Time, Space, Stars and Man

The Story of the Big Bang

The three greatest scientific mysteries, which remain poorly understood, are the origin of the universe, the origin of life and the development of consciousness. This book describes the processes preceding the Big Bang, the creation of matter, the concentration of that matter into stars and planets, the development of simple life forms and the theory of evolution that has given higher life forms, including mankind.

There are many popular and excellent science books that present various aspects of science. However, this book follows a narrow scientific pathway from the Big Bang to mankind, and depicts the causal relationship between each step and the next. The science covered will be enough to satisfy most readers. Many important areas of science are dealt with, and these include cosmology, particle physics, atomic physics, galaxy and star formation, planet formation and aspects of evolution. The necessary science is described in a narrative form that general-interest readers should understand, without the use of equations or formulae.

This 2nd edition includes several updates on the subjects that form the pillars of this book. They are: cosmology and astronomy, the features and formation of the solar system, the origin of life, and genetics and evolution. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in biology and those curious about the origins of the universe.

Contents:

• Musing

• The Universe:

  • Christian Doppler and His Effect
  • Measuring Distances in the Universe
  • Edwin Hubble's Expanding Universe
  • A Weird and Wonderful Universe

• Matter and the Universe:

  • The Nature of Matter
  • The Big-Bang Hypothesis
  • How Matter Can Clump Together
  • The Universe Develops Structure

• Stars, Stellar Clusters and Galaxies:

  • The First Stars are Born, Live and Die
  • The Formation of Globular Clusters
  • Making the Sun — and Similar Stars
  • A Crowded Environment

• The Solar System:

  • Understanding the Nature of the Solar System
  • Introducing the Planets
  • Satellites Galore
  • 'Vermin of the Sky' and Other Small Bodies
  • Planets Galore

• Forming the Solar System:

  • Making Planets
  • Shrinking Orbits and the Survival
  • Now Satellites Form
  • What Can Be Learnt from Meteorites?
  • A Little-Bang Theory and the Terrestrial Planets
  • The Moon — Its Structure and History
  • The Very Small Planets — Mars and Mercury
  • Smaller Bodies of the Solar System
  • The Origin of Isotopic Anomalies in Meteorites

• Life on Earth:

  • The Earth Settles Down — More-or-Less
  • What is Life?
  • Forms of Life
  • Nineteenth Century Genetics — The Survival of the Fittest
  • Twentieth Century Genetics — The Alphabets of Life
  • Life Begins on Earth
  • The Restless Earth
  • Oxygen, Ozone and Life
  • The Evolution of Life — From Archaea to Early Mammals
  • Early Mammals to Man
  • Man and the Earth
  • Musing Again

Readership: Members of the general public who have an interest in popular science.
Key Features:

• This book covers a wide range of science
• It is written in a form that is accessible to a well-read non-specialist as there are no equations
• It is well illustrated, which helps comprehension of the text