The Vindication of the Big Bang: Breakthroughs and Barriers

by Barry R. PARKER

Overview

Is the Big Bang Theory more viable today than it was at its inception 70 years ago? The prolific and ever-curious author, Barry Parker, confronts the most controversial and significant debate of modern cosmology. Big Bang bashing has been indulged in since the birth of this magnificent theory. But is it justified? In an impartial and balanced presentation, Parker introduces the distinctive personalities responsible for the breakthroughs and advances in this burgeoning field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306444692
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	01/01/1993
Series:	Artech House Materials Science
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1993
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.04(d)

Editorial Reviews

Idaho State physics professor Parker is a better stylist than most working cosmologists. This was evident in his previous books, including Invisible Matter and the Fate of the Universe , and is borne out in this history of--and testament to--the theory of the Big Bang as the most convincing of all cosmological theories. Reports in 1992 from the COBE satellite and other discoveries in recent astrophysics research led Parker to bet his entire stake on immanent, necessarily inconclusive proof for the Big Bang. In this exegesis for the general reader, he neither oversimplifies nor climbs out on a metaphysical limb. Except for the few, sometimes dramatic, discoveries pithily presented in this chronicle, all of Parker's proofs have been raised in similar ``cosmology for the intelligent but perplexed reader'' books on the topic, including Parker's own. Illustrations. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Written for the layperson, this readable account of the big bang theory explains complex topics of astrophysics and cosmology in plain terms without mathematics. The author discusses the discovery of the expansion of the universe, successes of the big bang model, discovery of cosmic background radiation, singularities, the redshift controversy, and plasma cosmology. Black and white photos included. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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