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Horizons of Cosmology
Horizons of Exploring Worlds Seen and Unseen is the fourth title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, highly esteemed astrophysicist Joseph Silk explores the vast mysteries and speculations of the field of cosmology in a way that balances an accessible style for the general reader and enough technical detail for advanced students and professionals.
Indeed, while the physical laws and origins of the universe can be endlessly complex, even Einstein once mused that they could be explained simply enough to be grasped by nonspecialists. To that end Silk begins by introducing the basic story of the major discoveries in cosmology over the past century—wherein we learned that we live in an expanding universe populated with galaxies and stars. The middle chapters examine a number of contemporary puzzles such as dark matter and dark energy. The last third of the book looks at the human side of cosmology and moves to the more philosophical frontiers of the field, such as concepts of multiverses and time travel—areas of exploration where some crossover into speculative territory becomes unavoidable.
In the past century alone, our understanding of the universe has expanded exponentially, and it will be fascinating to see what discoveries the next hundred years hold. Few books will provide such a thorough understanding of where we have been and what might lie ahead as Horizons of Cosmology.
Indeed, while the physical laws and origins of the universe can be endlessly complex, even Einstein once mused that they could be explained simply enough to be grasped by nonspecialists. To that end Silk begins by introducing the basic story of the major discoveries in cosmology over the past century—wherein we learned that we live in an expanding universe populated with galaxies and stars. The middle chapters examine a number of contemporary puzzles such as dark matter and dark energy. The last third of the book looks at the human side of cosmology and moves to the more philosophical frontiers of the field, such as concepts of multiverses and time travel—areas of exploration where some crossover into speculative territory becomes unavoidable.
In the past century alone, our understanding of the universe has expanded exponentially, and it will be fascinating to see what discoveries the next hundred years hold. Few books will provide such a thorough understanding of where we have been and what might lie ahead as Horizons of Cosmology.
- GenresPhysicsScienceNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 10, 2014
I once heard it said that "There are only five people in the world who understand quantum mechanics, and two of them are lying." (Maybe the number depends on if someone is watching them lie.) Silk is clearly one of those other three. His discussion of advanced cosmological, mathematical, astronomical and quantum theories obviously come from a brilliant mind.
The book falters because Silk lacks the common touch of Hawking and Greene when trying to explain advanced concepts in ways understandable for the lay reader. Ultimately, it is too difficult for general public, and likely too basic for the cosmology student.
The book falters because Silk lacks the common touch of Hawking and Greene when trying to explain advanced concepts in ways understandable for the lay reader. Ultimately, it is too difficult for general public, and likely too basic for the cosmology student.
November 24, 2019
Interesting and fairly comprehensive plain language overview of cosmology. It’s a little bit old now, because there are some sections in which new discoveries have made one or two of the sections outdated, but it is still a very enjoyable read. Especially, the historical stories.
July 11, 2011
I am an avid fan of the West Wing, and one thing I have always said about it is that the show is way smarter than me, but I like that it lets me tag along anyway. In a way Horizons Of Cosmology is similar. Gone are the walls of The White House, replaced with the indefinable expanse of the expanding multiverse around us.
Whilst still being a complex read, Joseph Silk reduces the phenomenally difficult concepts of theoretical physics and cosmology to bite size chapters that lay-people can make some sense of. Although I feel like I did not absorb half of the wonder I was exposed to, I will share some of that which I can recall.
The field of cosmology is well summed up by the quote by physicist Lev Landau, ‘Cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt.’ Basically, their field of expertise consists of using massive telescopes to look into the sky above and surmise theories and ideas about what they have seen. I learned that Albert Einstein spent half his academic career trying to find a general theory of gravity, but ultimately never achieved his goal. I learned that a black hole is where gravity collapses and the mass of the region becomes so dense that light cannot escape. I learned that the universe is expanding and for all we know, could be infinite. I learned that one of the most elusive concepts in cosmology is that of dark matter, the glue that holds universes together, detectable only by gravitational pull.
But ultimately I learned that what cosmologists need more than anything is an imagination. Unless they can prove it an impossibility, to them it is possible. Cosmologists love to dream of things like time travel and thankfully because the earth has another 5 billion years until the sun dies there is plenty of time to make mistakes.
A fascinating but challenging read.
Whilst still being a complex read, Joseph Silk reduces the phenomenally difficult concepts of theoretical physics and cosmology to bite size chapters that lay-people can make some sense of. Although I feel like I did not absorb half of the wonder I was exposed to, I will share some of that which I can recall.
The field of cosmology is well summed up by the quote by physicist Lev Landau, ‘Cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt.’ Basically, their field of expertise consists of using massive telescopes to look into the sky above and surmise theories and ideas about what they have seen. I learned that Albert Einstein spent half his academic career trying to find a general theory of gravity, but ultimately never achieved his goal. I learned that a black hole is where gravity collapses and the mass of the region becomes so dense that light cannot escape. I learned that the universe is expanding and for all we know, could be infinite. I learned that one of the most elusive concepts in cosmology is that of dark matter, the glue that holds universes together, detectable only by gravitational pull.
But ultimately I learned that what cosmologists need more than anything is an imagination. Unless they can prove it an impossibility, to them it is possible. Cosmologists love to dream of things like time travel and thankfully because the earth has another 5 billion years until the sun dies there is plenty of time to make mistakes.
A fascinating but challenging read.
December 20, 2010
Interesting survey of modern cosmology.
I felt like it was very watered down, which actually made some parts difficult to follow, since technical terms were avoided or introduced but not examined thoroughly.
I was happy that this book kept it modern, not diving too deep into the murky waters of historical cosmology.
I thought the treatment of Anthropic arguments and multiverse theory was fair, if not a little lenient.
I happened to notice one mistake. Silk is talking about Anthropic arguments, and he mentions that many exoplanets have been discovered, but all of them uninhabitable. This argument is flawed. Most exoplanets are identified by their gravitational tug on their respective stars. Therefore, of the exoplanets yet discovered, most are gas giants. The inhabitable rocky planets, which we would expect exist in proportions similar to our stellar system, have yet to be detected.
I felt like it was very watered down, which actually made some parts difficult to follow, since technical terms were avoided or introduced but not examined thoroughly.
I was happy that this book kept it modern, not diving too deep into the murky waters of historical cosmology.
I thought the treatment of Anthropic arguments and multiverse theory was fair, if not a little lenient.
I happened to notice one mistake. Silk is talking about Anthropic arguments, and he mentions that many exoplanets have been discovered, but all of them uninhabitable. This argument is flawed. Most exoplanets are identified by their gravitational tug on their respective stars. Therefore, of the exoplanets yet discovered, most are gas giants. The inhabitable rocky planets, which we would expect exist in proportions similar to our stellar system, have yet to be detected.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews