Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe

When I bought this book, I imagined it would begin with the discoveries of Mr. Hubble, but I was wrong again!In fact, this book is a history of the entire science of cosmology, and so it begins with tribal myths, and the first struggles of the pre-Socratics --- and then on to the bean-eater, Pythagoras! (Actually, I'm not sure right now, whether Pythagoras required the eating of beans, or forbade it. Religious nuttery, in either case.)Since I've just been reading William Dunham's Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics, I was a little surprised to be encountering the same cast of characters all over again, but let me say that Singh's account is much, much better for the general reader. Dunham has no problem covering 2-3 pages with calculus formulas, and Singh wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. Nevertheless, for the very first time in my life, I have a clear understanding of how the Copernican Revolution occurred. I used to have a mish-mash of Tyco Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo which was not clearly understood. but Simon Singh explained it to me. In brief: Copernicus was the first to revive the thoughts of an ancient Greek "heretic" who believed in a sun-centered universe. But Copernicus wrote very badly, and his book was sabotaged at the printers literally as Copernicus lay dying. Enter, stage left, Tyco Brahe, an eccentric nobleman who made the most exact astronomical observations in history, and drank too much. (He also had a metal nose...) The humble Lutheran "peasant" Kepler was the man who did all the hard math work, using Brahe's observations and Copernicus's theory, and he published the definitive work which explained that the planets did NOT have circular orbits, but elliptical orbits --- an idea which made "Aristotelians" foam at the mouth. Finally, enter Galileo (stage right) bearing a weapon of great power --- the telescope. The telescope eventually proved Kepler right in just about every detail.This is a very enjoyable and educational book, which reminds me of that great TV series, "Connections." Very highly recommended!

This is one of the best books I've ever read describing the history of astronomy as it pertains to the development and eventual acceptance of the Big Bang Theory.Although the first several pages seemed awkward in that the author spent time describing Chinese, Icelandic, and African mythology as it relates to the universe the theme turns quickly to focusing on what science is and early scientific achievements relating to astronomy.One thing that stands out about this book which I found fascinating was that the author often gives details about the personalities of the people who made the important discoveries along the way and what the people who held competing theories thought of each other.Chapter 1 covers among other things: Early astronomical achievements such as determining the size of the earth, distance to the sun, development of the Copernican world view, Keplarian planetary orbits, and the work of Galileo.Chapter 2 beautifully describes and contrasts early theories of the universe, and the story of how Galilean Relativity gave way to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity along with Newton's theory of gravity being replaced with Einstein's theory of gravity and its verification. The chapter concludes with Einstein's view of a static, eternal universe with Friedmann and Lemaitre's hypothesis of a universe that expands and had a beginning.Chapter 3 deals with how it was determined the universe contained island galaxies great distances apart instead of just one galaxy containing everything and also how Hubble showed a relationship between a galaxy's distance and recessional velocity.Chapter 4 shows how theory and observations came together to form the Big Bang model. Details on how Einstein came to favor the Big Bang model rather than a static universe are given. The work of cosmologists George Gamow favoring the Big Bang and Fred Hoyle favoring the Steady State model are presented.Chapter 5 shows why Gamow's Big Bang Theory came to be accepted rather than Hoyle's Steady State Theory. The history of how the overwhelming evidence from Radio Astronomy's discovery of the Cosmic Background Radiation is beautifully presented and how many other observations now support the Big Bang.A short Epilogue is also given exploring the philosophical and religious implications of the Big Bang. Although the book's beginning downplayed belief in a Deity the author admits (p 492) that the scientific community has not yet "properly addressed the ultimate question of where the universe came from" and that the answer might indeed be outside the realm of science.

Fantastic book. Scientifically rigorous, clear explanations and diagrams, easy to follow and beautifully written. I struggled with and couldn't follow Weinberg's "The First Three Minutes" but I loved loved loved this book.

Livro recomendado numa palestra de astronomia bastante esclarecedora. O palestrante disse que o que ele falou está nesse livro.

Después de haber leído "El Libro de los Códigos" y "El Enigma de Fermat" la lectura de este libro no entusiasma como pudiera esperarse. Sin embargo, el relato es apegado a la historia y suficientemente explicado para un lector con educación media.

There are different theories on how the universe had come into existence and nothing is more accurate than the Big Bang model. This book explains the Big Bang cosmology really well and it’s one of the most famous books out there that discusses the subject. I would also recommend ‘A Universe from Nothing’ and ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told So Far’ by Professor Lawrence Krauss and ‘Astrophysics for People in a Hurry’ by Neil deGrasse Tyson if you are interested in the topic of origins of the universe.

I immediately fell in love with this book since the beginning. It's a wonderful journey through the history of science from Copernicus era to the most recent evidence supporting the Big Bang Model. The author really takes the reader into the fundamental aspects of the scientific method: how it works, how different generations of scientists were needed to move discoveries forward either improving previous theories or destroying previous false claims. Before speaking about details of the Big Bang Model, Simon Singh takes the reader on a chronological journey through all the science and technology that have been essential to building the fundamental blocks of this Model and its supporting evidence. Full of anecdotes, scientists' quotes and curiosities, the narrative of this book is so effective and clear in explaining difficult scientific concepts, always supported by summaries and schemes to keep the reader on track within this beautiful journey throughout Science.