Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The contentious history of the idea of the black hole-the most fascinating and bizarre celestial object in the heavens For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapes-not even light-seemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe. Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein's greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. This book celebrates the hundredth anniversary of general relativity, uncovers how the black hole really got its name, and recounts the scientists' frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over the acceptance of one of history's most dazzling ideas.

Black holes (Astronomy) --- Discoveries in science. --- Science --- Science and society --- Sociology of science --- Breakthroughs, Scientific --- Discoveries, Scientific --- Scientific breakthroughs --- Scientific discoveries --- Creative ability in science --- Research --- Frozen stars --- Compact objects (Astronomy) --- Gravitational collapse --- Stars --- Social aspects.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

General relativity (Physics). --- Space and time.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

An award-winning science writer presents a captivating collection of cosmological essays for the armchair astronomer   The galaxy, the multiverse, and the history of astronomy are explored in this engaging compilation of cosmological "tales" by multiple award-winning science writer Marcia Bartusiak. In thirty-two concise and engrossing essays, the author provides a deeper understanding of the nature of the universe and those who strive to uncover its mysteries. Bartusiak shares the back stories for many momentous astronomical discoveries, including the contributions of such pioneers as Beatrice Tinsley and her groundbreaking research in galactic evolution, and Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the scientist who first discovered radio pulsars. An endlessly fascinating collection that you can dip into in any order, these pieces will transport you to ancient Mars, when water flowed freely across its surface; to the collision of two black holes, a cosmological event that released fifty times more energy than was radiating from every star in the universe; and to the beginning of time itself.

Astronomy --- Discoveries in science. --- History.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Astronomy --- Popular works

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Research. --- Sciences - General --- Physical Sciences & Mathematics --- Discoveries in science --- Science --- Breakthroughs, Scientific --- Discoveries, Scientific --- Scientific breakthroughs --- Scientific discoveries --- Creative ability in science --- Research