Charleston County Public Library

How the universe got its spots, diary of a finite time in a finite space, Janna Levin

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

How the universe got its spots

bibliography

49509137

Janna Levin

"In prose, Janna Levin's diary of unsent letters to her mother describes what we know about the shape and extent of the universe, about its beginning and its end. She grants the uninitiated access to the astounding findings of contemporary theoretical physics and makes tangible the contours of space and time - those very real curves along which apples fall and planets orbit." "Levin guides the reader through the observations and thought-experiments that have enabled physicists to begin charting the universe. She introduces the cosmic archaeology that makes sense of the pattern of hot spots left over from the big bang, a pursuit on the verge of discovering the shape of space itself. And she explains the topology and the geometry of the universe now coming into focus - a strange map of space full of black holes, chaotic flows, time warps, and invisible strings. Levin advances the controversial idea that this map is edge-less but finite - that the universe is huge but not unending - a radical revelation that would provide the ultimate twist to the Copernican revolution by locating our precise position in the cosmos."--Jacket

diary of a finite time in a finite space

Is the universe infinite or is it just really big? -- Infinity -- Newton, 300 years and Einstein -- Special relativity -- General relativity -- Quantum chance and choice -- Death and black holes -- Life and the big bang -- Beyond Einstein -- Adventures in Flatland and hyperspace -- Topology: links, locks, loops -- Through the looking glass -- Wonderland in 3D -- Mirrors in the sky -- How the universe got its spots -- The ultimate prediction -- Scars of creation -- The shape of things to come