50 Cosas que hay que saber sobre el Universo

50 Ideas You Really Need to Know

by Joanne Baker

La curiosidad por conocer los secretos del Universo es tan antigua como el propio hombre. La astrofísica ha sido la ciencia que ha desvelado estos secretos, y ha permitido avanzar en la concepción del Universo: el descubrimiento de los planetas, el modelo heliocéntrico, la ley de la gravedad… Si la historia de estos descubrimientos es apasionante, los descubrimientos hechos en los últimos años abren perspectivas insospechadas.La física y editora Joanne Baker nos ofrece una panorámica de la astrofísica para el lector que, sin ser un especialista en ciencia, esté interesado por conocer cómo funciona el Universo. Además de un repaso a los conceptos esenciales, se explican de manera clara y concisa los últimos descubrimientos sobre esta materia. En qué consisten los agujeros negros, cuáles son las consecuencias de la teoría de la relatividad, cómo se formula la teoría de las cuerdas, cómo podemos saber que el Universo se encuentra en expansión… Este libro da respuesta a estas y otras preguntas que no dejan de fascinarnos.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy, Physics, Reference, Ebooks, Space

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2010

About the author

Joanne Baker is a writer and editor based in London. She has edited and written comment, books, and arts and opinion articles at the international science journal Nature for the past decade and formerly was space and earth editor at Science magazine. She has also written three books on physics, astronomy, and quantum physics. She has a background in astronomy research, where she studied quasars, black holes, galaxy evolution, and cosmology.

Reviews

[Poncho González · Rating 3 out of 5]

divulgación científica muy básica y sencilla para introducirse al mundo de la astronomía, solamente que la manera en que esta redactado no es tan sencilla para atraer público nuevo ya que nunca despierta el interés por los temas y resulta muy aburrido en ocasiones por la manera en que esta escrito.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers the 50 key topics for Astronomy/Universe (Kepler, Parallax, Big Bang, Cosmic Microwave Background, Dark Matter, Radio Astronomy, Gravitational lensing, etc.) #50 Fermi Paradox. "Given the age and vastness of the universe, and the presence of billions of stars and planets that have existed for billions of years, we have not yet been contacted by any other alien civilizations. Why not?" The book quickly talks about the Drake Equation, but then does NOT show it. Maybe they wanted to stay away from equations. But someone unfamiliar might think "you mean there is actually an equation to tell how much life there should be out there?!!" Well, yes. This book really should have shown this very simple equation (IMHO). Topics are too short, but that is the nature of this book! Wiki has gotten too complex over time to get any intro-ideas out of complex topics. This is a good start.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the format of this book. In it, 50 topics are explored briefly over four pages. There are also some very good explanations of difficult to understand topics in this book. However, there is also some inaccurate information and some wrong information in this book. For example, the book states that the light from the Sun reaches Earth in 8 seconds, however the correct measurement of time is actually around 8 minutes.

[Traveller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've just sort of paged through this and read bits and pieces. It's very similar to those "dictionary of terms" books one finds about various subjects.

Being thus, it doesn't go into all that much detail about anything, of course, but I suppose it is a reasonably serviceable introduction to the subject, as are most of these '50 ideas' books.

[Celia Dares · Rating 4 out of 5]

EL AGUJERO NEGRO DE MI CEREBRO.
A ver cómo te explico... Leí este libro pensado que aprendería muchas cosas sobre el Universo, y no estoy seguro de haber aprendido algo, de saber lo que hay que saber del Universo. Lo único que sé con total seguridad, es que su lectura me ha provocado un agujero negro en mi cerebro, por no decir que ha estado a punto de explotar como una Supernova. No es culpa de la autora. Creo que el libro está muy bien escrito, le daría 5 estrellas si no fuera porque he sufrido durante su lectura algún desfase espacio/temporal.
En fin, que seguiré sin entender del todo bien una excelente película como Interestelar, de Nolan. He tardado unos 15 minutos en escribir esta reseña, si la hubiera escrito en el planeta de Miller, equivaldría a unos 1,65 años en la Tierra. El Horizonte de sucesos, creo que se llama, ufff, Quién entiende eso? Yo no, pero como mola lo de Horizonte de Sucesos...

[Michael Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied Maths Pure, Maths Applied, Physics & Art at GCE 'A' Level to gain access to my Pilot & Air Traffic control training with NATS & the MOD and subsequent secondment to EUROCONTROL, and thence began my long-term involvement with the establishment of an Interactive Multimedia Communications environment, having first cut my teeth on coding with a 64K Mainframe • the size of a small block of flats • I can unequivocally state that this book by Joanne Baker provides a brilliant synopsis of UNIVERSAL preparation, for the likes of my children, grandchildren and their children's children, now and into the future.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ogni qualvolta mi capita tra le mani un libro di astronomia mi sento venir meno. Anzi no, mi sento un microbo. Questa è una collana che in 50 idee, parole o temi diversi, l'autore sviluppa la sua ricerca. Se date una occhiata ai tag/etichette che ho scelto per classificare questo libro vi renderete conto di quello che dico. La comunicazione è quanto mai digitale, avendo letto il libro in versione kindle. Il che già dà all'argomento trattato qualcosa di inimmaginario, imprevisto, imprevedibile, fantastico e fantascientifico. Alla scienza si affianca la fantascienza, senza mai tralasciare la fantasia. Arrivi ad un punto che non sai più dire dove finisce la scienza e inizia la fantascienza. Compare poi la tua fantasia e con la quale inizi a galoppare in un universo che non conosci e sei preda della immaginazione più sfrenata. Il mistero si impossessa della tua mente e ti senti perduto tra lo spazio e il tempo, mentre viaggi alla velocità di anni luce. Arrivi alla fine del libro e sei contento di essere atterrato, contento della tua ignoranza e felice di essere un microbo.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice idea - a quick primer on the major ideas in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and some physics - but brought down by a couple of issues.

First, there were errors; things like the time it takes for light to travel from the sun to the earth (my copy says eight seconds, when it's eight minutes). In a book of facts, that's an issue.

Second, with such brief (and, by necessity, superficial) treatments of subjects, there could and should have been suggested reading lists either at the end of each section or the end of the book.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una obra que explica ampliamente la (supuesta o aceptada) cronología y los principales misterios del universo a través de la Astronomía. Narrado con una dosis desmesurada de física, ciertamente divulgativo pero que no resultará del gusto de todos. Entre otros nos habla de Códigos de barras de Estrellas, todo acerca del Big Bang , Materia, anti Materia y Materia oscura, geometría espacial, etc..todo cargado de simbología química que va aumentando conforme avanzan las lecciones camufladas (quarks, fotones...). Al comienzo de cada aspecto a tratar hay una previo muy bien resumido con la esencia, y al final la idea en síntesis. Sin embargo, hay que leer todo por que sino se pierde información muy valiosa. Si bien hay, lo reitero, muchos elementos aunados, tiene lógica para su desarrollo explicativo pero se puede volver tedioso y excesivamente técnico. Sólo los más incondicionales perpetuarán en su lectura (véase una misma).

Un tratado muy recomendable para los que busquen un curso intensivo de física, con la cronología del cosmos y su porqué: el ABC fundamental e histórico del universo. El lector que busque un tratado básico conceptual y rápido sobre el tema desfallecerá en el intento.
Yo he sido profesora, y muchas veces sé que es preciso ser técnica para transmitir según qué conceptos, pero hay muchas maneras de darle la vuelta a las teorías para divulgarlas con ejemplos lo más amenos y/ o aplicables posible. De ahí que le haya bajado la puntuación. Mucho conocimiento sin acabar de plasmarlo lo más emocionantemente posible quita tantos a los libros de conocimiento que intentan acceder a todos; ya lo creo.

[D C Alatriste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me tomé mi tiempo para leerlo. Por momentos perdía el interés, pero por otros, me picaba y leía uno o dos días seguidos algún punto, sobre todo los que no conocía o los que ya conocía y quería volver a repasar. Me gusta. Tiene un lenguaje simple, lo único malo que le veo es que está un poco desactualizado y, una pega un tanto menor quizá, que la forma de redactar está muy cortada, como si no fuera algo que sepa la autora, sino que se fue informando por partes y con un posible miedo o un estilo parecido a un partido de fútbol, que dice todo con frases cortas. Serían mis únicas quejas sobre el libro. Por todo lo demás, básico, sencillo y como lectura de complemento para salir de la cotidianidad, con libros más grandes y densos, de fantasía o ciencia ficción. Quizá como libro de consulta rápida, bastará abrir el Kindle y buscar algo rápido. En general me deja buen sabor de boca. Pienso leer más de esta colección, ya sea de historia o de física. Me pareció ver que también hay sobre filosofía.

En fin. Hay más para leer.

[JazzyBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and as I have not really had the chance to look into much about Astronomy and the Universe, I found it very interesting. It's hard to compare a book when you have read none of the same topic, however, I found that the layout and structure of the entire book was simple yet sophisticated. From this book I was able to learn a bit of history about our world and our universe and discoveries that we have made in ancient times to recent years. I found this topic very fascinating. I recommend to anyone wanting to learn a bit more about Astronomy.

[Terry James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book. I was unaware of how much progress has been made in astronomy, and how far we need to go. I highly recommend this excellent overview that provides just the right balance of new information and basic information. Examples: how old is Earth, how old is the universe, what percentage of the universe is dark matter or dark energy? What is a pulsar or quasar? What has x-ray telescopes, radio telescopes, or infrared telescopes revealed? Can you see into the history of the universe? Hint: you can.

[displacer beast · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read in Slovak translation.)

The book is concise, at some places quite simplistic but that is the point, I suppose. It took me longer to get into because the format is chaotic (too many items on one page, I would include the quotes in the main text for example, not throw them around).
Ofcourse the books on astronomy age quickly so I found myself fact-checking a lot to avoid remembering outdated information.
All in all I liked the book as a refreshment. The separate topics are easy to return to.

[Carlos Mestre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. I love the description of the creation of the universe and the following genesis of stars, planets, and galaxies. The introduction to the debate on the size and scale of the universe was also very intriguing. The inter relatedness of different theories and their surprise effect on our everyday lives is astounding and truly incites deep thinking and contemplation about our universe, planet, and mortality

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on what astronomers believe, broken into bite-size chunks.

I do find it disturbing that consensus is that the visible universe is only 4% of what's out there, with the vast majority being dark energy or dark matter.

The book ends on a high note with the Drake equation and the Fermi paradox.

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been much better in a different format.

A storytelling approach like Carl Sagan's Cosmos does so much better.

With that said, the topic selection is relatively good, I can't think of much that I would add/remove/change.

The topics are well written though a few more biographical sketches would have been nice.

It's a decent book.

[Luis Hernández Cano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cosas demasiado interesantes pero está escrito en un lenguaje que se me complica mucho dado mis pocos conocimientos científicos, creí que estaba escrito ligerito para fácil lectura de todo público pero no es tanto así, aún con todo las ideas generales se captan sin problema y hay muchas cosas muy emocionantes.

[Juli Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay partes que se ponen bastante densas, y los conceptos, por más que sean de divulgación científica, tienden a ser un poco difíciles de entender; la lectura puede volverse aburrida, pero en general tiene cosas muy interesantes que saber sobre el universo.

[Aldo Phy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfecto para principiantes

[Leandro Tenjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es muy complicada en temas complicados y muy ligera en temas sencillos

Aunque pareciera introductorio, no lo recomiendo para alguien que no tenga bases en astronomía

[tuqa ✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

informative but the writing style was pretty discouraging and boring

[Huertomuro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Menudo truño de libro. Si lo que se pretende es que los lectores huyan, es una buena forma. Otra oportunidad perdida para divulgar ciencia.

[Ricardo Carvajal Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Some parts go so deep without a clear explication and some chapters could have been substituted by some other topics as description of planets or some history about espacial exploration.

[Peter Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and useful introduction to ideas and concepts not commonly covered outside of university courses

[Victor Kowal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book about space! There are great ideas, details and other amazing features that make this a great book. I am really impressed on all the facts that this book can share with a reader. Just a perfect book!

[Azhman P · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگر دنبال سوالى هستيد كه چجورى علم نجوم تا اينجا پيشرفت كرده اين كتاب واقعا جواب رو چكيده و مختصر ميده

[Sian Brannan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 14 and it is the first Popular Science book that I ever read. I thought it was incredible! Clear and concise, yet a lot of knowledge can be gained from the book. I remember being excited by every page, which is something that does not happen often. This book is what initially inspired me to study Physics at university.
I would recommend to anyone who wants to start reading Popular Science but has no idea where to start, and would especially recommend to young people who are interested in science.
It is a brilliant book and will forever remain one of my favourites.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of books sort of like the "Complete Idiot's guide to...". They are of variable quality, as you might suspect, but I thought this one did a very nice job of summarizing (summarising, actually) questions that come up that I can't quite remember the answer to, e.g. what is a Quasar?, what is the significance of the cosmic microwave background?, what is Olber's paradox, etc.

[Phoena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, learned a lot. Some of it was over my head but I still enjoyed it. Some of it I already knew from watching a lot of space documentaries. I'm always enjoying learning more about the universe. It's more interesting than us mere humans!

[Michael Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very handy review of the big issues in cosmology, ideal backgrounder for the novel I am currently writing.