| Description |
xii, 222 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Summary |
This is the story of the cosmic background radiation, the "afterglow" of the Big Bang in which the Universe was born. Fifteen billion years after the event, the afterglow still permeates all of space, making it the oldest relic in creation and providing an imprint of the Universe as it was in its infancy. But the most astonishing thing about the afterglow of creation is that it wasn't discovered until 1965, and then only by accident - despite the fact that it had been predicted in 1948 and the technology to detect it existed during World War II. Chown brilliantly weaves a tale of the search for the origins of the Universe. Beginning in the 1920s and culminating with the flight of the COBE satellite and what it found, this book uncovers the secrets of the Universe. |
| Contents |
Introduction: The world through microwave eyes -- Pt. I. The Toughest Measurement in Science. 1. The Big Bang. 2. The Restless Universe. 3. The Primeval Fireball. 4. Taking the Temperature of the Universe. 5. The Ghost Signal at 4080 Megacycles. 6. A Tale of Two Telephone Calls. 7. Afterglow of Creation. 8. The Toughest Measurement in Science. 9. Bumps But No Wiggles -- Pt. II. The Golden Age of Cosmology. 10. An Eye Above the Atmosphere. 11. The Nine-Minute Spectrum. 12. Cosmic Ripples. 13. The Hype and the Hysteria. 14. The Universe According to COBE. 15. The Golden Age of Cosmology. Epilog: Wrinkles in Time. |
| Subject |
Cosmic ripples.
|
|
Cosmic background radiation.
|
| ISBN |
0935702407 hardcover |
|
9780935702408 hardcover |
|
