From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Start date: June 1, 2019

Finish date: June 30, 2019

Discussion: Book Club 2019

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Book Club 2019

December 2019 - Uninhabitable Earth
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Oct 18, 2017 Jimmy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science

Neil deGrasse Tyson is great. And he did it: wrote a successful book on astrophysics for people in a hurry. Such a book can't be made easy to read, but this one comes as close as you can get. ...more

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Jul 03, 2017 Larry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ordered-tbr

I thought I would take a brief look at Neil deGrasse Tyson's Astrophysics for People in a Hurry book when I picked it up, but I couldn't put it down. Here's what is essentially my rambling review of Tyson's book.

When I went to college in 1967, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. After two semesters of calculus, I knew that my math was good enough to be a bad physicist or perhaps a good economist, which is what I became. But I kept my love of astrophysics and have read many of the popular books wri I thought I would take a brief look at Neil deGrasse Tyson's Astrophysics for People in a Hurry book when I picked it up, but I couldn't put it down. Here's what is essentially my rambling review of Tyson's book.

When I went to college in 1967, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. After two semesters of calculus, I knew that my math was good enough to be a bad physicist or perhaps a good economist, which is what I became. But I kept my love of astrophysics and have read many of the popular books written over the last few decades.

I really like Neil deGrasse Tyson's book. In fact, I think it may be the best truly introductory book to how the universe came to be the way it is, starting in the first fractions of a second and extending all the way to today, 13.8 billion years later, and finally to what we may find the universe to be like over the one trillion years.

There are other books that may be equally good introductions, but that require more of a technical background. The Nobel Laureate, Steven Weinberg, wrote The First Three Minutes: A Modern View Of The Origin Of The Universe, which covers the very beginning, indeed just the first three minutes in even greater detail, but it stops after those three minutes. And then there is Alan Guth's The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins, which really is the best explanation of what drove the initial expansion of the universe. Even though the math is not especially challenging in Guth's book, it is still a pretty dense book. I'll get back to Guth in a moment.

Tyson is masterful in explaining how the early universe unfolded … and why at the beginning after the cooling had happened enough for individual elements to form, there were only hydrogen, helium, and lithium. And then he clearly explains how the heavier elements were then formed in stars and distributed as supernovas exploded. It is a particularly good discussion of the four forces: strong nuclear, weak nuclear, electromagnetic, and gravity.

But here may be the time to mention what is missing. There are two things. The first is Guth's inflationary principal. The expansion of that early universe is driven by inflation which is also involved in the separation of the three forces (other than gravity) during the from 10−36 seconds after the Big Bang to sometime between 10−33 and 10−32 seconds after that event. And there is no discussion of the recent discovery of the long predicted Higgs boson — the particle/field that gives mass to all other particles. Pretty important and glaringly missing. These are unfortunate omissions.

Let's get back to other good things. There's a good discussion of Einstein’s predictions and how long we waited for the confirmation of some of them. And I really like his explanation of what telescopes really are and what different telescopes are best used for. Others will probably find other things that they like a lot also.

A final thought about the lack of mathematics in the book. There's not one equation in the book, and this is not a problem. Mathematics is a tool of physics. I don’t think I've changed my mind about my career decision that I made decades ago. Great physicists don’t have to be great mathematicians, but they do have to have what other probably would regard as great facility in math. But you can understand a lot of physics, including astrophysics, without knowing much math, is you have a good explainer and that's exactly what Tyson is with this book. His writing pulls you in and drives you forward. And his sense of humor is just right, too. So the trip we go on with Tyson is even a bit of fun also. ...more

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Aug 31, 2017 Chinook rated it it was amazing

Shelves: space, science

That was fun. I mostly felt like I was understanding what I heard and Tyson is a great narrator. The universe is an amazing place. Plus, he's got jokes! ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Evan Crane rated it really liked it

Shelves: science

'We're ablaze in long-frequency waves' ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Pam Shelton-Anderson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science, science-physics-math-astro

My original major was physics and astronomy and I've never lost my love for either. This book is truly amazing. Topics are explained very well but not oversimplified and the author's affinity for the subject is always there. The last chapter on cosmic perspective is simply wonderful. ...more

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