![]() Hardcover edition | |
Author | Lawrence M. Krauss |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Physics |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Published | April 1, 2001 |
Publisher | Little, Brown |
Media type | Print, e-book |
Pages | 320 pp. |
Award | Science Writing Award (2002) |
ISBN | 978-0316499460 |
Preceded by | Quintessence |
Followed by | Hiding in the Mirror |
Atom: An Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth...and Beyond is the sixth non-fiction book by the American theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss. [1] [2] The text was published on April 1, 2001 by Little, Brown. Krauss won the Science Writing Award (2002) for this book. [3] [4]
In this book Krauss discusses creating parts of an oxygen atom, the primary atoms of the Big Bang. Then he follows it through the remaining history of the Universe. As time has been passing by, the atom was a part of a supernova and star dust, star and planet systems, and, ultimately, a part of living cells.
In his review Chris Lavers of The Guardian stated "Krauss weaves his cosmic story around the life of a single oxygen atom, from the time it was just a twinkle in the universe's eye to the eventual death of its constituent particles. This denouement may come to pass in some distant part of the cosmos long after we have all passed away, but, if we are really lucky, it may just happen in an enormous tank of minutely scrutinised water currently located down a mineshaft in Japan. If and when it does, physicists the world over will jump up and down with excitement, because they will have learned something truly profound. Exactly what would take too long to explain, which is a relief, because I'm not at all sure I understand it. Read the book and try for yourself... I am in a better position to judge Krauss's geology and biology, subjects he admits he had to learn from scratch before writing Atom. Not only has he mastered them, he often finds lyrical ways of explaining ideas in both fields. Indeed, the standard of writing in Atom is perhaps even higher than in his 1995 bestseller, The Physics of Star Trek ." [5]
The cosmos is the Universe. Using the word cosmos rather than the word universe implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity; the opposite of chaos. The cosmos, and our understanding of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in cosmology – a very broad discipline covering any scientific, religious, or philosophical contemplation of the cosmos and its nature, or reasons for existing. Religious and philosophical approaches may include in their concepts of the cosmos various spiritual entities or other matters deemed to exist outside our physical universe.
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Lawrence Maxwell Krauss is an American-Canadian theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project, now called ASU Interplanetary Initiative, to investigate fundamental questions about the universe and served as the project's director. Upon investigating allegations about sexual misconduct by Krauss, ASU determined that he had violated university policy and removed him from the Origins Project directorship in July 2018. Krauss continued as a Professor at ASU until retiring in May 2019. He currently serves as President of The Origins Project Foundation and as host of The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss.
Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos is a non-fiction book by Isaac Asimov. It was initially published on May 31, 1991 by Dutton Adult.
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The history of the Big Bang theory began with the Big Bang's development from observations and theoretical considerations. Much of the theoretical work in cosmology now involves extensions and refinements to the basic Big Bang model. The theory itself was originally formalised by Belgian Catholic priest, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics Georges Lemaître.
The Physics of Star Trek is a 1995 non-fiction book by the theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss. It is the third book by Krauss, who later wrote a followup titled Beyond Star Trek in 1997.
The Cosmic Calendar is a method to visualize the chronology of the universe, scaling its current age of 13.8 billion years to a single year in order to help intuit it for pedagogical purposes in science education or popular science.
Cosmic Odyssey is a 2002 Canadian documentary television series about the cosmos, created by Avanti Pictures, narrated by William Shatner, and produced by Soapbox Entertainment for The Discovery Channel. In 2003, Schlessinger Media released the series in VHS video format. As of 2007, the series is syndicated on The Science Channel.
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) instituted their Science Writing Award to "promote effective science communication in print and broadcast media in order to improve the general public's appreciation of physics, astronomy, and allied science fields." The winner receives $3000, and an engraved Windsor Chair. The awards is given in three broad categories: 1) science writing, 2) work intended for children, and 3) work done in new media. The AIP stopped issuing awards to three categories: 1) work by a professional journalist 2) work by a scientist, and 3) broadcast media
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The Grand Design is a popular-science book written by physicists Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow and published by Bantam Books in 2010. The book examines the history of scientific knowledge about the universe and explains eleven-dimensional M-theory. The authors of the book point out that a Unified Field Theory may not exist.
How It Began: A Time Traveler’s Guide to the Universe is a non-fiction book by the astronomer Chris Impey that discusses the history of the universe, with chapters ranging from the proximate universe to within an iota of the Big Bang. It was published as a hardcover by W. W. Norton & Company in 2012 and as a paperback in 2013. It is actually the prequel to his 2010 book How it Ends, which talks about how everything, from individual humans, to the human species, to the Earth, and finally, the universe, might one day end in the future.
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