Gravity: From Falling Apples to Supermassive Black Holes

Gravity: From Falling Apples to Supermassive Black Holes is a fascinating historical account of how we have reached our current understanding of gravity, including the recent detection of gravitational waves and advances in our understanding of supermassive black holes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Gravity, a fundamental force in the universe, has been the subject of intense study and exploration for centuries. In recent years, there have been remarkable advancements in our understanding of gravity and its cosmic manifestations. One of the most exciting developments has been the direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space, by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo observatories. These waves are produced by the most cataclysmic events in the universe, such as the collisions and mergers of black holes and neutron stars. Gravitational waves have provided us with a new window into the workings of the cosmos, allowing us to observe and study events that were previously impossible to detect. Another significant breakthrough in gravitational physics has been our understanding of supermassive black holes. These massive objects, with masses millions or even billions of times that of the sun, lie at the heart of every galaxy. Researchers have made remarkable progress in studying these black holes, including the discovery of the first image of a supermassive black hole in 2019. Gravitational: From Falling Apples to Supermassive Black Holes, written by Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society, provides a fascinating historical account of how we have reached our current understanding of gravity. The book spans from the early cosmologies of ancient civilizations to the great breakthroughs of Tycho and Kepler, Galileo's contributions to astronomy and mechanics, and the Newtonian revolution that followed. Newton's theories of gravity, which dominated scientific thought for over two centuries, were eventually superseded by Einstein's description of gravity in terms of curved spacetime. Einstein's theory, which introduced the concept of relativity, revolutionized our understanding of the universe and paved the way for many of the scientific discoveries and technological advancements of the 20th century. Gravitational: From Falling Apples to Supermassive Black Holes is written in a captivating and accessible style, with stories about the researchers of the past and present that illuminate many key ideas in astronomy and physics. The historical material leads from discussions of the early cosmologies to the great breakthroughs of Tycho and Kepler, and then considers Galileo's contributions to astronomy and mechanics, as well as the significance of Jeremiah Horrocks's ideas to the Newtonian revolution. The book also explores the outlandish predictions of Einstein's theory, which have been confirmed by numerous observations and experiments over the past century. Overall, Gravitational: From Falling Apples to Supermassive Black Holes is an essential read for anyone interested in the history, science, and wonders of gravity. It provides a comprehensive and engaging account of how we have reached our current understanding of this fundamental force and places these amazing discoveries in their true context.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 116 x 203 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192845283
Edition number: 2 Revised edition