A Brief History of Time
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Stephen W Hawking
1988
13 Feb 2000
A series of experiments using CERN's lead beam have presented compelling evidence for the existence of a new state of matter 20 times denser than nuclear matter in which quarks, instead of being bound up into more complex particles such as protons and neutrons, are liberated to roam freely. Such a state must have existed just a few microseconds after the Big Bang, before the formation of particles of matter as we know them today. Physicists at CERN have recreated those conditions by smashing lead nuclei into each other, to reach temperatures over 100 000 times as hot as the centre of the sun, and energy densities twenty times that of ordinary nuclear matter.
Before the Beginning : Cosmology Explained
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George Francis Rayner Ellis, Peter H. Collins
May 1993
| Big BangClick for details
Heather Couper et al
June 1997
A Dorling Kindersley illustrated book for children (and adults)
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June 18, 1999
In June1999 scientists plan to use a new tool to search the "fossil record" of the Big Bang to uncover clues about the evolution of the universe. NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spacecraft will observe nearby planets as well as the farthest reaches of the universe. For more information on FUSE, click here.
FUSE's main mission will be the study of hydrogen and deuterium (a hydrogen atom containing a neutron in its nucleus), that were created shortly after the Big Bang some 12 billion years ago. By looking back to these earliest times astronomers hope to better understand the processes that led to the formation and evolution of stars.
Our Cosmic Origins : From the Big Bang to the Emergence of Life and Intelligence
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Armand H. Delsemme
August 1998
The Big Bang
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Joseph Silk
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
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Brian Greene
There is an ill-concealed skeleton in the closet of physics: "As they are currently formulated, general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot both be right." Each is exceedingly accurate in its field: general relativity explains the behavior of the universe at large scales, while quantum mechanics describes the behavior of subatomic particles. Yet the theories collide horribly under extreme conditions such as black holes or times close to the big bang. Brian Greene, a specialist in quantum field theory, believes that the two pillars of physics can be reconciled in superstring theory, a theory of everything.
Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate.
Though Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study is in many ways the human hero of The Elegant Universe, it is not a human-side-of-physics story. Greene's focus throughout is the science, and he gives the nonspecialist at least an illusion of understanding--or the sense of knowing what it is that you don't know. And that is traditionally the first step on the road to knowledge
The First Three Minutes : A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe
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Steven Weinberg
1993
| The Inflationary Universe : The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic OriginsClick for details
Alan H. Guth, Alan P. Lightman
April 1997
The Inflationary Universe sheds light on a leading theory in humankind's continuing quest to understand the universe we live in.
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| The Life of the CosmosClick for details
Lee Smolin
April 1997
A theory of cosmic evolution by the natural selection of black-hole universes.
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The Particle Garden : Our Universe As Understood by Particle Physicists
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Gordon Kane, Heather Mimnaugh
July 1996
Highly recommended.
| The Whole Shebang : A State-Of-The-Universe(S) ReportClick for details
Timothy Ferris
An account of the various mechanisms believed to have contributed to the universe as we now know it, from the Big Bang itself to inflation to superstrings.
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| Understanding the Universe : An Introduction to Physics and AstrophysicsClick for details
James B. Seaborn
December 1997
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