Gravity's century From Einstein's eclipse to images of black holes

Ron Cowen, 1957-

Book - 2019

An account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein's theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory. Albert Einstein did nothing of note on May 29, 1919, yet that is when he became immortal. On that day, astronomer Arthur Eddington and his team observed a solar eclipse and found something extraordinary: gravity bends light, just as Einstein predicted. The findings confirmed the theory of general relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time. A century later, another group of astronomers is performing a simila...r experiment on a much larger scale. The Event Horizon Telescope, a globe-spanning array of radio dishes, is examining space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. As Ron Cowen recounts, one foremost goal of the experiment is to determine whether Einstein was right on the details. Gravity lies at the heart of what we don't know about quantum mechanics, but tantalizing possibilities for deeper insight are offered by black holes. By observing starlight wrapping around Sagittarius A*, the telescope will not only provide the first direct view of an event horizon--a black hole's point of no return--but will also enable scientists to test Einstein's theory under the most extreme conditions. Gravity's Century shows how we got from the pivotal observations of the 1919 eclipse to the Event Horizon Telescope, and what is at stake today. Breaking down the physics in clear and approachable language, Cowen makes vivid how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe.--

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Subjects
Published
Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Ron Cowen, 1957- (author)
Physical Description
viii, 181 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780674974968
  • Introduction
  • 1. Genesis
  • Deeper Dive: Space and Time, a Perfect Union
  • Deeper Dive: Testing the Equivalence Principle before Einstein
  • 2. From Turmoil to Triumph
  • Deeper Dive: Riemann's Work and the Metric Tensor
  • Deeper Dive: The Meaning of Einstein's Equation
  • 3. Eddington on a Mission
  • Deeper Dive: A History of Light Bending
  • Deeper Dive: A Modern-Day Solar Eclipse
  • 4. Expanding the Universe
  • 5. Black Holes and Testing General Relativity
  • Deeper Dive: New Tests of Einstein's Theory
  • 6. Quantum Gravity
  • Deeper Dive: Black Holes and the Information Paradox
  • 7. Hearing Black Holes
  • Deeper Dive: LIGO and Beyond
  • Deeper Dive: Gravitational Waves Lost and Found
  • 8. Imaging Black Holes
  • Deeper Dive: A History of Illustrating Black Holes
  • Source Notes
  • Further Reading
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

This slim volume bears a strong resemblance to a wolf in sheep's clothing. Its informal, readable style hides an enormous amount of physics and a fair share of history. About one-third of the material guides the reader through the thinking associated with the people and ideas that helped generate the theory of general relativity (GR). Einstein's gedankenexperiment, or thought experiment, emerges as key to catalyzing the equivalence principle, along with the idea of a curved space-time. The crucial Eddington observation, which made both scientific and journalistic history, paints a lively account of how fame came suddenly to Einstein. The GR tensor equation appears like magic, its function to illustrate that its solution is the foundation of modern cosmology. The text becomes increasingly dense in the discussions of quantum gravity and black holes, and there is a surprising amount of conjecture and detail in trying to explain the latest thinking relating quantum mechanics to GR. A collection of "Deeper Dive" inserts deals with issues that require more background or illustrations to enrich the storytelling, though the further reading section should be a useful supplement. This fine book should be in every library. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Kenneth L. Schick, emeritus, Union College (NY)

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This gracefully written history of 20th-century gravity research from science writer Cowen shines a light on a key aspect of modern physics. As he explains, the current view of gravity began with a young Albert Einstein's curiosity about what a beam of light might look like. Cowen describes how Einstein eventually published the theory of general relativity in 1916, predicting how gravity would bend light. Proving this required photographing a solar eclipse in 1919 and seeing whether, as the theory predicted, the stars whose rays pass close to the sun would seem to shift position. When astronomer Arthur Eddington announced the photos showed that the sun's gravity did indeed bend light, Einstein became the world's first "science superstar." Cowen shows how successive generations of physicists have worked to understand gravity, exploring research that showed the universe was expanding (a conclusion Einstein initially resisted); observing this, and the rotation of galaxies, gave physicists their first clues about dark energy and dark matter. Other phenomena touched on include black holes, gravity waves, and even wormholes. Filled with vivid descriptions of cutting-edge work and the scientists behind it, Cowen's book is fascinating, both a learning experience and a pleasure to read. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A brief history of the past 100 years of experimentation related to Einstein's theory of relativity, black holes, and more.The 100th anniversary of the 1919 eclipse photographs that showed the sun's gravity bending light waves and made Einstein a superstar has not gone unnoticed, so readers seeking a primer on relativity can choose from a rush of popular books, which includes this slim, earnest account. What's relative in relativity is motion, explains science writer Cowen. No matter how an observer moves, the laws of physics and speed of light never change. This sounds trivial, but the consequences are bizarre. In his 1905 discovery of special relativity, Einstein proved that time passes more slowly and objects grow heavier as they move faster. Time would stop and an object's weight become infinite at the speed of light, so this is an unreachable limit. Special relativity is easy; only high school math is required, but it only applies to steady motion. Einstein's general relativity theory of 1915 explained all motion, which includes acceleration and gravity. This formulation turned out to be wildly difficult. The math was so complicated that Einstein needed a mathematician friend's help. Cowen delivers a solid history of relativity's past 100 years. He works diligently and sometimes successfully to describe concepts such as curved space, black holes, gravitational waves, and dark energy. Most popular accounts admit that relativity explains the macroscopic universe but fails at the atomic level, which follows laws of the century's other great breakthrough in physics: quantum mechanics. Physicists are working hard to reconcile the two theories; none of many ingenious hypotheses have stood up, and Cowen's imaginative efforts to explain them are only partially successfulbut this is not an area where popular writers excel.A fine introduction to the basicsif not the complexitiesof relativity. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.