component stars and galaxies while seeking the elusive answer. According to astronomer and best-selling popular-science writer Gribbin (The Fellowship, 2007), the scientific quest took several centuries as astronomers used increasingly larger telescopes, loaded them onto satellites, and applied computers to test their theories about the origins, composition, and ultimate fate of seen and unseen matter. The story's all-star cast includes Johannes Kepler, Albert Einstein, George Darwin (Charles' son), Lord Kelvin, Edwin Hubble, Fred Hoyle, and numerous scientists (especially women) who never received the recognition they deserved. Their struggles are a subplot in this science history, which is mostly stripped of lengthy formulas and scientific proofs. The story ends in 2014, when (Gribbin promises) a definitive, unlikely-to-ever-change answer of 13.8 billion years was calculated. 13.8 is a welcome and relatively quick read for cosmology buffs, students, and amateur astronomers.--Roche, Rick Copyright 2016 Booklist
Choice Review
This well-written book on the history of thought on the age of the universe by prolific science author Gribbin (visiting fellow, astronomy, Univ. of Sussex, UK) is engaging and illuminating. The title derives from the currently accepted age, 13.8 billion years, which can be deduced from two completely independent lines of reasoning. One approach is to estimate the age of the objects in the universe, specifically stars, and presume that the universe must be at least the age of the oldest objects. In practice, this is done by studying the nuclear reactions that power stars and produce the observed distribution of elements in the universe. The second approach is to study the rate of expansion of the universe and work backward to estimate how many years ago that expansion began. The first approach is fundamentally a quantum mechanical one, whereas the second is based on general relativity; so it should come as no surprise that the two approaches gave very different results for many years. Only in recent years have refinements in the approaches given results that are in agreement. Gribbin's account of this remarkable scientific achievement is lucid and accessible to all readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All library collections. --Alan Spero, University of California
Table of Contents
| About the Author | p. v |
| Acknowledgements | p. vi |
| List of Illustrations | p. vii |
| Introduction: The Most Important Fact | p. xi |
| Part 0 Prologue | p. 1 |
| 2.712 - Taking the temperature of the Universe | p. 3 |
| Part 1 How Do We Know the Ages of Stars? | p. 21 |
| 1 2.898 - Prehistory: Spectra and the nature of stars | p. 23 |
| Locating lines | p. 23 |
| Hunting helium | p. 26 |
| Hunting hydrogen | p. 28 |
| The heat of the Sun | p. 32 |
| The heat of the stars | p. 34 |
| The heat inside | p. 37 |
| 2 0.008 - At the heart of the Sun | p. 41 |
| A French connection | p. 42 |
| No free lunch | p. 44 |
| Seats of enormous energies | p. 50 |
| A hotter place? | p. 58 |
| A quantum of solace | p. 62 |
| 3 7.65 - Making 'metals' | p. 65 |
| Cycles and chains of fusion | p. 69 |
| Rocks of ages | p. 75 |
| From the Bomb to the stars | p. 79 |
| The last should be first | p. 82 |
| Stardust | p. 86 |
| 4 13.2 - The ages of stars | p. 91 |
| Hertzsprung, Russell and the diagram | p. 91 |
| Ashes to ashes | p. 93 |
| Globular cluster ages | p. 96 |
| White dwarf ages | p. 100 |
| Radiometric ages and the oldest known star | p. 105 |
| Part 2 How Do We Know the Age of the Universe? | p. 113 |
| 5 31.415 - Prehistory: Galaxies and the Universe at large | p. 115 |
| The power of pure reason | p. 116 |
| One step forward, two steps back | p. 118 |
| Nebular spectroscopy | p. 121 |
| First steps | p. 123 |
| The long and winding road | p. 128 |
| An unresolved debate | p. 131 |
| A universe destroyed | p. 135 |
| 6 575 - The discovery of the expanding Universe | p. 139 |
| Surprising speeds | p. 139 |
| Taking the credit | p. 142 |
| A Russian revolution | p. 148 |
| A Priestly intercession | p. 154 |
| 7 75 - Sizing up the cosmic soufflé | p. 161 |
| Einstein's lost model | p. 163 |
| Keeping it simple | p. 165 |
| Across the Universe | p. 169 |
| Doubling the distances | p. 169 |
| Hubble's heir | p. 177 |
| Another Great Debate | p. 184 |
| 8 13.8 - Surveys and satellites | p. 189 |
| The culmination of a tradition | p. 189 |
| Too perfect? | p. 192 |
| The dark side | p. 197 |
| Supernovae and superexpansion | p. 206 |
| Sounding out the Universe | p. 210 |
| Ultimate truth | p. 214 |
| Glossary | p. 221 |
| Sources and Further Reading | p. 233 |
| End Notes | p. 235 |
| Index | p. 237 |