Stephen Hawking's Universe

by John Boslough

Book Overview

Here is an intimate glimpse of the greatest scientist of our day, the brilliant physicist confined to a wheelchair whose "A Brief History of Time" has become the first worldwide scientific bestseller of the century. The story of Stephen Hawking's relentless quest for the secret of the origins of the universe will change forever the way you look at the stars . . . and your place among them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688035302
• ISBN13: 9780688035303
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

satisfaction

I was fullly please with my order... My expectations have been met in every angle.

Boslough at his best!

This is one of those very FEW books that I have actually read more than half a dozen times (yes, call me crazy)! A good book is difficult to put down, but a great book is difficult to not re-read!I have always had an interest in Physics, particularly cosmology, black holes, and the Big Bang theory. This is one of the first books I've ever read on such topics. Boslough has a way of presenting his material in a concise, enjoyable, interesting way. This is one of the best science/physics books (for the layperons) I've ever read! This is THE book that got me hooked on further and continued readings about physics, cosmology, the Big Bang, quantum theory, and so on. Were it not for this book, I'd still be dreading the physics classes I took in college more than 15 years ago!This book also laid a lot of the foundation work for my research into black holes in preparation for the writing of my science fiction novel "Temporal Armageddon".

Revealing.

This small book, originally written in 1984, was and is still revealing.Firstly, on a personal level, Hawking admitted already at that time that "As far as theoretical physics are concerned, I'm already ... quite far over the hill'.Secondly, it gives an excellent explanation of Hawking's contribution to theoretical physics (black holes and their similarities to the beginning of time).Thirdly, Hawking has outspoken opinions about the anthropic principle (against), the universe of Eastern mysticism (an illusion), the many universes theory (not meaningful) or determinism ('Even if we do achieve a complete unified theory, we shall not be able to make detailed predictions in any but the simplest situations').This booklet offers also excellent examples for the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics and contains Hawking's Inaugural Lecture 'Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?'Although this book is, from a theoretical point of view, out of date (no superstrings), it should not be missed.

Big Bang for Beginners

As a non-science-type-person I read this book with the sense of shame and guilt that was customarily heaped upon purchasers of "Cliff Notes" by our school English teachers. This is a layman's guide to Hawking for people who are too intimidated to read Hawking, but as such it is a very good piece of work, and the discussion of the Big Bang, black holes, pulsars and quasars are well interspersed with aphoristic comments by Hawking himself.

Black Holes have no Hair

In this present-day world, it seems impossible that there could someone who has not heard of Stephen Hawking, even if it is only from his appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation or the Simpsons. And yet within this frail, tiny man lies one of the most potent minds mankind has ever borne forth, yet I am given to wonder if he would have achieved his current level of notoriety if he was not crippled by ALS. Or if his powerful mind would be less so were it not trapped within the body of an invalid. I cannot answer these questions, but instead I read mainstream publications and like so many others, stand in awe at the feet of a man who carries Einstein's legacy further toward a final answer. A unified field theory.It started ten of fifteen billion years ago during the Big Bang -that explosion that had blown out all of the matter in the universe. The Big Bang didn't simply occur in the void of space, it created space as well. But what Hawking is looking for, partially, is knowledge as to whether the fundamental forces of physics existed or not within the first few billionths of a second after the explosion or whether or not time existed either. Hawking, and others in his field, like Roger Penrose, are trying to find a correlation between cosmology and quantum mechanics, which is the study of the internal workings of atoms and the movement of subatomic particles. Indeed, it is a journey through space-time and one that if found will teach us a little more about the universe.From the dust of stars we came and to the stars we return. Much like "A Brief History of Time", we are given truly intimate glimpses into the intricacies of both the universe and Hawking himself. He is a man with a great sense of humor coupled with an almost child-like enthusiasm for new things. His bet over the origins of Cygnus X-1 with physicist Kip Thorne certainly bears this out: "If it turns out that the binary system does not contain a black hole -breaking many a physicist's hear- Hawking will win a four-year subscription to the British humor magazine Private Eye. If it is a Black Hole, Thorne will win a one-year subscription to Penthouse." In effect Hawking bet against himself, since he believes that one of the objects is in fact a black hole.Indeed, no other object of stellar phenomena has so captured the public's imagination and superstition than the prospect of a black hole. These once-massive stars of 10 to 15 solar masses that have collapsed down to mere fractions of their previous size and emit fields of intense gravitation. And those that get so small-to the point of a singularity, may yet reveal more information on the origins of the universe, since Hawking theorizes that what was before the Big Bang may indeed be imitated by what is within a black hole. As with so many things, others have asked why is it so important? And like Sir Edmund Hillary replied when asked why he wished to climb Mount Everest, "Because it is there."What is also remarkable is that ALS usu