eBook The Book of Universes: Exploring the Limits of the Cosmos ePub

One of the best books available on all the potential forms the multiverse can/does take... As with most of these books, you have to make up your own mind as to what is actual reality. It may be millennia or never before there is physical proof of any version of the multiverse, or it may be just around the corner. There is no way to really know, as true advances in science come in unpredictable ways.

So the book is theoretical in many respects, but don't let that limit your thinking as to what all this means. It has profound implications for life and the future, so books like this are well worth the time to read and think about.

This book is hard to beat as a broad survey of cosmology for the interested layman. Specialists, or graduate physics/astrophysics students will want something with more mathematical rigor and detail, but for those who have been regularly reading articles on cosmology and related fields in periodicals like Discover, Scientific American, and New Scientist, and have been exposed to informed glimpses into cosmology, this book gives a fuller, well rounded, well organized overview of the current state of cosmology -- for under $20.

Barrow's The Constants of Nature is very good, but Universes is much better.

Barrow starts with a survey of the cosmology viewpoints from Aristotle up to Schwarzschild circa 1915: some fanciful theories and some presaging modern theories in a naive sort of way. 1916 is the year Einstein introduced the theory of general relativity. Barrow's systematic yet understandable reviews of the various proposed solutions to the Einstein field equations, and the different universes implied, is a major strength of the book. The book is true to it name in giving clear explanations of alternatives: open, closed, flat, curved, expanding, collapsing and cycling universes that are solutions to the field equations. Due credit is given to the originators of the various models: de Sitter's universe, Friedmann's universe, Lemaitre's universe etc. The models are summarized in the chart put together by Ed (Ted) Harrison (page 73). I'd actually taken a cosmology course from Harrison in '66 or '67 at UMass -- he was an excellent lecturer. (I think there is some confusion in citing Ed and Ted as brothers - one at UMass and one at Arizona - but they are the same person.)

After Einstein, Barrow gets into steady-state and the big bang models preceding Guth's Inflation. He treats the big bang geometric issues Guth's inflation solved (smoothness, flatness, horizon etc.), and includes a little particle physics and gives the best layman level explanation of how inflation solves the magnetic monopole problem (a big bang prediction that does not work without inflation). Barrow gives excellent coverage of the post inflation developments in cosmology and comes very up to date. He has an excellent treatment of eternal inflation models, and what they might mean with regard to the doppelganger question. He has an excellent treatment of "probable" and "possible" universes and how they relate to anthropic arguments -- best layman explanation I've seen.

He handles many of the issues Steinhardt & Penrose raise about probabilities and entropy both indirectly and with at least one direct counter argument to Penrose and his unlikely-entropy-initial-condition view point. He covers a number of additional very current proposed models. In one of the more interesting topics (Which Universes are Singular?), there appears to be an unfortunate typo of gravity becomes "attractive" instead of "repulsive" for a universe that bounces rather than collapsing to a singularity (pg 186).

Along the way most of Barrow's presentations are neutral -- saying what they are without either repudiating or endorsing them. But by the end he shows a preference for one of the field equation solutions and indicates he thinks the evidence for inflation has gotten stronger, not weaker, with the most current data, and that the Plank Satellite (2009 launch) will be in an accuracy range that may tie up (or unravel) some loose ends. Those looking for a counterpoint to inflation might try Roger Penrose's Cycles of Time, which is excellent in its own right, but a bit more challenging for the lay reader. Other books will cover specific topics, like inflation (see Guth's Inflationary Universe), dark matter, dark energy, or string theory in more detail (Brian Greene), but as a general survey of cosmology, The Book of Universes is at the sweet spot for many readers -- it was for me.

Ever since viewing Prof. Barrow's "The Book of Universes" Gresham College talk on YouTube, I knew I had to get this book... I was not disappointed!

Barrow provides a fascinating historical review of of cosmological thinking, right up to the present day. His prose is engaging and witty, and takes the trouble to explain some items that are (alas, all to often) often glossed-over or ignored in many other books of this type.

I highly recommend this book as both thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating -- no matter how many other cosmology books you may have already read.

This is an exceptional science book. Barrow is readable, he sprinkles his explanations with interesting insights and Notes, and helpful illustrations balance out every few pages. His chapters and subchapters provide topic headings which assist the reader build and remember an understanding of the concepts being explored. The topic, theories of the structure and history of the universe, may generally lend to Barrow's capacity to build a cogent, cursive and historically clear comparison of these theories but many notable authors fail to achieve such systematic discussion on this kind of topic. For many Amazon reviews, I have tried to put my finger on what is missing - no more, Barrow gets it right with titles and structure, with figures and notes used appropriately.

The universes, and multiverse, which Barrow explores are diverse, often related, and inspired by many philosophical (or not) perspectives. His explanation of anthropic universes is, as is to expected from a leading theorist in that area, excellent and his Euclidian example of the possible non-rigidity of the laws and constants of physics is one of the best going. I feared that the home-made universes and fake universes might be going beyond the science, but these pages were particularly rewarding and benefitted from Barrow's mathematical perspective - they were both entertaining and thought provoking.

Overall, this book is in many ways a focussed history of science. To his credit, Barrow does not avoid technical and mathematical explanations completely, but the reader is sometimes left to accept a complex premise or theory in good faith. I have found a few insignificant typos and while this does not detract, as a novice to many of the fields Barrow discusses, one can only hope there are no typos in the important stuff.

Superb writing on complex subjects. John Barrow has a talent to excite the reader. It was quite a while ago that I read this book. I intend to re-read it due to John's fine writing. I intend to write more as I re-read this fine book. (I've read so many books of this nature -- I intend to do a comparison later...)

It is an excellent book! I enjoyed reading it. It provides an exiting journey on models of the Universe with clear explanations including suitable illustrations and simple math. It is comprehensive, well balanced and written in great style.

Excellent read!