Calibrating the Cosmos: How Cosmology Explains Our Big Bang Universe | Date: 06 May 2011, 20:14
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Calibrating the Cosmos describes hard science, but is gently written. It explains in clear, non-mathematical language the measurements and the interpretation of the resulting data that have led to the current understanding of the origin, evolution and properties of our expanding Big Bang universe.
Many people have a sketchy idea of the work of cosmologists, but Professor Levins experience in teaching both scientific and liberal arts students has enabled him to impart much of our current thinking without resorting to difficult mathematics. Theoretical concepts are emphasized, in particular the symmetries of homogeneity and isotropy enjoyed by our universe on the largest scales, how these symmetries lead to only one quantity being needed to describe the growth of the universe from its infancy to the present time, and how the so-called parameters of the universe are the ingredients used to construct the model universes to which ours the real thing is compared.
Levin includes the 2003 results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the 2003 and 2004 results of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to ensure that the book is up to date. He explains the relevance of the discoveries done by the new physics Nobel laureates Smoot and Mather!
Background material is provided in the first four chapters; the current picture and how it was attained are discussed in the next four chapters; and some unsolved problems and conjectured solutions are explored in the final chapter.
From the reviews:
"Levin (emer., Brown Univ.) has based his book on his lectures for adult education classes . Judicious use of numbers, equations, illustrations, and graphs help the reader understand the verbal descriptions. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates; two-year technical program students." (M. Dickinson, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (9), May, 2007)
"For those wishing to learn more about the universe and its origins, a good place to begin is Frank Levins Calibrating the Cosmos. Levin makes far more use of charts and graphs to illustrate his discussion of astronomical concepts like the Hubble Constant. Calibrating the Cosmos aimed at a particular audience: people who dont know much about cosmology, but who are relatively intelligent and motivated to learn." (Jeff Foust, The Space Review, June, 2007)
"Calibrating the Cosmos is the first in a series of Astronomers Universe titles that attempt to bring front-line astronomy research to the informed amateur astronomer and scientist. The aim is ambitious to provide a quantitative yet descriptive account of the evolution of the Universe and its contents . The discussion is supported by an impressive array of appendices, chapter notes, a bibliography (including internet-based sources), a glossary, and symbol definitions! This book will serve best the keen amateur astronomer and scientist ." (Jon Willis, The Observatory, Vol. 127 (1200), October, 2007)
"American physicist Frank Levin has written a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to cosmology the science that deals with the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe. Levins book is based on lectures he gave in several-adult education courses. wed recommend to anyone who wants to get to grips with a weighty but rewarding subject." (Marcus Chown, BBC Sky at Night, May, 2007)
Summary: Great for laypersons and scientists (non-astronomers) alike
Rating: 5
Frank Levin's new book on Cosmology is a wonderful introduction to the subject for anyone who has read the words "black hole", "inflation", "Big Bang", "omega zero" and wants to know what they are about and how they connect to each other. I am an experimental physicist doing 25% of my work in nuclear astrophysics, i.e. laboratory measurements on what happens inside stars. At conferences, I would hear talks using these words, but only had a vague idea what some of them meant. Dr. Levin's book gave me a coherent explanation of what they mean, using simple models and pictures, and how they could be used to understand the current picture that cosmologists have about the history of your universe. He explains how many of the results are arrived at, in terms that any person, with or without a scientific background, can understand. And he tells what is still not understood. Levin has a great talent for making a complex subject understandable for the average, interested layperson. He uses simple words and pictures, and no equations. I recommend the book highly to all who are interested in modern science, but are not scientists. And even the scientists can learn a lot from his book if cosmology is not their specialty.
Contents
Preface
1. Introduction: The Splendid Science
2. Measuring Distances: On the Earth, in the Solar System, to the Nearby Stars
3. Light, Radiation, and Quanta
4. Stars: Attributes, Energetics, End Stages
5. The Expanding Universe
6. Homogeneous, Isotropic Universes
7. The Parameters of the Universe
8. The Early Universe
9. Conjectures
Appendix A: Powers of Ten
Appendix B: Primordial Nucleosynthesis
Appendix C: The Elementary Particle Zoo
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Glossary
List of Symbols
Author's Note and Acknowledgments
Index
PassWord: www.freebookspot.com
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