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March 13, 2006
'Foundations of Modern Cosmology' John Hawley & Katherine Holocombe
‘Foundations of Modern Cosmology’ by Hawley and Holocombe was created as a ‘gap filler’. Positioned half way between the pure popular science cosmology books and the advanced level science texts it provides a rather thorough and complete picture of modern cosmology by reaching into the details of the physics processes involved in each of the data, ideas and beliefs of modern cosmology.
Recent discoveries in astronomy, especially those made with data collected by satellites such as the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Hubble Space Telescope, have brought the science of cosmology to the forefront of public interest. These new observations suggest the tantalizing possibility that the solutions to some of history's most elusive mysteries might be found in the near future, making modern cosmology a topic that holds special interest for scientists and nonscientists alike.
The book is trying to tell two stories at once. The first is the story of the Universe as it unfolds from the first moments of the Big Bang to the present era. The second is the story of the discoveries in physics and astronomy that have led the scientific community to the establishment of the current paradigm. Current data and observations are incorporated in this paradigm in order to present the full picture of both the evolving stories.
Judging from the difficulty of the project faced by the authors one can conclude that the result is successful in all aspects, although the more-or-less sequential description of events may be a bit misleading to non-scientists or to people not aware of the scientific method and the jagged progress line of science.
Science undergraduates or arts students with a science background are the target audience of the book and those who finally attempt its perusal will not be disappointed in their expectations.
(To appear in Contemporary Physics)
Posted by Basileios at March 13, 2006 12:44 PM
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