The Unity Of The Universe

This accessible approach uses compelling photos, figures, and examples to address and answer profound questions about the universe. "An engrossing book, an invigorating intellectual exercise." — Scientific American. 1959 edition.

In the first chapters the author describes how our knowledge of the position of Earth in space and time has developed, thanks to the work of many generations of astronomers and physicists. He discusses how our position in the Galaxy was discovered, and how in 1929, Hubble uncovered the fact that the Universe is expanding, leading to the picture of the Big Bang. He then explains how astronomers have found that the laws of physics that were discovered here on Earth and in the Solar System (the laws of mechanics, gravity, atomic physics, electromagnetism, etc.) are valid throughout the Universe. This is illustrated by the fact that all matter in the Universe consists of atoms of the same chemical elements that we know on Earth. This unity is all the more surprising when one realizes that in the original Big Bang theory, different parts of the Universe could never have communicated with each other. It then is a mystery how they could have shared the same physical laws. This problem was solved by the introduction of the idea of inflation, a phase of extremely rapid expansion of the Universe during the first fraction of a second following the Big Bang. The author explains how the unity of the Universe finds its origin in the Big Bang prior to inflation. The book addresses the many fundamental questions about the Universe and its contents from the perspective of the Big Bang: the formation of structure in the Universe, the questions of the mysterious dark matter and dark energy, the possibilities of other Universes (the Multiverse) and of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe.

We are now closer than ever to the fundamental goal of physics of understanding all physical phenomena as the inevitable consequences of few simple principles. The grand unified theory of the strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions has, among other things, explained the quantization of charge, determined the magnitude of the neutral current, and had dramatic impact on cosmology. This book is designed to bring interested students and researchers rapidly up to the point where they can contribute to this exciting field. A substantial text provides a review of the subject. In particular, several chapters are devoted to cosmology and the theory of galaxy formation. A selection of original papers is reprinted. A brief review of group theory is also provided. It is a must for all students and researchers in the field

We are now closer than ever to the fundamental goal of physics of understanding all physical phenomena as the inevitable consequences of few simple principles. The grand unified theory of the strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions has, among other things, explained the quantization of charge, determined the magnitude of the neutral current, and had dramatic impact on cosmology. This book is designed to bring interested students and researchers rapidly up to the point where they can contribute to this exciting field. A substantial text provides a review of the subject. In particular, several chapters are devoted to cosmology and the theory of galaxy formation. A selection of original papers is reprinted. A brief review of group theory is also provided. It is a must for all students and researchers in the field.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.