NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST, OBSERVER, NEW SCIENTIST, BBC FOCUS, INDEPENDENT AND WASHINGTON POST 'Weird science, explained beautifully' - John Scalzi 'A rollicking tour of the wildest physics. . . Like an animated discussion with your favourite quirky and brilliant professor' Leah Crane, New Scientist From one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics, an eye-opening look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important ideas in ...
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NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST, OBSERVER, NEW SCIENTIST, BBC FOCUS, INDEPENDENT AND WASHINGTON POST 'Weird science, explained beautifully' - John Scalzi 'A rollicking tour of the wildest physics. . . Like an animated discussion with your favourite quirky and brilliant professor' Leah Crane, New Scientist From one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics, an eye-opening look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important ideas in cosmology We know the universe had a beginning. But what happens at the end of the story? With lively wit and wry humour, astrophysicist Katie Mack takes us on a mind-bending tour through each of the cosmos' possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, Vacuum Decay, the Big Rip and the Bounce. Guiding us through major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory and much more, she describes how small tweaks to our incomplete understanding of reality can result in starkly different futures. Our universe could collapse in upon itself, or rip itself apart, or even - in the next five minutes - succumb to an inescapable expanding bubble of doom. This captivating story of cosmic escapism examines a mesmerizing yet unfamiliar physics landscape while sharing the excitement a leading astrophysicist feels when thinking about the universe and our place in it. Amid stellar explosions and bouncing universes, Mack shows that even though we puny humans have no chance of changing how it all ends, we can at least begin to understand it. The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.
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Add this copy of The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) to cart. $22.43, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2021 by Scribner Book Company.
I try to keep in some touch with cosmology. The subject one does not so much study but rather it happens to you .
Be you new to astrophysics or as accomplished as Dr Mack this is a riveting read. It is so good you might want to reread part of a chapter and feel genuinely sorry to reach its end.
The book has influenced my thinking in s positive sense. I have actually gone off the concept of Big Crunch by the masterful writing of that early chapter. By the time one has got happily through Heat Death, Big Rip, Vacuum Decay and Bounce etc. one notes how well the various foreseeable alternatives are presented.
Of course, the scale of the enquiry being no less than the ultimate outcome of the cosmos - there is no definitive or communicable answer. The writer aptly borrows the religious/ theological term eschatology meaning final outcome. I propose that if the universe has made up its mind (?) we could hardly find out this week.
Brian Greene, Dan Hooper and Penrose have given us some fine contemporary cosmological works but for its blend of wit and drama this is an excellent read.
Highly recommended.
