collision with Milky Way galaxy, 80, 112
Angels and Devils (Escher), 66, 67
energy released on annihilation, 94
matter-antimatter asymmetry, 94–7, 136, 154
Arrow of Time see Time
Atomic structure, 6, 24, 30–1, 48–50, 54–5
isotopes, 49
protons, 24, 30–1, 49–50, 52–6
strong (nuclear) interaction, 53–4, 58, 134, 135–6, 159
Atoms
contribution to Ω, 82–3, 88–9, 140, 167
created in early Big Bang, 74
created in supernovae explosions, 48–9, 50–1
heavier elements less abundant in older stars, 51–2
minority constituent of universe, 93–4, 122
quantum effects, 6
stellar transmutation to heavier elements, 10, 49–51
uniform throughout universe, 12, 24–5, 47
Axions, 91
Barbour, Julian, 154
Bekenstein, Jacob, 162–3
Beryllium, 56
conversion of photons to neutrinos, 89
cosmic repulsion in early stages, 138–9
first millisecond, 131–2, 135, 136, 138, 140–1, 167, 175
helium created from hydrogen, 77–9, 140–1, 154
matter-antimatter asymmetry, 94–7, 154
multiple occurrences, 166–7, 174
non-uniform densities, 118–19, 197
‘ripples’ in early stages, 62–3, 117–19, 119–20, 126–9, 141–2, 167
temperature drop, 74–5, 78, 119
theory, 11–12, 74–6, 130–3, 136–7
see also Microwave background radiation
Biological evolution, 19–20, 128
development of intelligence, 21
elements formed in supernovae, 48–9
Black body radiation, 73
Black holes, 3, 39–44, 128, 155
at atomic scale (primordial), 44, 91, 113, 144, 162, 171
at galactic centres, 40, 43, 59
binary systems with ordinary stars, 39–44
collision and coalescence, 142
constituent of dark matter, 88, 91
decay rate, 113
developed from superstars, 125
Einstein’s hostility to, 110–11
entropy, 162
enveloped by surface, 41–2
gamma-ray bursts, 40
in quasars, 125
size proportional to mass, 40
temperature, 162
time dilation, 41
Bruno, Giordano, 22
isotopes of, 49
resonance in nucleus, 56
transmutation to oxygen, 55–6, 57
Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE), 73–4, 120, 130
Cosmic environment
microwave background, 72–4, 90, 109–10
sensitivity to cosmic numbers, 25–6, 54–7
Cosmic numbers
fine tuning, 4, 25–6, 54–7, 97–101, 126–9, 137, 164–79
see also individual numbers
Cosmic numbers (N, ε, Ω λ, Q D), 2–4
Cosmic rays, 90
Cronin, James, 95
Cubic Space Division (Escher), 64–5, 65
D (spatial dimensions), 3–4, 149–51, 159–62
inverse-cube law implied by four dimensions, 150
see also Space; Space-time; Superstring theories; Time
Dark matter, 79, 82–93, 104, 112, 127–8
composition, 86–93
deflection of light, 85
detected in galactic clusters, 85
gravitational pull of, 83–5, 107
main contributor to Ω, 82–3, 89, 140
major constituent of universe, 93, 102, 121–3
neutrinos, 89–90
non-radiating, 86
Deuterium (heavy hydrogen), 54, 93
atomic structure, 78
detected in distant galaxies, 88–9
Dinosaurs, exterminated by asteroid impact, 17, 21
Doppler effect, 16–17, 17, 63, 64
gas orbiting black holes, 126
redshift, 102–5, 111, 114, 125
stars orbiting barycentre, 16–17
ε (nuclear fusion efficiency), 2, 52–7, 58, 94, 99, 170
effects of differing values, 52–7
Earth
age of, 45
atmosphere, 18–19
destruction by expanding Sun, 46, 80
Einstein, Albert
cosmological constant (λ), 108–10
E=mc2 (rest-mass energy), 38, 52, 94
hostile to concept of black holes, 110–11
search for unification of gravity and electromagnetism, 134
special theory of relativity, 69
theory of general relativity, 35–6, 39, 41, 42, 107, 110, 113, 125–6, 161–2
Faraday, Michael, 133–4, 134, 143, 150
Feynman, Richard, 25, 163, 177
Fitch, Val, 95
Fractals, 60–2
Friedman, Jerome, 135
Galactic and stellar spectra, redshifted, 16, 17, 63–6, 69
Galaxies
black holes at centre of 40, 43, 59
clusters seeded by ‘ripples’ in early Big Bang, 62–3, 126–9, 167
clusters and superclusters, 59, 60–2, 84, 118, 123, 129, 141–2, 144, 167
dark matter, 83–5
disc shaped, 59
distant galaxies viewed in early evolutionary stages, 67–9, 103, 111, 123–5, 125, 175
evolution, 67–9, 71, 103, 122–3, 124
gravitational lenses, 85–6
see also Big Bang; Stars; Stellar evolution
Gamma-ray bursts, 40
Gell-Mann, Murray, 135
Glashow, Sheldon, 134
Gravitational lensing
brown dwarfs revealed by, 86–7, 92
dark matter in galactic clusters, 85–6
Gravity, 27–44, 84–5, 133–4, 136
amplification of small primordial density differences, 117–19, 153–4
balanced by internal pressure of stellar cores, 28, 46, 116
and black holes, 38–44
effects on animal sizes, 29–30, 34
effects of differing values of N, 2, 33–4, 170–1
escape velocities, 38
gravitational potential energy, 145
gravitational radiation, 112–13
indistinguishable from accelerated motion, 42
and neutron stars, 38–9
Newton’s inverse-square law, 12, 27–8, 84, 118, 150–1
pull exerted by dark matter, 83–5, 107
ratio to atomic electric charges (N), 2, 30–1, 33–4
self-gravity, 32
strength of, 30, 33–5, 99, 118, 144, 158, 169–70
tidal forces exerted by black holes, 42–3
time dilation near large masses, 38–9, 41
in virtual universes (computer simulations), 121–3, 122–3, 124, 125–6, 127
Hawking, Stephen, 143, 146, 159, 162–3
Helium
atomic structure, 54
produced from hydrogen in Big Bang, 77–9, 154
product of hydrogen fusion, 45–6, 49, 51–2, 52–4
transmutation to heavier elements, 53, 55–6
uniform abundance in primordial objects, 77, 130, 137
Hubble Space Telescope (HST), 68, 70–1, 85
Hydrogen
conversion to heavier elements, 2, 10, 45–6, 49–50, 76–9
sensitivity to value of ε, 54
transmutation to helium, 45–6
The Inflationary Universe (Guth), 138
Inflationary universe theory, 137–48, 167
cosmic repulsion in very early Big Bang, 138–9
exponential expansion, 138–9
gravitational waves, 142
new inflationary episodes within black holes, 144, 147
size of universe, 146–7
tests of theory, 140–2
Intelligence, extraterrestrial
assumed rarity of, 21
common culture, 25
communications based on ratios of physical constants, 24–5
methods of detection, 23
search for (SETI), 23–4
Jupiter
composition, 51–2
effects of self-gravity, 32–3
possibility of life on moons, 20
Sun-Jupiter system rotation about barycentre, 15–16
Kaluza, Theodor, 159–60
Kelvin, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, 45
Kendall, Henry, 135
Kerr, Roy, 41
Kirschner, Robert, 61
Klein, Oscar, 159–60
control of expansion (cosmic repulsion), 2, 112
cosmological constant, 108
decay, 171–2
effects of different values, 3, 111–14, 113–14, 171–2, 174
latent energy of space vacuum, 108–10, 145, 167, 169–70, 169–72
non-zero value, 109–10, 113–14, 127, 172–3
Large Hadron Collider, 133
Linde, Andrei, 138, 147, 151, 168
Lisa project (Laser Interferometric Space Array), 142
Lowell, Percival, 22–3
Mars
canals, 22–3
search for life, 20
Maxwell, James Clark, 133–4, 143
Mayor, Michel, 16
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), 120, 141
Microwave background radiation, 72–4, 90, 155
black body spectrum, 73, 120–1, 130
non-repetitive distribution, 155
non-uniform distribution, 109–10, 119–21, 131
Monopoles, magnetic, 143–4
Multiverses, 13, 26, 147–8, 166–79
mutable laws of physics, 169
variations in properties, 169, 174
N (gravitational ratio), 2, 30–1, 33–5, 44, 99, 144, 157, 158, 169, 170
Kamiokande experiment, 90
possible dark matter component, 89–90, 92
ratio to atoms, 89
Neutron stars, 38–9
Newton, Sir Isaac, 12, 35–6, 150, 178
inverse-square law of gravity, 27–8, 38–9, 47, 84, 118, 173
efficiency (ε), 52–7
rest-mass energy, 52–3
Ω (omega; ratio of actual to critical density of matter), 82, 98, 112, 169, 171, 172
effects of deviation from value of unity, 2–3, 97–101, 112, 128–9
equal to unity, 140
fine tuning, 137
Supernova cosmology project, 106
Oxygen, 10, 19–20, 50–1, 55–6, 57
Particle physics
antiparticles, 94
asymmetric particle decay (neutral kaon K°), 95
electromagnetism, linked to weak force, 134–5, 135, 159
grand unified theories (GUT), 100, 109, 136, 176
laws applicable throughout universe, 12, 24, 47, 175
neutrinos see Neutrinos
nuclei, 49–50, 53–5, 55–6, 134
proton decay, 136
protons, 24, 30–1, 49–50, 52–6, 134–5
protons and antiprotons, 94
quarks and antiquarks, 94, 95, 135
standard model, 135
strong (nuclear) interaction, 52–4, 53–4, 58, 134, 135–6, 159
see also Atomic structure; Atoms; Superstring theories
Pauli, Wolfgang, 76
Periodic table, 49–50
effect of different values for ε, 55–7
Perlmutter, Saul, 106
Photons (quanta of radiation)
density in Universe, 73–4, 89, 96
gravitational effects, 90
Planck, Max, 157
Planck-Surveyor spacecraft, 120, 141
Planck’s constant, 157
detection, 15–16
formation, 14–15
search for, 18–19
unstable among close-packed stars, 128
unstable if gravity followed inverse-cube law, 150–1
Polkinghorne, John, 166
Principia (Newton), 28
Q (ratio of gravitational binding force to rest-mass energy), 3, 62, 126–9, 169
critical value, 118–19, 120–1, 127–9, 131
determinant of ‘ripple’ amplitude, 119–21, 127–8, 141
effects of deviation from critical value, 128–9
input to computer models of virtual universes, 121
measure of gravity weakness in major structures, 196
Quantum ‘foam’, 6, 155, 158, 171
Quantum gravity, 156–9
in black hole singularities, 158–9
in early Big Bang, 158
Quantum theory
Planck length, 157, 158, 159–60
Planck’s constant, 157
Queloz, Didier, 16
Quintessence, 47
Radio transmissions, 23–4
The Realm of the Nebulae (Hubble), 72
Relativity
built into superstring theory, 161–2
general theory of, 35–6, 39, 41, 42, 107, 110, 113, 125–6, 161
see also Einstein, Albert
Salam, Abdus, 134–5
Sato, Katsumoto, 138
Second Law of Thermodynamics, 116
SETI Institute, 23
Shelton, Ian, 48
Solar System, evolution of, 14–15, 46, 51–2, 83
Space
at scale of the Planck length, 159, 160–3
density of, 108–9
latent energy of vacuum (λ), 108–10, 140, 167, 169, 169–72
microstructure of black holes, 109
monopoles, 143–4
multidimensional, 150–1, 159–61, 169
Planck length (ultimate granularity), 12, 44, 157, 159–160
three-dimensional, 149
see also Black holes; Space-time; Superstring theories; Time
Space-time
curved by presence of mass, 35–6
new, disjoint, within black holes, 144, 147, 168
quantum ‘foam’, 6, 155, 158, 171
Speed of light, 35, 36–7, 52, 66, 69
Stanford Linear Accelerator, 135
Starobinski, Alex, 138
Stars
internal pressures balanced by gravity, 116
protostars, 14
temperature increase with loss of energy, 116
see also Galaxies; Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution, 125
age of oldest stars, 66
transmutation from hydrogen to heavier elements, 49–50
Strominger, Andrew, 162
Sun
evolution through red giant to white dwarf, 46, 80
fuelled by hydrogen fusion reaction, 45–6, 49–50, 52–4
rotation round barycentre, 15–16, 83
self-gravity in equilibrium with hot core, 33, 46
source of neutrinos, 90
see also Solar System; Stars; Stellar evolution
Type la, 104
used as ‘standard candles’ (supernova cosmology project), 104–7
Superstring theories, 3–4, 6, 108, 144, 159–63
and black holes, 162–3
quantum mechanics, 163
Taylor, Richard, 135
Hubble Space Telescope, 68, 70–1
Keck Telescopes, Hawaii, 71
Very Large Telescope (VLT), Chile, 71
t’Hooft, Gerard, 134
asymmetry between past and future, 152–5
Time dilation
at speeds close to speed of light, 37, 69, 104–5, 152
near large masses, 38–9, 39, 41, 152
Universe (cosmos)
atoms as minor constituent, 93–4, 102
average density of atoms, 73–4, 78, 81–3, 88
becomes transparent, 74, 119, 122
block universe, seen from outside time, 153–4
critical value of Ω, 97–101, 112, 140
Einstein’s static state concept, 107–9
evolution from Big Bang, 119–20
infinite past, 147
inflationary universe theory, 137–48, 167
matter-antimatter asymmetry, 94–7, 154
multiverse concept, 13, 26, 147–8, 166–79
non-fractal nature, 61–2
present average temperature, 73
ratio of heat to matter, 74
ratio of neutrinos to photons, 89
ratio of photons to atoms, 73–4
ratio of photons to protons, 96
‘ripples’ in early universe, 118–19, 121, 124, 141–2, 167
simplicity unlikely, 172
steady-state theory, 75–6
through a zoom lens, 5–7
uniformity of large scale structures, 61–3, 64, 118–19, 155
see also Big Bang; Dark matter; Q; Universe, expanding; Virtual universes
Universe, expanding, 63–6, 69–70, 74–6, 107–8, 132
arrow of time, 153–5
balance between expansion energy and gravity (Ω), 81–2, 144–5
critical density to reverse expansion, 81–3
force of cosmic repulsion (λ), 84, 107, 112, 113–14, 127
increasing rate of, 102–3, 106–14
rate (Hubble constant) uniform in all directions, 100
ratio of actual to critical density (Ω), 82, 137
recession speed not constant, 70
recession speed proportional to redshift, 63–6
results of indefinite continuation, 112–14
zero net energy, 144–5
see also Galaxies; Inflationary universe theory
Uranus, planetary collision, 18
Virtual universes (computer simulations), 121–3
atoms, 122
black holes and quasars, 125–7
dark matter dominant, 123
gravitational aggregation, 121–3
multiverses, 168
non-uniform density distributions, 122–3, 124, 126
primordial condensations, 121–2
Weinberg, Steven, 134–5
Wheeler, John Archibald, 41
Witten, Edward, 161
Zweig, George, 135