Astronomy
Challenging something so well established like the Big Bang Theory is no easy task. But Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok have done exactly that, presenting a contender, called the Cyclic Theory, in their book Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang. The theory claims that there has been a violent event that took place 14 billion years ago, like the Big Bang model, but it was not the beginning of the universe. Instead, this event was just one of many like it that take place regularly. In the evolution of the universe, Steinhardt and Turok say, there has been, and there will be a ?Big Bang? about every trillion years. According to the theory, we live in just one of these cycles defined by the violent events.
One of the biggest reasons why this new theory is particularly appealing is a result of the nature of its competition. The Big Bang Theory has been heavily modified over its long history in order to match what we see in the universe. What started as something simple and appealing has grown into somewhat of a monstrous patchwork. Plus, the Big Bang Theory leaves unexplained how the violent event could be the beginning of the universe. The Cyclic Theory, in comparison, is much simpler and, as the two physicists repeatedly claim, fits current observations just as well as the Big Bang Theory.
This is why I found Endless Universe so interesting. The theory is very unique and refreshing, and the evidence that it uses to support its claims seem very sound. Although the book involves a few confusing topics that are foreign to most people, like the concept of branes, the authors explain these very well in a manner most common people can easily understand. The authors also include their personal stories in developing their model, explaining their motivations for a new revolutionary theory, which lend further to the support of the Cyclic Theory.
After finishing the book, I cannot say for sure if the Cyclic Theory is correct. In fact, the true answer can only come as more observations are performed, in areas like the study of gravitational waves. Either or both of the Big Bang and Cyclic Theories can be easily eliminated in a quick sweep with just one decisive new finding.
Still, there is great value in reading the book since it exemplifies the true nature of science, the continual quest to find a simple and true way to explain nature. It is an integral part of one of the most interesting times in cosmology, when we are presented with several plausible competing theories which all have great implications about the nature of the universe.
- Reading List
Some of what I have been reading recently:This article discusses proper motion, the movement of a star in the sky due to its movements in space or even due to the movements of the Sun itself. It uses Barnard's Star as an example, which is located...
- Big Bang: The Origin Of The Universe By Simon Singh
Book Review The author, Simon Singh, has written a wonderful history of the Big Bang theory, starting from its very beginnings. He leads up to the important discoveries by starting at the early history of Astronomy with ancient cultures and the Scientific...
- Most Earth Like Worlds Have Yet To Be Born.
According to a new theoretical study, Earth came early to the party in evolving universe. When our solar system was born 4.6 billion years ago, only 8 percent of the potentially habitable planets that will ever form in the universe existed, which means 92...
- Big Bang Theory-some Common Misconceptions
The most common misconception regarding big bang is: lot of people think that Big Bang is an enormous explosion that took place at the beginning of our universe, and is not true. Its actually was an expanding process that had begin around 13.7 million...
- Astronomy:seeing Outer Space
While it was just a TV show, that little speech at the beginning of the original Star Trek show really did do a good job of capturing our feelings about space. It is those feelings that drive our love of astronomy and our desire to learn more and...
Astronomy
Book Review: Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang
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| Image: Michael J. Windsor, Stewart Dickson, Doubleday |
One of the biggest reasons why this new theory is particularly appealing is a result of the nature of its competition. The Big Bang Theory has been heavily modified over its long history in order to match what we see in the universe. What started as something simple and appealing has grown into somewhat of a monstrous patchwork. Plus, the Big Bang Theory leaves unexplained how the violent event could be the beginning of the universe. The Cyclic Theory, in comparison, is much simpler and, as the two physicists repeatedly claim, fits current observations just as well as the Big Bang Theory.
This is why I found Endless Universe so interesting. The theory is very unique and refreshing, and the evidence that it uses to support its claims seem very sound. Although the book involves a few confusing topics that are foreign to most people, like the concept of branes, the authors explain these very well in a manner most common people can easily understand. The authors also include their personal stories in developing their model, explaining their motivations for a new revolutionary theory, which lend further to the support of the Cyclic Theory.
After finishing the book, I cannot say for sure if the Cyclic Theory is correct. In fact, the true answer can only come as more observations are performed, in areas like the study of gravitational waves. Either or both of the Big Bang and Cyclic Theories can be easily eliminated in a quick sweep with just one decisive new finding.
Still, there is great value in reading the book since it exemplifies the true nature of science, the continual quest to find a simple and true way to explain nature. It is an integral part of one of the most interesting times in cosmology, when we are presented with several plausible competing theories which all have great implications about the nature of the universe.
- Reading List
Some of what I have been reading recently:This article discusses proper motion, the movement of a star in the sky due to its movements in space or even due to the movements of the Sun itself. It uses Barnard's Star as an example, which is located...
- Big Bang: The Origin Of The Universe By Simon Singh
Book Review The author, Simon Singh, has written a wonderful history of the Big Bang theory, starting from its very beginnings. He leads up to the important discoveries by starting at the early history of Astronomy with ancient cultures and the Scientific...
- Most Earth Like Worlds Have Yet To Be Born.
According to a new theoretical study, Earth came early to the party in evolving universe. When our solar system was born 4.6 billion years ago, only 8 percent of the potentially habitable planets that will ever form in the universe existed, which means 92...
- Big Bang Theory-some Common Misconceptions
The most common misconception regarding big bang is: lot of people think that Big Bang is an enormous explosion that took place at the beginning of our universe, and is not true. Its actually was an expanding process that had begin around 13.7 million...
- Astronomy:seeing Outer Space
While it was just a TV show, that little speech at the beginning of the original Star Trek show really did do a good job of capturing our feelings about space. It is those feelings that drive our love of astronomy and our desire to learn more and...