1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910825175403321

Autore

Rowan-Robinson Michael

Titolo

The nine numbers of the cosmos / / Michael Rowan-Robinson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford ; ; New York, : Oxford University Press, c1999

ISBN

1-299-19081-2

0-19-150567-6

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (186 p.)

Disciplina

523.1

Soggetti

Cosmology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback 2001."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Contents; Prologue: Que sais-je?; 1. We exist; 2. We are not in a special place; 3. An expanding universe; 4. A universe of finite age; 5. The Hot Big Bang; 6. Cold dark matter; 7. The missing ingredient-tilt, strings, or hot dark matter; 8. How heavy is the vacuum?; 9. How do galaxies form?; 10. The nine numbers of the cosmos; Further reading; Glossary; A; B; C; D; E; G; H; I; L; M; N; P; Q; R; S; T; W; Name Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; V; W; Y; Z; Subject Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X

Sommario/riassunto

How old is the universe? How far away are the galaxies and how fast are they travelling away from us? What is dark matter and why do astronomers think it pervades the universe? How heavy is the vacuum? How do galaxies form?Michael Rowan-Robinson answers these and many more questions in a highly original and intriguing way. He encapsulates our current knowledge (both what we do and don't know) of the origin and the nature of the universe into nine numbers. These cosmic numbers appear to be independent characteristics of our universe and include its age, the Hubble constant (a measure of its rat