Alpha and Omega: the Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe - Book Review

Science News, August 9, 2003

CHARLES SEIFE

The author of Zero now turns his attention to the realm of cosmology, providing readers an overview of several Theories of Everything being postulated today. Beginning with some historical background, Seife explains how the Copernican notion that Earth isn't the center of universe was spawned by the birth of the telescope. He fast-forwards to a second cosmological revolution led by Edwin Hubble, who launched the Big Bang theory and the concept of an expanding universe. These notions seemed to explain the beginning of the universe but not its end. Next, Seife explores how data from the currently orbiting Hubble Space Telescope have changed our view of the universe once again. Its pictures of supernovas indicate that expansion of the universe is speeding up, not slowing down as previously thought. This leads the author on a tour of the latest wrinkles in modern cosmology, including cosmic-background radiation, dark energy, and super-symmetry. With a look toward the future, the book surveys some of the most daring experiments cosmologists are assembling and considers which of their ideas might prevail. Viking, 2003, 294 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.95,