Empire of the Stars
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'Arthur I. Miller, for so long the doyen of historians of modern science, has surpassed himself with this brilliant, elegantly written book. It is a profound story of friendship, disappointment and hope' David Bodanis, author of ELECTRIC UNIVERSE *'Arthur I. Miller's EMPIRE OF THE STARS dramatically succeeds in conveying the clash of scientific ideas and the personal conflicts underlying Chandrasekhar's remarkable anticipation of the existence of black holes in our universe. This is a story that needed to be told' Roger Penrose *'A wonderful read...provides insight into the personalities of some of the great scientific minds of the last century...a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in modern astronomy and astrophysics' Dr. Martin C. Weisskopf, Fellow of the American Physical Society 'Miller is an excellent historian' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW.
Roger Penrose
'Remarkable . . . This is a story that needs to be told’
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Empire of the Stars, a very nice read!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes (Hardcover)
This book concerns the discovery of S. Chandrasekar, that white dwarfs have a maximum mass (1.4 times the mass of the Sun) and how this was work was received by his fellow scientist, in particular by Sir Arthur Eddington. The conclusions drawn from Chandra's work was that more massive stars would continue to collapse until nothing is left (i.e. black holes would form; however, black holes were not yet discovered). It is in particular this aspect which Eddington and other scientist did not believe. Chandra's life in Cambridge and struggle(s) (such as his fights against racism) is well described. In the second part of the book, the author explains some aspects of the physics involved. Read this book and you will learn a lot about Chandra's life
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The blood on the carpet at the Royal Astronomical Society,
By
This review is from: Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes (Hardcover)
Here's what you need to know about this book. It's a thrilling read. It's completely accurate. It is a superb account of how personal rivalries can sometimes intrude on the progress of science. And the science revealed here is truly amazing: neutron stars, black holes, the works. This book is much easier on the mind than A Brief History of Time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stellar!,
By
This review is from: Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes (Paperback)
This ultimately somewhat sad story turns upon the biography of a great scientist whose lifetime achievements he himself appeared to disparage. An enigma remains as to whether this outlook was inherent in Chandrasekhar's personality or was rather the result of humiliating early rejection by the scientific establishment of his first groundbreaking theoretical discovery.
The tale brings out a further irony: that the long-delayed award of a Nobel Prize singled out, among his many discoveries, specifically this early work on white dwarf stars, whereas he himself had scarcely revisited the topic after his findings were ridiculed by Eddington. The reader can follow a detailed history of the interactions among the many famous people whose intellectual contributions evolved into our current understanding of the nature of stars and of their ultimate fates. How that story might have developed differently, had the astrophysical giants of the 1930s been more receptive to the insight of a twenty-something genius from India, can only be imagined. There is ample detailed and well-researched material here to ponder upon. The science is treated in a thoroughly accurate way without unnecessary mathematical detail. The problem of how to deal with incomprehensible magnitudes of distance and size is perhaps unsolvable. The use here of miles, instead of the more conventional light-years, does not really help: it just adds an extra multiplier of 6 trillion (whatever that might mean!) to try to get to grips with.
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