by John Gribbin
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by John Gribbin
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by John Gribbin
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In Search of Superstrings: Symmetry, Membranes and the Theory of Everything by John Gribbin |
Deep Simplicity: Chaos Complexity and the Emergence of Life (Penguin Press Science) by John Gribbin |
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Star Dust
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Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most fabulous revelations afforded by modern cosmology is the fact that we are all stars, literally. The elements which comprise our bodies (like iron or oxygen) were all forged in the burning cores of distant suns, before being flung across the endless wastes of space by the enormous force of stellar explosions. Great stuff!
Now well-known writer and respected astrophysicist John Gribbin has taken this fairy-tale bit of Big Science and used it as the central premise for a book: which describes how the cosmos made us, and what we can therefore make of the cosmos. It's essentially a biography of man from the molecular point of view, with diversions into evolution, astronomy, geology, extra terrestrial life, and so on. One of the more poetic notions covered is that of "panspermia", the idea that the seeds of life are continually being carried across the universe--like so many sycamore keys in an autumn wood. The author definitely sides with those who believe the answer to life is "out there".
As always with John Gribbin, the writing is fresh and accessible, the thinking clear if occasionally complex. The real joy of Stardust is its perspective: in contrast to so many pop cosmology writers, Gribbin has managed to tell a fairly well-known tale in an original and very satisfying way.--Sean Thomas
Product Description
Life begins with the process of star formation. Except for hydrogen, every single atom of every single element in our bodies has been manufactured inside stars and then scattered across the universe in great stellar explosions known as supernovas, only then to be recycled as part of us. The hydrogen is primordial material, produced in the Big Bang, but everything else has been built up in the burning hearts of stars. We are made of stardust. Here the author relates the series of breakthroughs in astronomy that have led to this almost unbelievable insight into human origins. He begins his rich and characteristically accessible account in the 1920s, when astronomers discovered that the oldest stars are chiefly composed by hydrogen and helium, produced at the birth of the universe. He then describes the seminal work of the 1950s and 1960s which unlocked the secret of how elements are crated by nuclear fusion inside stars. In detail, this book goes on to follow the only recently understood life cycle of a star to its climatic end: supernova, the dramatic death of a star. during these explosions, a single star briefly shines as brightly as a hundred billion suns. The resulting ash is spread far and wide throughout the cosmos, forming new generations of stars, planets, and people. Focusing on the relationship between the Universe and the Earth, the author eloquently explains how the physical structure of the Universe has produced conditions ideal for life. In a Universe where the necessary processes operate with such prolific abandon, life-forms like ourselves cannot be unique.
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79% buy the item featured on this page: Stardust |
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