Author : Vladimir Belinski
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 50,31 MB
Release : 2018
Category : Science
ISBN : 1107047471
This book mathematically derives the theory underlying the Belinski-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz conjecture on the general solution of the Einstein equations with a cosmological singularity.
Author : Arlie O. Petters
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 616 pages
File Size : 37,23 MB
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 1461201454
This monograph is the first to develop a mathematical theory of gravitational lensing. The theory applies to any finite number of deflector planes and highlights the distinctions between single and multiple plane lensing. Introductory material in Parts I and II present historical highlights and the astrophysical aspects of the subject. Part III employs the ideas and results of singularity theory to put gravitational lensing on a rigorous mathematical foundation.
Author : Menas Kafatos
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 50,86 MB
Release : 2013-03-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 9401708495
Bell's Theorem and its associated implications for the nature of the physical world remain topics of great interest. For this reason many meetings have been recently held on the interpretation of quantum theory and the implications of Bell's Theorem. Generally these meetings have been held primarily for quantum physicists and philosophers of science who have been or are actively working on the topic. Nevertheless, other philosophers of science, mathematicians, engineers as well as members of the general public have increasingly taken interest in Bell's Theorem and its implications. The Fall Workshop held at George Mason University on October 21 and 22, 1988 and titled "Bell's Theorem, Quantum Theory and Conceptions of the Universe" was of a more general scope. Not only it attracted experts in the field, it also covered other topics such as the implications of quantum non-locality for the nature of consciousness, cosmology, the anthropic principle, etc. topics usually not covered in previous meetings of this kind. The meeting was attended by more than one hundred ten specialists and other interested people from all over the world. The purpose of the meeting was not to provide a definitive answer to the general questions raised by Bell's Theorem. It is likely that the debate will go on for quite a long time. Rather, it was meant to contribute to the important dialogue between different disciplines.
Author : Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 567 pages
File Size : 46,91 MB
Release : 2015
Category : Science
ISBN : 1107074061
Roberto Mangabeira Unger and Lee Smolin argue for a revolution in our cosmological ideas. Ideal for non-scientists, physicists and cosmologists.
Author : Pankaj S. Joshi
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 32,34 MB
Release : 2015
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0199686769
This book journeys into one of the most fascinating intellectual adventures of recent decades - understanding and exploring the final fate of massive collapsing stars in the universe. The issue is of great interest in fundamental physics and cosmology today, from both the perspective of gravitation theory and of modern astrophysical observations. This is a revolution in the making and may be intimately connected to our search for a unified understanding of the basic forces of nature, namely gravity that governs the cosmological universe, and the microscopic forces that include quantum phenomena. According to the general theory of relativity, a massive star that collapses catastrophically under its own gravity when it runs out of its internal nuclear fuel must give rise to a space-time singularity. Such singularities are regions in the universe where all physical quantities take their extreme values and become arbitrarily large. The singularities may be covered within a black hole, or visible to faraway observers in the universe. Thus, the final fate of a collapsing massive star is either a black hole or a visible naked singularity. We discuss here recent results and developments on the gravitational collapse of massive stars and possible observational implications when naked singularities happen in the universe. Large collapsing massive stars and the resulting space-time singularities may even provide a laboratory in the cosmos where one could test the unification possibilities of basic forces of nature.
Author : C. J. S. Clarke
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 36,78 MB
Release : 1993
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780521437967
The different possible singularities are defined and the mathematical methods needed to extend the space-time are described in detail in this book. Results obtained (many appearing here for the first time) show that singularities are associated with a lack of smoothness in the Riemann tensor.
Author : Roger Penrose
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 23,30 MB
Release : 2011-09-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 0307596745
From Nobel prize-winner Roger Penrose, this groundbreaking book is for anyone "who is interested in the world, how it works, and how it got here" (New York Journal of Books). Penrose presents a new perspective on three of cosmology’s essential questions: What came before the Big Bang? What is the source of order in our universe? And what cosmic future awaits us? He shows how the expected fate of our ever-accelerating and expanding universe—heat death or ultimate entropy—can actually be reinterpreted as the conditions that will begin a new “Big Bang.” He details the basic principles beneath our universe, explaining various standard and non-standard cosmological models, the fundamental role of the cosmic microwave background, the paramount significance of black holes, and other basic building blocks of contemporary physics. Intellectually thrilling and widely accessible, Cycles of Time is a welcome new contribution to our understanding of the universe from one of our greatest mathematicians and thinkers.
Author : Victor J. Stenger
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 42,29 MB
Release : 2010-08-05
Category : Science
ISBN : 161592003X
Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology, while science has sat on the sidelines. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. This book contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, physicist Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God. This paperback edition of the New York Times bestselling hardcover edition contains a new foreword by Christopher Hitchens and a postscript by the author in which he responds to reviewers' criticisms of the original edition.
Author : Frank J. Tipler
Publisher : Anchor
Page : 562 pages
File Size : 19,33 MB
Release : 1997-09-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0385467990
Is there a higher power in the universe? What happens to us when we die? Leading physicist Frank J. Tipler tackles these questions and more in an astonishing and profoundly important book that scientifically proves the existence of God and the physical resurrection of the dead.
Author : S. W. Hawking
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 406 pages
File Size : 32,17 MB
Release : 1975-02-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 1139810952
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity leads to two remarkable predictions: first, that the ultimate destiny of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse and to disappear from view, leaving behind a 'black hole' in space; and secondly, that there will exist singularities in space-time itself. These singularities are places where space-time begins or ends, and the presently known laws of physics break down. They will occur inside black holes, and in the past are what might be construed as the beginning of the universe. To show how these predictions arise, the authors discuss the General Theory of Relativity in the large. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory and an account of the necessary background of differential geometry, the significance of space-time curvature is discussed and the global properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations are examined. The theory of the causal structure of a general space-time is developed, and is used to study black holes and to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singualarities under certain conditions. A discussion of the Cauchy problem for General Relativity is also included in this 1973 book.
