The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe

by Joseph Silk, John D. Barrow, Scott Barrow

Book Overview

Consider the ghostly neutrino. This elementary, subatomic particle carries with it not only an uncanny reminder of a time eons ago when symmetries were perfect, but also a clue as to how they came to be broken. For every neutrino that now spins to the left, there was once one that spun to the right: these parallel twins were destroyed in the "Big Bang," that cosmic apocalypse that, most scientists now agree, created the universe. And this decay of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195086759
• ISBN13: 9780195086751
• Release Date: March 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

The Breakthroughs in Modern Cosmology

"For the briefest instant at the origin of time when all laws of physics on an equal footing, all nature's elementary constituents, heavy and light alike, interacted freely and democratically. The most exotic particles known, or even dreamt of, by man were liberated to participate in this unrestrained interchange." Prologue Left-Handed Creation: "Amino acids, the molecular building blocks of life (except for a few) are all left-handed.... Why life on the molecular level is like this is a mystery... The astronomers believe that this left-hand bias began long before our Sun was even born. ... Many scientists believe that life could only have developed on Earth because of the bias towards left-handed molecules." (Dr David Whitehouse, BBC Online, July 1998) The Mysterious Universe: In the updated new revision to their insightful guide, written for attentive inquirers seeking a telltale that helps solving the old riddle of the cosmological origins, a plausible account for the evolution of the universe, that provides a fascinating view of the different perspectives on this topic was integrally explored. The acclaimed astronomy educators provided the reader with a fresh introduction to survey the main developments on the new phase that cosmology erupted into, the decade following the book's first edition. Cosmology 101: One useful method to enjoy the enormous range of scientific topics covered was to read the introduction and prologue, review the Conclusions and Conundrums, before following attentively the authors account of the provocative dynamic unfolding of the Left hand of creation on the Cosmic debate; Cosmos, Origins, creation, evolution, and finally Chaos to cosmos. In a masterful brief introductory to the thought evoking guide using a minimal technical terminology, to which a thorough Glossary (10 pages) was appended, the astronomical universe's most puzzling features are explored in the light of the technological revolution from the Hubble telescope to the micro computers. In a reader friedly escort, onto the NASA Cosmic Explorer COBE, you will be fascinated by the scientific account from the primordial furnace during the initial Big Bang to develop into moving streams of galaxies, and from nucleosynthesis to superstrings, dark matter, explaining the idea of inflation. Cosmos from Chaos: The serious inquiry starts with the controversial debate on adam's belly button, and proceeds on the age of the cosmos utilizing clear and informative graphics from Hubble law to Le Chatalier principle applied to the universe phase transition. I am at a great loss to review the book landmarks which covered the genius human vision to percieve the predictions and link them with the proofs from Friedman to Eddington on the expanding universe, and the curious origin of Bondi's Steady-state concept of 'creation ex nihilo' initiated by the great master John Philoponus of the sixth century Alexandrine Academy. Acclaimed authors: Dr. John Barrow, FRS,