Edge of the Universe

A Voyage to the Cosmic Horizon and Beyond

Paul Halpern

• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781118234600
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Physics
• Index: Physics

An accessible look at the mysteries that lurk at the edge of the known universe and beyond

The observable universe, the part we can see with telescopes, is incredibly vast. Yet recent theories suggest that there is far more to the universe than what our instruments record—in fact, it could be infinite. Colossal flows of galaxies, large empty regions called voids, and other unexplained phenomena offer clues that our own "bubble universe" could be part of a greater realm called the multiverse. How big is the observable universe? What it is made of? What lies beyond it? Was there a time before the Big Bang? Could space have unseen dimensions? In this book, physicist and science writer Paul Halpern explains what we know?and what we hope to soon find out?about our extraordinary cosmos.

• Explains what we know about the Big Bang, the accelerating universe, dark energy, dark flow, and dark matter to examine some of the theories about the content of the universe and why its edge is getting farther away from us faster
• Explores the idea that the observable universe could be a hologram and that everything that happens within it might be written on its edge
• Written by physicist and popular science writer Paul Halpern, whose other books include Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles, and What's Science Ever Done For Us: What the Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics, Robots, Life, and the Universe

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Prologue: Cosmology’s Extraordinary New Frontiers
• Chapter 1: How Far Out Can We See?
• Chapter 2: How Was the Universe Born?
• Chapter 3: How Far Away Will the Edge Get?
• Chapter 4: Why Does the Universe Seem So Smooth?
• Chapter 5: What Is Dark Energy?
• Chapter 6: Do We Live in a Hologram?
• Chapter 7: Are There Alternatives to Inflation?
• Chapter 8: What Builds Structure in the Universe?
• Chapter 9: What Is Tugging on Galaxies?
• Chapter 10: What Is the “Axis of Evil”?
• Chapter 11: What Are the Immense Blasts of Energy from the Farthest Reaches of Space?
• Chapter 12: Can We Journey to Parallel Universes?
• Chapter 13: Is the Universe Constantly Splitting into Multiple Realities?
• Chapter 14: How Will the Universe End?
• Chapter 15: What Are the Ultimate Limits of Our Knowledge about the Cosmos?
• Acknowledgments
• Further Reading
• Index