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Covering 13.8 billion years in some 100 pages, a calculatedly concise, wryly intelligent history of everything, from the Big Bang to the advent of human civilization With wonder, wit, and flair-and in record time and space-geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth's atmosphere and oceans, to the origin of life and human civilization. Bercovici marries humor and legitimate scientific intrigue, rocketing readers across nearly fourteen billion years and making connections between the essential theories that give us our current understanding of topics as varied as particle physics, plate tectonics, and photosynthesis. Bercovici's unique literary endeavor is a treasure trove of real, compelling science and fascinating history, providing both science lovers and complete neophytes with an unforgettable introduction to the fields of cosmology, geology, genetics, climate science, human evolution, and more.… (more)
User reviews
What I liked most is that Bercovici notes where we don’t know for sure, and cites scientists and their hypotheses (pre-theories) as being actively considered and therefore in flux.
I was however disappointed that he relied on the Standard Theory, and ignored the theories of astrophysicist Marvin Herndon, who has straightforward answers to Bercovici’s conundrums (conundra?). For example, Bercovici claims the inner solar system was created with bare rock planets, while the outer solar system developed gas giant planets, divided by a “Snow Line”. But he doesn’t say why. He also says other solar systems have all gas giants, so there are two kinds of solar systems in the galaxy. Herndon says all solar systems consist of gas giants; that’s how they form. When our sun ignited, the blast blew the gas covers off the inner planets, along with a sizeable chunk of Mercury. The force sent the pieces out past Mars to an area of miscellaneous junk we call the Asteroid Belt (Bercovici’s Snow Line).
Similarly, Herndon says the baseball seams up and down the ocean floors are splitting apart precisely because the Earth is relaxing from the loss of the high pressure gas cover. And while Bercovici marvels at our magnetic field, “amazingly powered by a liquid-iron generator at the center of our planet“, (which he can’t explain), Herndon says the core is solid nickel silicide. It is a georeactor, a natural nuclear reactor, pulling in uranium for fuel, in ever decreasing amounts. This is why our magnetic field has not been able to reverse itself in 700,000 years – it is running low on fuel. While most planets and moons have detectable georeactors, they must all run out at some point, which is why some have none today. This is a far more elegant, reasonable and intuitive theory than the unsatisfying Standard Theory of kludges, patches and unanswered questions, and needs to be offered in more places.
Summarizing 14 billion years in a hundred pages is an accomplishment if it leaves you far better informed, and Bercovici does it. From the Big Bang to the beginning of life and the subtleties of the Earth’s changes, you leave this book feeling more complete.
David Wineberg