Alpha And Omega: The Search For The Beginning And The End Of The Universe [Paperback]

Stunning work of popular science that explores the current, cutting-edge scientific race to fully understand how the universe began and how it will end...

Since A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME scientists have been in the midst of a revolution in cosmology. Gradually, astronomers and physicists are answering questions that have plagued mankind since prehistory: how was the universe born, how will it end? As we are now able to peer ever more closely into the cradle of the universe, so we are increasingly able to envisage its grave. By the middle of this decade, scientists will be able to provide some of the answers. These will be among the greatest triumphs of science. This book tells that story and will reveal results of the most advanced experiments in cosmology ever conducted. It's also an intensely human story - a tale of men solving the insoluble, of the controversy and intense competition and rivalry between individuals and laboratories pursuing the same goal. Even more thrillingly - it is a lucid explanation of new scientific ideas that stretch our powers of understanding to their highest levels, and beyond.

The science of cosmology is on the brink of a final revolution. Astronomers and physicists are beginning to answer the ultimate questions that have plagued mankind for millennia: how was the universe born? And how will it end? Already scientists have glimpsed the cradle of the universe, now they’re peering into its grave. When results from experiments currently being conducted all over the world finally come together, the findings will constitute one of the greatest moments in science – as monumental as the deciphering of the human genome. Alpha and Omega is the story of this cosmological revolution, and of the scientists who are bringing it about. From the universe’s mythological origins to the theories of Aristotle, Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler and Newton, Charles Seife, acclaimed author of Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, takes us on a gallop across time – and introduces us to the newcomers on this cosmic trail: galaxy-hunters and microwave-eavesdroppers, gravity theorists and atom-smashers, and reveals bitter rivalries between brilliant minds. Making cutting-edge science crystal clear, Alpha and Omega provides fascinating and thrilling explanations of some of the most stunning scientific ideas of our time.

A graduate of Yale University in Mathematics, Charles Seife's areas of research include probability theory and artificial intelligence. His journalism includes articles for The New Scientist, The Economist, and Scientific American among others. His first book, Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea, won the PEN Award for Non-fiction.