Dark Cosmos: In Search of Our Universe's Missing Mass and Energy

By Dan Hooper

Book Overview

The twentieth century was astonishing in all regards, shaking the foundations of practically every aspect of human life and thought, physics not least of all. Beginning with the publication of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, through the wild revolution of quantum mechanics, and up until the physics of the modern day (including the astonishing revelation, in 1998, that the Universe is not only expanding, but doing so at an ever-quickening pace), much of what physicists have seen in our Universe suggests that much of our Universe is unseen--that we live in a dark cosmos. Everyone knows that there are things no one can see--the air you're breathing, for example, or, to be more exotic, a black hole. But what everyone does not know is that what we can see--a book, a cat, or our planet--makes up only 5 percent of the Universe. The rest--fully 95 percent--is totally invisible to us; its presence discernible only by the weak effects it has on visible matter around it. This invisible stuff comes in two varieties--dark matter and dark energy. One holds the Universe together, while the other tears it apart. What these forces really are has been a mystery for as long as anyone has suspected they were there, but the latest discoveries of experimental physics have brought us closer to that knowledge. Particle physicist Dan Hooper takes his readers, with wit, grace, and a keen knack for explaining the toughest ideas science has to offer, on a quest few would have ever expected: to discover what makes up our dark cosmos.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006113032X
• ISBN13: 9780061130328
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An excellent read for the non-scientist

Dark Cosmos has an excellent narrative style and explains the concepts of dark matter in a very understandable fashion. It begins with the easier theories and then moves into string theory and other pretty advanced concepts. It's a great read even if there comes a point where it no longer makes sense to a non-physicist.

A Simplified View of the Way we Understand the World

This is the best book I've read on Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Not only does Dr. Hooper explain why these things are needed to explain how we think our Universe works, but as he writes you get some feeling of the awe and excitement that he feels about the subject. You get the feeling that he goes to work every day looking forward with great excitement to see what he might learn. And he is able to bring this excitement down to the printed page so that you too feel that we are on the brink of a big break through in our understanding of how the world works. As an example. At one point he is making some projections about what might be discovered in the future. About one paragraph he says: 'This paragraph is wild speculation.' About the next paragraph he says: 'This paragraph is ridiculously wild speculation. From there he goes on to the third paragraph, about which he says: 'What is the word that means more ridiculous than ridiculous?' The only real problem about this book is that next week, or next year, or maybe 25 years from now there will come a breakthrough that will answer all of these questions. As Einstein took Newton's equasions and extended them into the very small and the very large, we are looking for the next 'Einstein' to take his work and extend it to cover what the experimental physicists and cosmologists are discovering.

Excellent Update on Cosmology

In a style that is both authoritative and accessible to most interested readers, the author glides through cosmological theories and observations with the primary focus of gaining insight into the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Throughout the book enough information is provided on the relevant history of cosmology and that of particle physics to make this fascinating story so gripping. Potentially difficult concepts are clearly explained using useful and familiar analogies. The prose is clear, friendly, engaging and quite captivating. In my view, this excellent book should be of interest to everyone, but science buffs will likely relish it the most.

A well-written book about the fascinating field

Dark Cosmos is by far the best book that tells the story about dark matter and dark energy for the general public. It covers most of the scientific discoveries and ideas about this fascinating research field. Dr Hooper put more effort on dark matter than on dark energy in the book. He made a concise description about new theories, such as supersymmetry and extra dimensions, to explain what is dark matter. His description on dark energy also represents the different perspectives in the field - dark energy was discovered only less than ten years ago and there are still skeptics about its existence. By reading the book, we can feel Dr Hooper's enthusiasm about this research field. This kind of enthusiasm is the driven force for any scientific discovery. Of course, it's not possible to accommodate all the topics in this popular science book from such a dynamic and changing field. For example, Dr Hooper didn't mention about axion, which was proposed to solve the "Strong CP Problem" and is also a good candidate for dark matter. Nevertheless, Dark Cosmos is a great book to read. I would recommend it to anyone who is eager to find out what the Universe is made of.

Best Cosmology Book for the Public

I have a layman's interest in modern physics and cosmology. I try to keep up with the state-of-the-art. Compared to other books that I have read, this book is by far the best. I was able to finish the book and retain the knowledge. The book is informative and provides an efficient read because the author explains the concepts sufficiently and concisely for the layman. The treatments of dark matter and dark energy are the best I have seen, and appear to actually provide more information. There are essentially no paddings of pages with endless analogies (that are really not rigorous and make the reader lose focus), anecdotes, name dropping and personal claims of accomplishment. I found the author's style to be refreshing compared to most other physics books for the public that I have read recently and in the past. The technical level and detail are that of the Scientific American, but done much better. I suggest other authors use this book as a model for exposition to the publc. You don't need 400 plus pages to explain physics concepts to the public, half the size can still convey the information with almost zero noise.