Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

What's eating the universe?, and other cosmic questions, Paul Davies

eng

illustrations

index present

non fiction

What's eating the universe?

Paul Davies

and other cosmic questions

"We are living today in the golden age of cosmology. Over the past few decades, some of the biggest cosmic questions have been transformed from dreamy theorizing to hard won discovery. We now understand the history of our universe better than we understand the history of our own planet. And yet many answers are still tantalizingly out of reach. In What's Eating the Universe? award-winning astrophysicist and best-selling author Paul Davies takes us on a dazzling tour of the cosmic frontier, lucidly explaining what we now know, and exploring the intriguing - and sometimes terrifying possibilities that lie before us. What happened before the Big Bang? Will Earth will be annihilated by a vacuum bubble? And, can black holes remember what they ate? Laying bare the audacious research that today offers mind-bending solutions to these and other mysteries, Davies leads us up to the greatest outstanding enigmas of all: why the universe exists in the first place, why the laws of nature are as they are, and how a system of mindless, purposeless particles brought forth conscious, thinking beings, who are today poised to undergo a shift in cosmic understanding like never before"--, Provided by publisher

Journey from the edge of time -- The search for the key to the universe -- Why is it dark at night? -- The big bang -- Where is the centre of the universe? -- Why the cosmos is actually fairly simple -- What is the speed of space? -- What is the shape of space? -- Explaining the cosmic big fix -- Most of our universe is missing -- What is dark energy? -- Where does matter come from? -- Gravity conquers all -- Warped time and black holes -- Is time travel possible? -- What is the source of time's puzzling arrow? -- The black hole paradox -- A theory of everything? -- Fossils from the cosmic dawn -- Can the universe come from nothing? -- How many universes are there? -- The Goldilocks enigma -- What's eating the universe? -- Is the universe actually a botched job? -- Are we alone? -- ET in our backyard -- Why am I living now? -- The fate of the universe -- Is there a meaning to it all? -- What's new on the cosmic horizon?

adult