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Zusatztext "What does come through in [this book], is a real sense of the excitement that these scientists feel in not knowing everything, together with the confidence that one day we'll work it out." ---Clive Prince, Magonia Review of Books Informationen zum Autor Jeremiah P. Ostriker & Simon Mitton Klappentext "The invisible rules the visible while the infinitesimal determines the cosmic. This is not fuzzy mysticism. It is the clear-eyed logic of the world observed by astronomers, described here with precision and verve by Ostriker and Mitton. Read this book and let them guide you to enlightenment." --Robert P. Kirshner, author of The Extravagant Universe "If you want a clear and fair assessment of the astonishing recent progress in understanding the cosmos--and of the mysteries that remain to be addressed--then this is the book for you. Ostriker and Mitton write with authority, and with style as well." --Martin Rees, Master of Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and Astronomer Royal " Heart of Darkness offers an engaging historical perspective on cosmology, and fluently moves onto the key modern issues in the dark sector. It is full of anecdotes and insights that will intrigue a general readership." --Joseph Silk, author of On the Shores of the Unknown: A Short History of the Universe " Heart of Darkness offers a fresh perspective on the development of cosmology from one of its pioneers and most original thinkers, Jeremiah Ostriker, in collaboration with an exceptional science writer, Simon Mitton. This engaging history introduces nonexperts to the discoveries and basic concepts behind our current understanding of the universe." --Abraham Loeb, author of How Did the First Stars and Galaxies Form? " Heart of Darkness is a penetrating and thorough narrative of how humans discovered the universe. Ostriker and Mitton are strong advocates for the tenacity and creativity of physicists and astronomers. This is an upbeat and inspiring story, told with vigor and enthusiasm." --Alan Dressler, author of Voyage to the Great Attractor: Exploring Intergalactic Space Zusammenfassung Heart of Darkness describes the incredible saga of humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past thirty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components--dark matter and dark energy--comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe's Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments ix Preface xiii Cosmology Becomes Data-driven Science xiii Outline of the Journey We Will Take xix Prologue: From Myth to Reality 1 Astronomy: The Endless Frontier 1 Charting and Modeling the Heavens 3 Copernicus: "The Last of the Greek Cosmologists" 6 Galileo: A New Approach to Mechanics and Cosmology 9 The Impact of Copernicus: Kepler's Laws 13 Isaac Newton and Gravity 15 William Herschel Discovers the Universe 20 Understanding the Universe Becomes a New Kind of Science 24 One: Einstein's Toolkit! and How to Use It 27 Overconfidence among the Cognoscenti at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century 27 Revolution in Physics: The Inception of Quantum Theory and Relativity 30 Special Relativity 33 General Relativity 36 General Relativity Is Tested! Passes the Test! and Is a Sensation 41 Cosmological Solutions to Einstein's Equations 47 Two: The Realm of the Nebulae 52 New Instruments in a Better Climate Unveil a New World 52 A Universe of Galaxies Is Confirmed 63 A Cosmological Model to Fit the New Data: Enter! Georges Lemaitre 66 Physical Cosmology and the Expanding Universe 70 Lemaitre's Synthesis Model Foretells the Contribution of Dark Energy 75 Hubble's Achievements 79 Big Science to Attack the Big Problem 81 The Steady State Model Universe and the Big Bang 84 Three: Let...
