Gravity’s Century: From Einstein’s Eclipse to Images of Black Holes by Ron Cowen (PDF)

Description

A sweeping account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein’s general theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory.Albert Einstein did nothing of note on May 29, 1919, yet that is when he became immortal. On that day, astronomer Arthur Eddington and his team observed a solar eclipse and found something extraordinary: gravity bends light, just as Einstein predicted. The finding confirmed the theory of general relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time.A century later, another group of astronomers is performing a similar experiment on a much larger scale. The Event Horizon Telescope, a globe-spanning array of radio dishes, is examining space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. As Ron Cowen recounts, the foremost goal of the experiment is to determine whether Einstein was right on the details. Gravity lies at the heart of what we don’t know about quantum mechanics, but tantalizing possibilities for deeper insight are offered by black holes. By observing starlight wrapping around Sagittarius A*, the telescope will not only provide the first direct view of an event horizon—a black hole’s point of no return—but will also enable scientists to test Einstein’s theory under the most extreme conditions.Gravity’s Century shows how we got from the pivotal observations of the 1919 eclipse to the Event Horizon Telescope, and what is at stake today. Breaking down the physics in clear and approachable language, Cowen makes vivid how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Disclaimer: I knew the author in grad school. I am a physicist who is not an expert in this particular area, but had some course work in general relativity. This book gives a good overview of this topic and how it evolved in the last hundred years. It is written in an easy style for the non-expert to follow without needing a math background, and get a good feel for general relativity and the experimental efforts that have resulted in data that support Einstein’s theory.

⭐Mr. Cowen writes about subjects I wouldn’t expect to understand; as he does in his articles, he communicates with clarity and wit in his first book. Recommended highly!

⭐This is complicated, counterintuitive material, but this book makes it easy as possible to understand the past and present of our understanding of gravity. I enjoyed the Audible version so much that when I finished it, I just started over again at the beginning.

⭐Greatly interesting and enjoyable read. Fascinating historical account of the history behind Einstein’s discoveries, along with the right balance of superbly explained scientific background allows the reader to deeply grasp the challenging concepts.

⭐An excellent blend of science and history of science over the last hundred years. A simplest drscription of viewing gravity and hearing as well

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