2024 the best page in the universe review
Price: $8.39
(as of Nov 16, 2024 18:43:15 UTC - Details)
A Seminary Co-op Notable Book
A BBC Sky at Night Best Book
“An impressively comprehensive bird’s-eye view of a research topic that is both many decades established and yet still at the very cutting edge of astronomy and physics.”
—Katie Mack, Wall Street Journal
“Schilling has craftily combined his lucid and accessible descriptions of science with the personal story of those unlocking the finer details of the missing mass mystery. The result is enthralling…A captivating scientific thriller.”
—BBC Sky at Night
“Fascinating…A thorough and sometimes troubling account of the hunt for dark matter…You will come away with a very good understanding of how the universe works. Well, our universe, anyway.”
—Michael Brooks, New Scientist
When you train a telescope on outer space, you can see luminous galaxies, nebulae, stars, and planets. But if you add all that together, it constitutes only 15 percent of the matter in the universe. Despite decades of research, the nature of the remaining 85 percent is unknown. We call it dark matter.
Physicists have devised huge, sensitive instruments to search for dark matter, which may be unlike anything else in the cosmos—some unknown elementary particle. Yet so far dark matter has escaped every experiment. It is so elusive that some scientists are beginning to suspect there might be something wrong with our theories about gravity or with the current paradigms of cosmology. Govert Schilling interviews believers and heretics and paints a colorful picture of the history and current status of dark matter research. The Elephant in the Universe is a vivid tale of scientists puzzling their way toward the true nature of the universe.
From the Publisher
ASIN : B09LMSK746
Publisher : Belknap Press (May 31, 2022)
Publication date : May 31, 2022
Language : English
File size : 19044 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 366 pages
Reviewer: CHARLES MORROW
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book for the layman
Review: Very understandable book for the fan of science. It is incredible all the new science projects that are in the works.
Reviewer: Delta D.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Comprehensive and (largely) comprehensible, but excessive self-reference
Review: This is probably not for everybody. I have a physics degree from decades back and I understood most of this. I doubt that such a degree is necessary, but the prospective reader should be prepared for a challenge.The book does a remarkably good job in explaining the nature and history of the problem as well as the myriad solutions which have been proposed.This would have got 5*, but for the author's irritating insertions of himself into the narrative. This is my most persistent criticism of 21st Century non-fiction. Authors seem to feel that they are as important as the story they relate. The incidence of first-person singular pronouns is excessive. Self-reference is a distraction from the principal narrative.So, I am happy to recommend the book, but disappointed at how much better it would have without the self-reference.
Reviewer: Terry Eargle
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A mystery of the universe explored
Review: Written at a level most people will be able to follow - and fascinating the issues that are raised & discussed. Reminded me of a verse found in scripture - Hebrews 11:3 - that states that those things which are visible are made from what is invisible. Very interesting book - will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the mysteries of the universe. I'm thoroughly enjoying it!
Reviewer: Craig
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This book is about nothing.
Review: A history of the research on âdark matterâ that appears to be ânothingâ but is the structure and âglueâ of our universe. Fascinating.
Reviewer: Actium
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Print is hard on older eyes, consider Kindle version
Review: Since I haven't read the book, I only took off one star for the difficulty of reading the print. It is small, lines close, and most of all it is light, not enough contrast with page background. I am able to read older books, from the 1990's and before, with small print that is dark enough to contrast with the page. But this level of light print defeats me, too much strain. I notice that a number of contemporary books have this problem, would be interested to know whyI am thinking of getting this book on an e-reader.Two days later -- I am reading it on Kindle easily and comfortably. This is a big help.
Reviewer: Wu James
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A great book
Review: An easy to read and non pretentious one facilitating ordinarily readers to understand dark matter and related issues!!
Reviewer: Vona
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very approachable description of search for dark matter
Review: This book is very readable, understandable and the author includes a nice mix of history and technical description of the search for the elusive dark matter. I only wish he had done a chapter on metaphysical explanations that fit the data as well.
Reviewer: Libbyzim
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting and enjoyable
Review: I am halfway through this book, which talks about the many people who have tried to solve the dark matter problem and discusses their approaches. If you have training in physics, however, you may want to turn to something more technical after reading this.
Reviewer: Julio Luz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The Elephant in the Universe chronicles the 100 year search for Dark Matter. Since the beginning, as a sideshow of Astronomy, up to the present day, as a illustrious representative of Big Science. It consolidates in one book several references and adds up original material concerning the current status of the search.It reads like a thriller from the beginning up to the last chapters (25 chapters in total divided in three parts) when it loses some momentum (which is understandable, given that the problem is still unsolved). Anyway, along the way, one is introduced to the problem, several attempts to solve it and what is the current status of the ongoing projects. Lots of pictures and graphs illustrate and clarify the argument of the main body of the text. Copious notes are provided at the end of the book because the references are not compiled in a bibliography at the end.Highly recommended by the advanced praise in the back cover, it does not disappoint. On the contrary. It is a very stimulating reading for those interested in the field and the grand scheme of things. I warmly recommend.
Reviewer: Sandeep Bhasin
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The books starts off at a very high level but slowly you would realise that thereâs nothing new in the book. When you read, you are forced to filter the material as new developments in the area come much later in the book. This is an excellent book for the researchers but not so convenient for an average reader who wants to know about the dark matter. A concise chapter in The Fabric of the Cosmos, a master class on String Theory, does the job beautifully. This books drags along a bit.