The Origin of the Universe

by John D. Barrow

This little book aims to provide a short account of the Beginning for beginners. What evidence do we have about the early history of the universe? What are the latest theories about how the universe could have begun? Can we test them by observation, and how does our existence relate to them? --- excerpt from book's Preface

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Astronomy, Space, Popular Science, History

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

John D. Barrow was a professor of mathematical sciences and director of the Millennium Mathematics Project at Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

He was awarded the 2006 Templeton Prize for "Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities" for his "writings about the relationship between life and the universe, and the nature of human understanding [which] have created new perspectives on questions of ultimate concern to science and religion".

He was a member of a United Reformed Church, which he described as teaching "a traditional deistic picture of the universe".

Reviews

[Mircea Petcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cartea a fost publicata in anul 1994. E putin depasita.

O recomand pentru stilul accesibil, cu multe grafice si schite.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I understood it while I was reading it...but don't ask me to explain anything.

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Science Masters series, I would not call this an easy read but it was a beginning. When I finished, I had a more understanding about expansion of the universe, singularity, continuance (as it reflected on Einstein’s theory of relativity) and quantum, mostly physics. As a beginner reading this subject, I was not expecting this book to be easy but I was surprised to come away with the little understanding I did. This is a book I would return to, feeling confident I will come away with more understanding with each read.

[Keerthana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book- covered a lot of concepts from basic cosmology to quantum gravity and even a bit of string theory. I'm not quite sure what rating to give it because as someone who studies physics, I was frustrated with the imprecision in the explanations. I don't hold this against the book because it is an introductory text summarizing key findings, BUT that being said, I'm not quite sure if it is well-suited for the "educated but non-specialized" like it claims? It's a very ambitious book, and most of the truly high level concepts cannot be properly captured with analogies. The prose itself however is beautiful and the speculations are well-grounded so I would recommend.

[Fabiano Parmesan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarà anche un testo divulgativo ma è molto difficile da capire.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of the origin of the universe and concepts of theories, our existence and matters of the universe with a great foundation for those interested in the area and beginners wanting to find out more about this topic.

Plenty reeling of facts and principles, great for those who don’t have any prior knowledge on this. And equally as good for those who do but just want a recap of what they might have learnt before. I also loved the addition of the Sherlock Holmes quotes, as a lover of Arthur Canon Doyle’s work!

I liked the chapter on quantum too which was great and delivered in a way that helped to describe an incredibly confusing and complex concept. Plenty of great information in this and doesn’t over complicate, providing you with the facts needed to understand this topic.

[Paulina Łucja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nie była zła. Trudna dla laików i szkoda, że nie aktualizowana.

[Anthony Colozza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. Although it is a bit dated, the concepts presented are still valid today. The book provides a good summary of the theories that try and determine how the universe was formed. It also gives you an appreciation of how small changes in the physics that dictates our universe would have resulted in a universe where life could not exist. The topics and theories related to the origin of the universe is in itself vast. And it is not something that can truly be covered in any detail in one book or in this case a relatively shot book. But the book does give you a good summary and touches on the main topics related to the origin of the Universe. You really don't need a technical background to understand the concepts presented. So if you are not too familiar with this topic I would recommend this book as a way to get a sense for the physics behind determining how the universe was formed. But even if you are familiar with this topic, I would still recommend the book as a way to revisit the topic in a concise summary.

[May Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and def covers the topic. It does cover the origin of the Universe. It does do so in a compelling way. I think there are just a ton of competition in this topic. For that reason, it's hard to give it 5. 4 is a strong rating, though and if you can't be bothered to read some of the larger tombs, I would go to this one.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka ta przypomina inną książkę, którą czytałam ostatnio ("Astrophysics for people in a Hurry"), ale nie posiada ona aż tak chwytliwego tytułu. Może ocenianie przez porównanie tych dwoch książek nie jest bardzo obiektywne, ale wiele z informacji w tych dwóch książkach się pokrywa, choć znalazłam też takie, które warte są przytoczenia.

Ciekawostka 1:
Ekspansja Wszechświata jest izotropowa, czyli taka sama we wszystkich kierunkach.

Ciekawostka 2:
Model stanu stacjonarnego Wszechświata został wymyślony w 1948 roku przez Golda, Bondiego i Hoyle'a. Wedłuch nich, Wszechświat zawsze wygląda tak samo i nie ma początku, a gęstość materii w nim jest stała. Inna teoria opisująca Wszechświat to teoria Wielkiego Wybuchu. Przewiduje ona, że gęstość materii we Wszechświecie ciągle maleje, bo nie następuje kreacja nowej materii. Dodatkowo, Wszechświat miał początek.

Ciekawostka 3:
Obserwacje astronomiczne lekkich pierwiastków pozwalają badać znacznie wcześniejsze epoki niż obserwacje mikrofalowego tła. Na podstawie obserwowanej ilości helu we Wszechświacie, można było wydedukować ile jest rodzajów neutrin (3).

Ciekawostka 4:
Obecność węgla we Wszechświecie jest uzależniona od stanu rezonansowego helu, berylu i wegla. Ten stan rezonansowy powstaje przez kombinację jąder helu i berylu, co skutkuje powstaniem węgla. Dodatkowo, węgiel, wkrótce po utworzeniu, teoretycznie mógłby poprzez przyłączenie kolejnego jądra helu zamienić się w tlen. Jednakże, rekacja ta nie wykazuje rezonansu, co skutkuje relatywną obfitością we Wszechświecie zarówno węgla jak i tlenu.

[Socrate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cum, de ce şi când a apărut universul? Cât de maree? Ce formă are? Din ce e alcătuit? Acestea sunt întrebări pe care orice copil curios le-ar putea pune, dar sunt şi întrebări cu care cosmologii zilelor noastre se luptă de mai multe decenii. Pentru ziarişti şi autorii de ştiinţă popularizată, unul din motivele de atracţie ale cosmo­logiei este acela că multe probleme de la frontierele aces­tui domeniu sunt uşor de prezentat. Luaţi de exemplu frontierele electronicii cuantice, ale secvenţelor de ADN, ale neurofiziologiei sau ale matematicii pure, şi nu veţi găsi probleme pe care specialistul să le poată traduce atât de uşor în limbajul de zi cu zi.

[Ella Catherall · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction to a field of study that encourages you to go and find out more about it, it's a great book. The breadth of content covered is astounding and it really leaves you wanting more. However, there were many times when concepts felt rushed over, particularly in the case of the bit about magnetic monopoles which I've read back over a few times and still don't quite understand. Nevertheless, if you're trying to get into cosmology and you're looking for a few different books to read (I wouldn't just read this one), this is a good one to have on that list.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. It is all good information, but I heard it before from so many other books, that this was more a review for me than anything else.

I respect John Barrow very much so his presentation is important to me, and overall it was a good presentation.

I will probably read this book again.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queste "onde/particelle" si potrebbero paragonare più a delle onde emotive che a delle onde liquide. Se un'ondata di emozione si diffonde nelle nostre vicinanze, ciò significa che è molto probabile che da quelle parti vi sia un comportamento emotivo.

[Randal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated, but otherwise readable account of the origin of the universe. Examines several theories, explains in layman's terms. Good background on the subject, if not the latest theories.
3.5 stars

[Alvaro Francisco Hidalgo Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes difficult to follow. And it was written many years ago so it doesn’t have the latest discoveries in it, but… in spite of this, we might just have to accept that figuring out the conditions before the Planck Time may be impossible.

[Klaudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciekawa i nawet nie taka trudna, ale średnie tłumaczenie psuje przyjemność czytania.

[Charlie Bray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish it would have had more intuitive explanations, along the lines of the balloon example/illustration given towards the beginning.

[Bogdan Teodorescu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that good. Just taking on the major problems of cosmology and discussing them very briefly. Poor

[laurentiu]

0

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite meaty for being a short intro to the topic. Definitely something I will need to re-read to get a full understanding.

[Tatiana Rymarenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book suffers for the embarrassment of riches that is its niche, otherwise a good read.

[Philip T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to read tbh

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable! Lots of ideas and theories, but always with the sensible caveat that we don't really know! I like that!

[Stuart]

The book was an excellent overview, well written and engaging topics.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for beginners. It started off with some clear explanations and for laymen. But halfway through it got into some hard Physics. Interesting reading nonetheless.

[Isabella Piasecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I am excited to take calc 2 this semester

[J.D. Steens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barrow's book is said to be written for beginners. Throughout his book, he lays out issues that engage, but his explanations are often too complex or spare to be clear, resulting in repeated frustration. Still, there's enough to be gleaned from the book to spend time on it. Barrow describes, for example, two theories of time in relation to the creation of the universe (universe created in pre-existent time vs. time that comes into existence with this universe's creation). Elsewhere, he writes something similar about space, saying that the universe is space(i.e., there is no space beyond this universe). He also notes that total mass in the universe is matched by its opposite, total energy, which is, he says, "exactly zero." Interestingly, this places the notion of balance and equilbrium seen in our corner of the cosmos onto a universal, macro scale. Finally, despite what would seem to be statistical odds that other cosmic bodies would support life as we know it, Barrow points out that that the probability of the spontaneous creation of life actually occurs only in a "small range of conditions," suggesting that our spot in the cosmos may be pretty rare. Though no doubt dated, this book does engage the reader with commentary like this.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was published in 1994 and its been on my bookshelf unread since then. But I'm glad I finally picked it up, even if the science has undoubtedly moved on.

Barrow provides a particularly good explanation of inflation and the critical role it played in the development of the universe. For the first time I got sa glimpse into why the search for WIMPs is so important, and the huge investment in CERN is worth every penny. If we finally do get evidence of the existence the Higgs Bosun then it will indicate that the very early universe was producing the sort of particles that would precipitate a period of rapid inflation.

That much Barrow manages to explain reasonably clearly, but some of the paragraphs leap into technical science and it's easy to be left behind. After reading passages like this a couple of times I just end up accepting it on faith and moving on in search of a section which will knock the idea into recognisable shape. But the difficulties are minimal in this book, and all in all its an informative read.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in October 2000.

Part of a series of explanations of important areas of current science by leading science writers, The Origin of the Universe would be an ideal place for to start for a reader with virtually no scientific background who wants to try to understand something of current thought on the subject. It is concise and simple, admirably written, and has the odd point of interest even to a voracious reader of popular science books. It reminded me of the science books of Isaac Asimov, and is a worthy successor to his books on cosmology, written skilfully in the same spirit yet up to date. I found Asimov's books fascinating when I was a teenager - they were all about the interesting science they didn't teach at school - and I think that The Origin of the Universe could have the same effect on an interested teenager today.