L'universo. Una biografia

by John Gribbin

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Genres

Science & Nature

Nonfiction

All Topics

Publication

Raffaello Cortina Editore

Description

How did the universe begin? Where do galaxies come from? How do stars and planets form? Where do the material particles we are made of come from? How did life begin? Today we have only provisional answers to such questions. But scientific progress will improve these answers dramatically over the next ten years, predicts John Gribbin in this riveting book. He focuses on what we know--or think we know--about ten controversial, unanswered issues in the physical sciences and explains how current cutting-edge research may yield solutions in the very near future. With his trademark facility for engaging readers with or without a scientific background, the author explores ideas concerning the creation of the universe, the possibility of other forms of life, and the fate of the expanding cosmos. He examines "theories of everything,” including grand unified theories and string theory, and he discusses the Big Bang theory, the origin of structure and patterns of matter in the galaxies, and dark mass and dark energy. In the final chapter of the book, Gribbin ponders the future of Earth and the Sun and the possibility that the universe might expand forever.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member fpagan

Be sure not to croak in the next decade, or you will miss out on knowing such things as why the universe is the way it is and where life originated. Frontiers of (mostly) fundamental physics and cosmology, very well described.

3 more

LibraryThing member Kemloch

This is the best overview of the current thinking on cosmology that I've read in some time. It covers more ground than Steven Weinberg's The First Three Minutes and brings it up to date. I've started reading it a second time and will use it as a reference for a long time to come.

It has plenty of

big numbers and it is desperately in need of some illustrations, a graph even, to put these into context. Unlike Weinberg's book, you don't get the maths at the end (or at all) so you'll have to go elsewhere for that kind of detail. This despite the fact that anyone capable of making sense of the numbers will also be at ease with the equations that use them. Still, that's popular science for you.

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LibraryThing member psiloiordinary

Another cracking book by Gribbin. He really does churn out quality time after time.

This book is a whistle-stop tour, a quick biography of our universe. I really enjoyed the "how do we know the things we think we know?" chapter and also his careful distinction between what we think we KNOW and what

we THINK we know.

Accessible, informative and entertaining. Helpful glossary.

Recommended.

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LibraryThing member stuster

An interesting and mostly understandable account of the the universe's physical phenomena over the course of its life from birth to present, covering the very small to the very large. The writing is not particularly vivid or inspiring, and the writer does not sufficiently bring to life what is

largely a lifeless topic. The most interesting parts were those at the end dealing with the origins of the life and the evidence for organic molecules in space. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile read to gain a grasp of current knowledge in particle and astrophysics, without being mind blowing.

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Language

Italian

Original publication date

2006

Physical description

304 p.; 8.82 inches

ISBN

8860302021 / 9788860302021

Local notes

Come ha potuto l'Universo svilupparsi da una minuscola palla di fuoco fino a raggiungere le dimensioni attuali? Come si formano i pianeti e quale sarà la loro fine? Da dove proviene la vita sulla Terra? E come è nata l'intelligenza umana? John Gribbin, tra i migliori divulgatori scientifici, racconta la storia più spettacolare che si possa immaginare, quella del Cosmo. A partire dal Big Bang 14 miliardi di anni fa, dalla formazione delle stelle e galassie fino alle più audaci ipotesi sulla materia oscura e alle proposte di una grande teoria del tutto (e ancora oltre). Fino all'eventualità che l'Universo muoia nello schianto del Big Crounch o nel "lamento" della dilatazione senza fine.
(piopas)