Gravity's Century: From Einstein's Eclipse to Images of Black Holes
May 2019 · Harvard University Press
5.0star
2 reviews
Ebook
180
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About this ebook
“This gracefully written history of twentieth-century gravity research” brings to life the discoveries and developments that confirmed the theory of relativity (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
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, the Event Horizon Telescope examined the space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, to determine whether Einstein was right on the details.
In Gravity’s Century, award-winning science writer Ron Cowen brings to life the incredible scientific journey between these two events and sheds light on their groundbreaking implications. From the development of radio telescopes to the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still-unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory, Cowen breaks down the physics in clear and approachable language. Gravity’s Century vividly demonstrates how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe./
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, the Event Horizon Telescope examined the space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, to determine whether Einstein was right on the details.
In Gravity’s Century, award-winning science writer Ron Cowen brings to life the incredible scientific journey between these two events and sheds light on their groundbreaking implications. From the development of radio telescopes to the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still-unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory, Cowen breaks down the physics in clear and approachable language. Gravity’s Century vividly demonstrates how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe./
Ratings and reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Kevin Winter
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April 18, 2020
Greatly interesting and enjoyable to read. It is a fascinating historical account of the history behind Einstein's discoveries, along with the right balance of superbly explained scientific background that allows the reader to deeply grasp the concepts.
About the author
Ron Cowen has written for National Geographic, Nature, the New York Times, Science, Scientific American, Science News, and US News & World Report, and is a guest commentator on NPR’s Science Friday. He has received the American Institute of Physics’s Science Writing Award (twice) and the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division Popular Writing Award (twice).
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