After the First Three Minutes: The Story of Our Universe [Paperback]

T. Padmanabhan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521629721 | ISBN-13: 978-0521629720 | Publication Date: February 13, 1998 | Edition: 1

The evolution of our Universe and the formation of stars and galaxies are mysteries that have long puzzled scientists. Recent years have brought new scientific understanding of these profound and fundamental issues. In lively prose, Professor Padmanabhan paints a picture of contemporary cosmology for the general reader. Unlike other popular books on cosmology, After the First Three Minutes does not gloss over details, or shy away from explaining the underlying concepts. Instead, with a lucid and informal style, the author introduces all the relevant background and then carefully pieces together an engaging story of the evolution of our Universe. Padmanabhan leaves the reader with a state-of-the-art picture of scientists' current understanding in cosmology and a keen taste of the excitement of this fast-moving science. Throughout, no mathematics is used and all technical jargon is clearly introduced and reinforced in a handy glossary at the end of the book. For general readers who want to come to grips with what we really do and don't know about our Universe, this book provides an exciting and uncompromising read. Thanu Padmanabhan is a Professor at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India. He is the recipient of numerous awards and author of three books, Structure Formation in the Universe (Cambridge, 1994), Cosmology and Astrophysics Through Problems (Cambridge, 1996), and, together with J.V. Narlikar, Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology. He is also the author of more than one hundred popular science articles, a comic strip serial and several regular columns on astronomy, recreational mathematics, and the history of science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The serious reader will finish the book with an excellent understanding of current research in cosmology...Particularly lucid are the discussions of matter and light, the physics of stars and black holes, and the origin of light elements in the big bang." Choice

"A renowned cosmologist who has contributed much to the technical literature of his field, Thanu Padmanabhan offers an enjoyable account of our current understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, as well as a comprehensive tour of the necessary physics in After the First Three Minutes." New Scientist

"^After the First Three Minutes^ by cosmologist Thanu Padmanabhan is a lucid, nonmathematical overview of cosmology, particularly the origin and evolution of structure in the universe...whoever puts in the effort will be well rewarded by the comprehensive picture of the universe, both what we know and where important gaps in our understanding lie...For anyone interested in the difference between hot and cold dark matter and wanting to put the current pronouncements of cosmological revolution into scientific perspective, ^After the First Three Minutes^ is an excellent place to start." Meteoritics & Planetary Science

"Thanu Padmanabhan's book provides a wonderful service to the scientific community...[it] makes accessible a previously inaccessible field to both scientists and non-scientists." Yale Scientific Magazine

Book Description

How does our Universe evolve? And how did structures like stars and galaxies form? In recent years, scientists' understanding of these profound questions has developed enormously. This book presents a clear, state-of-the-art picture of cosmology for the general reader.Unlike existing popular books on cosmology, After the first three minutes does not gloss over details, nor shy away from explaining the underlying concepts. Instead, with a lucid and informal style (and avoiding all mathematics), the author introduces all the relevant background and then carefully pieces together an engaging story of the evolution of our Universe.For general readers who want to get to grips with what we really do and don't know about our Universe, this book provides an exciting and uncompromising read.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (February 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521629721
• ISBN-13: 978-0521629720
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, a must read., September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: After the First Three Minutes: The Story of Our Universe (Paperback)

When I began reading this book, I thought I made a mistake buying it. But as I read on, I began to realize this book was explaining things other books I have read take for granted. For example, I really appreciate the author explaining why the big bang predicts the primordial hydrogen and helium abundances. I have always known what they are, but until I read this book I not understand why. Thank you. Also, I loved the explanation of why the cold and hot dark matter models don't really fit the observed clumpiness of the present day universe. And there are more subjects treated in detail laymen can easily understand. I wish more authors would elaborate on these subjects with such detail and not just state them as fact. As an amatuer astronomer with an interest in cosmology, I thank the author for the detail in this book concerning particle physics and cosmology. I recommend this book for anyone looking for explanations of some aspects of the big bang theory. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is due to its few, seemingly unnecessary, elementary chapters. I wish the whole book was as good as it's strongest chapters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterwork for simplifying a complex topic, December 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: After the First Three Minutes: The Story of Our Universe (Paperback)

This book is all strengths. No failures. Manages to describe most of the physics relevant to cosmology with no mathematics. Explains how science works -- excellent interplay of observations, the models they stimulate and the reverse process, as the theorists suggest observations that would distinguish between alternate models. Book focuses on science, not on scientists. The latter (preoccupation with whimsical stories about colleagues) is one of the most annoying features of similar books. Those authors speak down to readers -- this book never speaks down, and never introduces gossip. Really, you couldn't do better if you want to learn the current status of thoughts on cosmology

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging but Comprehensible, May 19, 2000

By 

John Tofflemire (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After the First Three Minutes: The Story of Our Universe (Paperback)

True teachers want their students to understand their subject. Padmanabhan is a true teacher and he has taken the trouble to carefully and simply explain so that the motivated reader can understand. If you are not a professional astronomer and you really want to understand astronomy, buy this book. But don't read it just once - read it again and again because each time you do, you will find your understanding of astronomy growing by leaps and bounds. When you do, you will catch a few minor flaws and typos but these are irrelevancies in what is a tremendous effort by a great teacher.