The Cosmic Century: A History of Astrophysics and Cosmology

by Malcolm S. Longair

• ISBN13: 9780521474368
• ISBN10: 0521474361
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The twentieth-century witnessed the development of astrophysics and cosmology from subjects which scarcely existed to two of the most exciting and demanding areas of contemporary scientific inquiry. In this book Malcolm Longair reviews the historical development of the key areas of modern astrophysics, linking the strands together to show how they have led to the extraordinarily rich panorama of modern astrophysics and cosmology. While many of the great discoveries were derived from pioneering observations, the emphasis is upon the development of theoretical concepts and how they came to be accepted. These advances have led astrophysicists and cosmologists to ask some of the deepest questions about the nature of our Universe and have pushed astronomical observations to the very limit. This is a fantastic story, and one which would have defied the imaginations of even the greatest story-tellers.

Table of Contents

Part I. Stars and Stellar Evolution up to the Second World War: 1. The legacy of the nineteenth century

2. The classification of stellar spectra

3. Stellar structure and evolution

4. The end points of stellar evolution

Part II. The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe 1900-39: 5. The galaxy and the nature of the spiral nebulae

6. The origins of astrophysical cosmology

Part III: The Opening up of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: 7. The opening up of the electromagnetic spectrum and the new astronomies

Part IV. Astrophysics and Cosmology since 1945: 8. Stars and stellar evolution

9. The physics of the interstellar medium

10. The physics of galaxies and clusters of galaxies

11. High energy astrophysics

12. Astrophysical cosmology

13. The determination of cosmological parameters

14. The evolution of galaxies and active galaxies with cosmic epoch

15. The origin of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe

16. The very early universe.