Big Bang
Big Bang
Simon Singh
The bestselling author of Fermat’s Last Theorem and The Code Book tells the story of the brilliant minds that deciphered the mysteries of the Big Bang. A fascinating exploration of the ultimate question: how was our universe created?Albert Einstein once said: ‘The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.’ Simon Singh believes geniuses like Einstein are not the only people able to grasp the physics that govern the universe. We all can.As well as explaining what the Big Bang theory actually is and why cosmologists believe it is an accurate description of the origins of the universe, this book is also the fascinating story of the scientists who fought against the established idea of an eternal and unchanging universe. Simon Singh, renowned for making difficult ideas much less daunting than they first seem, is the perfect guide for this journey.Everybody has heard of the Big Bang Theory. But how many of us can actually claim to understand it? With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes and personal histories of those who have struggled to understand creation, Simon Singh has written the story of the most important theory ever.
Big Bang
The Most Important Scientific Discovery of All Time and Why You Need to Know About it
Simon Singh
Copyright (#ulink_bc2771e4-3d9d-5c3d-a257-4c7bf2686cf9)
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
This edition published by Harper Perennial 2005
First published by Fourth Estate 2004
Copyright © Simon Singh 2004
Diagrams copyright © Raymond Turvey 2004
PS section copyright © Louise Tucker 2005,
except‘The Missing Pages’ by Simon Singh © Simon Singh 2005
PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
Simon Singh asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007152520
Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007375509
Version: 2017-01-04
From the Reviews of Big Bang (#ulink_020d885c-4b41-54e2-ad7f-155f6c694aa2)
‘Singh is a very gifted storyteller who never misses the chance to make his subject clearer or more entertaining’
SCARLETT THOMAS, Independent on Sunday
‘This very well-written book conveys the ideas underpinning cosmological theory with great clarity’
Nature
‘Singh uses beautifully simple analogies and clearly explained dia grams to enable even the most mathematically hobbled of us to recapitulate the history of man’s intellectual engagement with the dark spaces around him’
Sunday Telegraph
‘If you are intrigued by the story but wary of mathematics, do not worry; Simon Singh spares us most of the maths, and he juggles big ideas with tact and care’
Daily Mail
A model of clarity’
Economist
‘Singh tells his tale well, with chatty anecdotes leavening the astro physics’
Guardian
‘An epic tale brilliantly told, packed with courage and tragedy, heroes and martyrs’
Daily Telegraph
‘Even if the cosmologists don’t know where the universe is going, at least they have found out where it has come from. Anybody who wants to understand this wonderful achievement will not do better than start with Singh’s book’
Mail on Sunday
‘An excellent introduction to the way modern science works’
The Times Higher Education Supplement
Dedication (#ulink_20856934-ef88-5473-918f-11bd62d17847)
This book would not have been possible without Carl Sagan, James Burke, Magnus Pyke, Heinz Wolff, Patrick Moore, Johnny Ball, Rob Buckman, Miriam Stoppard, Raymond Baxter, and all the science TV producers and directors who inspired my interest in science.
Epigraph (#ulink_73ffff34-f532-5085-a3f8-03d3e799d522)
Place three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.
JAMES JEANS
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
STEVEN WEINBERG
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it’s the exact opposite.
PAUL DIRAC
The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Table of Contents
Cover (#ub3d4ccc9-c184-512c-9000-899beef2a0db)
Title Page (#uc265eb98-819f-535b-9d35-0c0b93246b0c)
Copyright (#uef327ba9-92d6-5cfe-94a3-38c7582159aa)
From the Reviews of Big Bang (#u21c6a851-81c4-57c0-b161-ed16876a9d88)
Dedication (#uff9cf9d4-569b-5453-b799-d1fa0ede9f06)
Epigraph (#u04461fb7-d1c8-5c4f-b5c5-6bab52589454)
Chapter 1 IN THE BEGINNING (#u92faa47a-1af3-55b3-a7f4-5ecfacabba76)
Chapter 2 THEORIES OF THE UNIVERSE (#u5a19a30d-a4d9-55e3-83d8-a2ee1c9abae0)
Chapter 3 THE GREAT DEBATE (#u772c4bb6-8eb5-5d40-a464-a102eb83dc96)
Chapter 4 MAVERICKS OF THE COSMOS (#u061b68dc-aa1a-55d1-8b04-f4adb400434e)
Chapter 5 THE PARADIGM SHIFT (#ud629e24f-a3f9-5cbb-9c68-e10c5b6a3b28)
Epilogue (#u2bf85948-2bb2-56b3-b2e2-7be7be40783b)
Keep Reading (#uff786f27-a9b2-5207-9eae-5bfbeb718b67)
What is Science? (#uab02e3a8-a6bf-5ca5-b2b8-b1ee62203794)
Glossary (#u614ffca4-ca2e-5d7f-8f61-20b245d6cad9)
Further Reading (#u7f209774-74cb-5af0-82e6-44926d01ec09)
Index (#u592ea57c-d1ee-5acc-b552-435d6c8d1255)
P.S. (#ufcb76978-9966-5791-8ba0-97e0c11b94cf)
About the Author (#u297c41c5-6b2a-59f2-b573-03195a4f282e)
About the Book (#u85501a28-c351-52e4-9c97-d337278640bc)
Read on (#u7bd4f403-4677-5e91-a40f-2d7cba55f663)
Acknowledgements (#u6756243e-d4ae-5310-aa1b-3a093a3f60f3)
About the Author (#u0a5c690d-cc9a-5182-9880-664526d93ee9)
Also by the Author (#u4467e212-3448-5976-8e95-91e9234c8c77)
About the Publisher (#u8f2c1831-1cad-5144-ac34-0db3cf3ff658)
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/simon-singh/big-bang-39774141/) на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
Simon Singh
The bestselling author of Fermat’s Last Theorem and The Code Book tells the story of the brilliant minds that deciphered the mysteries of the Big Bang. A fascinating exploration of the ultimate question: how was our universe created?Albert Einstein once said: ‘The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.’ Simon Singh believes geniuses like Einstein are not the only people able to grasp the physics that govern the universe. We all can.As well as explaining what the Big Bang theory actually is and why cosmologists believe it is an accurate description of the origins of the universe, this book is also the fascinating story of the scientists who fought against the established idea of an eternal and unchanging universe. Simon Singh, renowned for making difficult ideas much less daunting than they first seem, is the perfect guide for this journey.Everybody has heard of the Big Bang Theory. But how many of us can actually claim to understand it? With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes and personal histories of those who have struggled to understand creation, Simon Singh has written the story of the most important theory ever.
Big Bang
The Most Important Scientific Discovery of All Time and Why You Need to Know About it
Simon Singh
Copyright (#ulink_bc2771e4-3d9d-5c3d-a257-4c7bf2686cf9)
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
This edition published by Harper Perennial 2005
First published by Fourth Estate 2004
Copyright © Simon Singh 2004
Diagrams copyright © Raymond Turvey 2004
PS section copyright © Louise Tucker 2005,
except‘The Missing Pages’ by Simon Singh © Simon Singh 2005
PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
Simon Singh asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007152520
Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007375509
Version: 2017-01-04
From the Reviews of Big Bang (#ulink_020d885c-4b41-54e2-ad7f-155f6c694aa2)
‘Singh is a very gifted storyteller who never misses the chance to make his subject clearer or more entertaining’
SCARLETT THOMAS, Independent on Sunday
‘This very well-written book conveys the ideas underpinning cosmological theory with great clarity’
Nature
‘Singh uses beautifully simple analogies and clearly explained dia grams to enable even the most mathematically hobbled of us to recapitulate the history of man’s intellectual engagement with the dark spaces around him’
Sunday Telegraph
‘If you are intrigued by the story but wary of mathematics, do not worry; Simon Singh spares us most of the maths, and he juggles big ideas with tact and care’
Daily Mail
A model of clarity’
Economist
‘Singh tells his tale well, with chatty anecdotes leavening the astro physics’
Guardian
‘An epic tale brilliantly told, packed with courage and tragedy, heroes and martyrs’
Daily Telegraph
‘Even if the cosmologists don’t know where the universe is going, at least they have found out where it has come from. Anybody who wants to understand this wonderful achievement will not do better than start with Singh’s book’
Mail on Sunday
‘An excellent introduction to the way modern science works’
The Times Higher Education Supplement
Dedication (#ulink_20856934-ef88-5473-918f-11bd62d17847)
This book would not have been possible without Carl Sagan, James Burke, Magnus Pyke, Heinz Wolff, Patrick Moore, Johnny Ball, Rob Buckman, Miriam Stoppard, Raymond Baxter, and all the science TV producers and directors who inspired my interest in science.
Epigraph (#ulink_73ffff34-f532-5085-a3f8-03d3e799d522)
Place three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.
JAMES JEANS
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
STEVEN WEINBERG
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it’s the exact opposite.
PAUL DIRAC
The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Table of Contents
Cover (#ub3d4ccc9-c184-512c-9000-899beef2a0db)
Title Page (#uc265eb98-819f-535b-9d35-0c0b93246b0c)
Copyright (#uef327ba9-92d6-5cfe-94a3-38c7582159aa)
From the Reviews of Big Bang (#u21c6a851-81c4-57c0-b161-ed16876a9d88)
Dedication (#uff9cf9d4-569b-5453-b799-d1fa0ede9f06)
Epigraph (#u04461fb7-d1c8-5c4f-b5c5-6bab52589454)
Chapter 1 IN THE BEGINNING (#u92faa47a-1af3-55b3-a7f4-5ecfacabba76)
Chapter 2 THEORIES OF THE UNIVERSE (#u5a19a30d-a4d9-55e3-83d8-a2ee1c9abae0)
Chapter 3 THE GREAT DEBATE (#u772c4bb6-8eb5-5d40-a464-a102eb83dc96)
Chapter 4 MAVERICKS OF THE COSMOS (#u061b68dc-aa1a-55d1-8b04-f4adb400434e)
Chapter 5 THE PARADIGM SHIFT (#ud629e24f-a3f9-5cbb-9c68-e10c5b6a3b28)
Epilogue (#u2bf85948-2bb2-56b3-b2e2-7be7be40783b)
Keep Reading (#uff786f27-a9b2-5207-9eae-5bfbeb718b67)
What is Science? (#uab02e3a8-a6bf-5ca5-b2b8-b1ee62203794)
Glossary (#u614ffca4-ca2e-5d7f-8f61-20b245d6cad9)
Further Reading (#u7f209774-74cb-5af0-82e6-44926d01ec09)
Index (#u592ea57c-d1ee-5acc-b552-435d6c8d1255)
P.S. (#ufcb76978-9966-5791-8ba0-97e0c11b94cf)
About the Author (#u297c41c5-6b2a-59f2-b573-03195a4f282e)
About the Book (#u85501a28-c351-52e4-9c97-d337278640bc)
Read on (#u7bd4f403-4677-5e91-a40f-2d7cba55f663)
Acknowledgements (#u6756243e-d4ae-5310-aa1b-3a093a3f60f3)
About the Author (#u0a5c690d-cc9a-5182-9880-664526d93ee9)
Also by the Author (#u4467e212-3448-5976-8e95-91e9234c8c77)
About the Publisher (#u8f2c1831-1cad-5144-ac34-0db3cf3ff658)
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/simon-singh/big-bang-39774141/) на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
Simon Singh
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Зарубежная образовательная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: The bestselling author of Fermat’s Last Theorem and The Code Book tells the story of the brilliant minds that deciphered the mysteries of the Big Bang. A fascinating exploration of the ultimate question: how was our universe created?Albert Einstein once said: ‘The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.’ Simon Singh believes geniuses like Einstein are not the only people able to grasp the physics that govern the universe. We all can.As well as explaining what the Big Bang theory actually is and why cosmologists believe it is an accurate description of the origins of the universe, this book is also the fascinating story of the scientists who fought against the established idea of an eternal and unchanging universe. Simon Singh, renowned for making difficult ideas much less daunting than they first seem, is the perfect guide for this journey.Everybody has heard of the Big Bang Theory. But how many of us can actually claim to understand it? With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes and personal histories of those who have struggled to understand creation, Simon Singh has written the story of the most important theory ever.