Wrinkles in Time Co

Rating:
Summary: History of Discovering Cosmic History
Review: "Einstein, who was devoted to a rational explanation of the world, once said: 'I want to know how god created the world. I want to know his thoughts.' He meant it metaphorically, as a measure profundity of his quest." - George Smoot

Wrinkles in time, written by George Smoot and Keay Davidson, is an excellent book if you are interested in cosmology like me, or if you are looking for something to read about how the 'big bang hypothesis' was proved into theory, especially if you are in favor of it.

The first part of the book had beneficial knowledge about particle physics. It included different types of dark matter such as baryonic, non-baryonic, cold, hot, etc. It explains the physical, chemical, and nuclear phase transitions of matter, which goes from solid to liquid to gas to plasma and then protons. In this part the author also explains theories such as the big bang theory, predictions, discoveries, and mysteries of the cosmos.

To me the first part was also more exciting than the second part where George Smoot is on a 'journey of exploring the Cosmic Background History'. This is the part where the author pursues the 'holy grail of science' and at last is allowed to send up his satellite whose data is unbelievable so he goes on an expedition to Antarctica to collect data from the South Pole by his own hands. At last George finds his reason for himself rejecting the data. The book ends with him going to the press to reveal his data and final conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: History of Discovering Cosmic History
Review: "Einstein, who was devoted to a rational explanation of the world, once said: `I want to know how god created the world. I want to know his thoughts.' He meant it metaphorically, as a measure profundity of his quest." - George Smoot

Wrinkles in time, written by George Smoot and Keay Davidson, is an excellent book if you are interested in cosmology like me, or if you are looking for something to read about how the `big bang hypothesis' was proved into theory, especially if you are in favor of it.

The first part of the book had beneficial knowledge about particle physics. It included different types of dark matter such as baryonic, non-baryonic, cold, hot, etc. It explains the physical, chemical, and nuclear phase transitions of matter, which goes from solid to liquid to gas to plasma and then protons. In this part the author also explains theories such as the big bang theory, predictions, discoveries, and mysteries of the cosmos.

To me the first part was also more exciting than the second part where George Smoot is on a `journey of exploring the Cosmic Background History'. This is the part where the author pursues the `holy grail of science' and at last is allowed to send up his satellite whose data is unbelievable so he goes on an expedition to Antarctica to collect data from the South Pole by his own hands. At last George finds his reason for himself rejecting the data. The book ends with him going to the press to reveal his data and final conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: bad at any price
Review: I bought this used for 50 cents and didn't
get my money's worth. The author's pompous
style is offputting and the content of the
book has been much better covered by others.

Rating:
Summary: Essencial cosmology book - for cosmology lovers.
Review: I cherish books about cosmology, especially chronicling the most important discoveries about the Universe.
We have had currently three major important milestone developments, changing our perception of the space:
--In 1981Alan Guth introduced rapid, early inflation theory. It was crucial theory explaining why it is natural for the Universe to be expanding close to the critical rate today.
--Scientists were able to obtain a background measure at all in the Universe, using COBE satellite. In 1992 George Smoot announced existence of primordial seeds of modern-day structures such as galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and so on. Later these infrared readings were called "face of God".
--In 1998, acceleration of visible space expansion was officially acknowledged as a breakthrough of the years. The observations confirmed Alan Guth's inflationary theory. Robert Kirshner- supernova guru from Harvard, is one of the most important scientists studying this "cceleration" phenomena.

George Smoot's books belongs to this category of essential "collectors' items". Reader will learn first hand how COBE project has been completed and its results confirmed by measurements of Milky Way's radio emissions taken at the South Pole. Book delivers substantial amount of basic information about Universe as well. As for today, it is a bit of outdated info, but author's writings about personal life, work and experience are still worse of perusal.

Alan Guth's "Inflationary Universe" and Robert Kirshner's "Extravagant Universe" will be two other milestone books being written by directly involved scientists.

Rating:
Summary: A Clear Explanation of Spacetime
Review: I enjoyed this book for not only the adventure of discovery involved with the COBE project, but also the clear explanation of the history of cosmology and the concept of the expanding universe and spacetime. Before I read this book my idea of the "Big Bang" was matter flying out in all directions from a giant explosion. The concept of spacetime means that space was being "created" with time. A difficult concept to grasp that is not well treated in most high school text books. I found Dr. Smoot's story most interesting and I gained an appreciation of the subtle and difficult nature of modern scientific research.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I think this book is great, I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend to anyone. It starts from the earlier cosmology (as most other books I have read) and guide's you on for Smoot's Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR). Smoot's one of scientists that research extensively and then announce their findings so they are not erroneous. Besides being informative this book also has thrill to it. The thrill of the future of Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE).

Rating:
Summary: Great for Beginners
Review: I wasn't particularly impressed with any "new" findings in this book. It would be more accurate to consider the book an overview of cosmology's history. The first seven chapters, before the authors even get to the book's whole purpose, wrinkles in time, are filled with brief biographies of physics pioneers, mathematicians and astronomy forerunners. You read about everyone from Newton and Galileo to Lemaître and Hubble. It's literally filled with people and their findings, as well as one of the author's own anecdotes, which I find odd considering the book was co-authored. I found that it was nothing more than a long introduction that took a bit of patience. The authors spend most of the book telling the reader about who discovered what principle, and thankfully, what each principle or law means. It's filled with extensive explanations that were made easy to understand for an audience that has never stepped foot into Cal-Tech. The authors fill the pages with analogies, logical examples, research, observations, diagrams and their own predictions. These predictions resulting from researches are proved very important in the author's field. The steps the scientists mention in the text all made their discoveries in the same pattern. They first observed the night-sky and made a prediction. They preformed research by some sort of measurement or observation. They gave logical explanations, tied it into other scientists' work, wrote papers and predicted again. Their final prediction would be something in accord with the findings of the theory. A fine example would be when Christopher Columbus accurately predicted a total lunar eclipse in 1504 after studying the phenomenon. Nothing in the book seems pompous or unfounded. The jargon is explained clearly. It's as believable and as convincing, earnestly explaining and urging, like the door to door Jehovah's Witness of science. It is organized in an easy to follow chronological order. He waited until the last quarter of the book to propose any new theories or findings by his COBE team, plenty of time for the uninitiated to understand or put down the book. It was a long read that took moderate concentration without being too intimidating. Smoot and Davidson were not particularly articulate, but their sentence structures were elegant without being too complex. All the findings were logical and extensive, not to mention interesting. I recommend this book for anyone with an honest interest in the physics of space and it's great possibilities.

Rating:
Summary: The adventure of cosmology.
Review: Smoot's book chronicles the excitement, frustrations, and adventure of the work of science, focusing on his careful efforts and eventual triumph with the COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) satellite project. Stephen Hawking calls Smoot's observations "the scientific discovery of the century, if not all time". The reader easily comes to identify with the author and his work -- "In the predawn darkness, not far away, fifteen years of work were sitting atop many tons of high explosives. If it blew to bits, what would I do? ... I had seen the [Delta] rocket close up, and had been aghast at how decrepit it looked, rusting here and there... Our professional life's work was on top of that thing. We didn't say a word, only silent prayers."
The author explains well the theories, predictions, discoveries, and conundrums of cosmology. The explanation of Guth's inflation theory is particularly lucid. In summarizing the startling discoveries of recent astrophysical observation, Smoot reposes in the wonder of the created order with these words: "[Steven] Weinberg muses... 'The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.' I must disagree with my old teacher. To me the universe seems quite the opposite of pointless... The more we learn, the more we see ... there is an underlying unity to the sea of matter and stars and galaxies ... we are learning that nature is as it is not because it is the chance consequence of a random series of meaningless events; quite the opposite."

Rating:
Summary: The Search for Wrinkles in Time
Review: Stephen Hawking, one of the most prominent geniuses of our time, called George Smoot and his colleagues' discovery of wrinkles in time, "the scientific discovery of the century, if not of all time." The cosmological discovery of ripples in the universe's background radiation has indeed changed our concept of the origins of an expanding and evolving universe. In the words of George Smoot: "Our discovery of the wrinkles in the fabric of time is part of that eternal quest and marks an important step forward in this golden age of technology. Suddenly, pieces of a larger puzzle begin to fall together: Inflation looks stronger, and dark matter more real. Our faith in the big bang is revitalized... The creativity of the universe is its most potent force, forming through time the matter and structures of stars and galaxies, and, ultimately, us. The wrinkles are the core of that creativity, assembling structure from homogeneity." Perhaps one does not understand such complex terms as "background radiation," as was my case when I began reading Wrinkles in Time. The authors, George Smoot and Keay Davidson, successfully explain these complicated concepts in lay terms. The book first guides the reader through the history modern cosmological theory, beginning with Ptolemy's picture of the Universe through to the origin of the Big Bang theory formulated by Georges-Henri Lemaître. Once the reader understands the evolution of cosmology and astrophysics, George Smoot begins his detailed account of the search for "dipoles," "quadrupoles," and, ultimately, "wrinkles in time." His discovery, of tremendous significance to both science and philosophy, required decades of research, billions of dollars, and a highly specialized team of cosmologists, physicists, chemists, and engineers. After many frustrating attempts to discover the secret of the universe by launching their equipment on giant helium balloons and World War II U2 aircraft, Smoot and his team turned to NASA. After many months of hard work, they finally saw their instruments launched into space on a Delta rocket. Once in orbit, the device detected what the team sought to find. However, one can never be too confident in science. To make sure that the readings obtained in space were not simply a result of radio interference, the team set off for Antarctica. There, only a few miles away from the South Pole, and at temperatures of -73oF, George Smoot and Giovanni D Amici, among others, confirmed what they had detected in the Northern Hemisphere: fluctuations in the universe' background radiation. These wrinkles in time are the seeds of galaxies; some found through the study to be hundreds times larger than ever imagined. The implications of this discovery are colossal. Wrinkles in Time, however, does not elaborate on the philosophical significance of an infinite universe as do some other works. For example, Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters and Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics advance the notion that the universe bloomed out of zero volume, creating time and space as it grew. For readers who have never picked up a science book in their lives, do not start with Wrinkles in Time. There are long, detailed chapters that explain the technicalities of the equipment and of the study. On the other hand, for anyone interested in learning about mystifying concepts of the universe, Wrinkles in Time is an enlightening book that is well worth the time investment of a prolonged reading. As John L. Casti, author of Paradigms Lost: Images of Man in the Mirror of Science, affirms, the book is "a must read for anyone interested in the way science is really done."

Rating:
Summary: Feels like an eternity
Review: The book covers the last 14 billion years or so, and sometimes it feels like it. It is a bit long-winded and certainly contains a lot of info that I doubt people really want to know. There are some compelling sections - like the U2 flights and the creating of COBE - but all in all Smoot repeats himself too much, and spends too much time on trivialities.
A worthy read for those interested in cosmology, but not a stocking stuffer for the casual reader!