Edge of the Universe : A Voyage to the Cosmic Horizon and Beyond

by Halpern, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780470636244
• ISBN10: 0470636246
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-02
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

An accessible look at the mysteries that lurk at the edge of the known universe and beyond The observable universe, the part we can see with telescopes, is incredibly vast. Yet recent theories suggest that there is far more to the universe than what our instruments record-in fact, it could be infinite. Colossal flows of galaxies, large empty regions called voids, and other unexplained phenomena offer clues that our own "bubble universe" could be part of a greater realm called the multiverse. How big is the observable universe? What it is made of? What lies beyond it? Was there a time before the Big Bang? Could space have unseen dimensions? In this book, physicist and science writer Paul Halpern explains what we know-and what we hope to soon find out-about our extraordinary cosmos. Explains what we know about the Big Bang, the accelerating universe, dark energy, dark flow, and dark matter to examine some of the theories about the content of the universe and why its edge is getting farther away from us faster Explores the idea that the observable universe could be a hologram and that everything that happens within it might be written on its edge Written by physicist and popular science writer Paul Halpern, whose other books include Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles, and What's Science Ever Done For Us: What the Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics, Robots, Life, and the Universe

Author Biography

PAUL HALPERN, PhD, is Professor of Physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He is the 2002 recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, awarded for research that ultimately resulted in the book The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything. He is also the author of Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles and What's Science Ever Done for Us?: What The Simpsons Can Teach Us about Physics, Robots, Life, and the Universe.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Cosmology's Extraordinary New Frontiers

How Far Out Can We see? Voyage to the Edge of the Known Universe

How Was the Universe Born? Revealing the Dawn of Time

How Far Away Will the Edge Get? The Discovery of the Accelerating Universe

What Is Dark Energy? Will It Tear Space Apart?

Do We Live in a Hologram? Exploring the Boundaries of Information

Why Does the Universe Seem so Smooth? The Inflationary Era

Are There Alternatives to Inflation? Extra Dimensions and the Big Bounce

What Builds Structure in the Universe? The Search for Dark Matter

What is Tugging on Galaxies? The Mysteries of Dark Flow and the Great Attractor

What Are the Axis of Evil and Other Strange Features of the Cosmic Background?

What Are the Immense Blasts of Energy From the Farthest Reaches of Space? Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Quest for Cosmic Dragons

Can We Journey to Parallel Universes? Wormholes as Gateways

Is the Universe Constantly Splitting into Multiple Realities? The Many Worlds Hypothesis

How Will the Universe End? Out With a Bang, Bounce, Crunch, Rip, Stretch, or Whimper

What Are the Ultimate Limits of Our Knowledge About the Cosmos?

Notes Acknowledgements

Further Reading

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.