The Edge of Physics. Ananthaswamy A.

The Edge of Physics



Download The Edge of Physics



The Edge of Physics Ananthaswamy A. ebook djvu
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Language: English
Page: 333
ISBN: 0618884688, 9780618884681

From Publishers Weekly

Despite 20th-century physics' revelations, from relativity and quantum mechanics to the physics of the atom's nucleus and the life cycles of stars, ninety-odd percent of the universe is a complete mystery, says a scientist quoted by Ananthaswamy, a consulting editor for New Scientist. Dark matter, dark energy, quantum gravity: these are the topics that keep physicists awake at night, requiring bigger, more massive, more extreme experiments to test theories and uncover clues. The author takes readers behind the scenes of these experiments in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, leading the tour with wit and an eye for compelling detail. First is a pilgrimage to Mount Wilson Observatory, where astronomers first measured the expansion of the universe. Next we go 2,341 feet underground in a defunct Minnesota iron mine to search for particles that could reveal dark matter. Sensitive telescopes embedded in the thick ice of Siberia's Lake Baikal and Antarctica search for neutrinos. These experiments and others are heroic in every sense, and Ananthaswamy captures their excitement—and the personalities of the scientists behind them—with enthusiasm and insight. Illus. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

A lucid but not oversimplified popular account of 21st-century cosmology. In the late 20th century, work by Einstein and quantum physicists seemed on the verge of explaining everything when confusion descended. Astronomers discovered that galaxies were moving too fast. Their stars and dust produced far too little gravity to accomplish this, so most matter in the universe is not only "dark," but it can't be the particles, atoms and molecules familiar to us because even invisible normal matter is fairly easy to detect. No one knows the makeup of dark matter. If this weren't frustrating enough, in 1998 scientists discovered that the expansion of the universe was accelerating. This requires immense energy; in fact "dark energy" makes up nearly three-quarters of matter-energy in the universe. New Scientist consulting editor Ananthaswamy traveled the world interviewing theorists attempting to understand this avalanche of distressing new information; all yearn for more details about the largest objects in the universes-galaxies and galaxy clusters. Turning to efforts at gathering these details, the author describes dazzling high-tech telescopes now operating or under construction from Chile to Hawaii to outer space. Because theorists also need to know about the universe's smallest objects, ghostlike neutrinos and muons, Ananthaswamy devotes chapters to machines that produce them-the titanic new particle accelerator in Switzerland-or detect them from deep under Siberian lakes or Antarctic icecaps. A meticulous, accessible update of the latest ideas and instruments that contribute to the clarification of an increasingly puzzling universe. --(Agent: Peter Tallack/The Science Factory) (Kirkus Reviews )



MORE EBOOKS:
Download PHP 5 avance epub







Tags: The Edge of Physics ebook pdf epub djvu mobi rar
The Edge of Physics pdf epub djvu free download
Download The Edge of Physics free ebook pdf epub
The Edge of Physics read online free book
The Edge of Physics cheap ebook for kindle and nook
Ananthaswamy A. ebooks and audio books
The Edge of Physics download pdf epub rar rapidshare mediafire fileserve 4shared torrent depositfiles scribd