The Nine Numbers of the Cosmos [Hardcover]

Michael Rowan-Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 1999

How old is the universe? What do the atoms in our bodies, our very existence, tell us about the history of the universe? How heavy is the vacuum? How do galaxies form? Michael Rowan-Robinson answers these questions and encapsulates all that modern astronomy has discovered about the universe around nine numbers. His motto is Montaigne's "What do I know?" And the reader emerges with a genuine feel for what we do really know about the universe and also what we do not.
Only one of the nine numbers is known with real precision, while four of them are not known at all. Complicated ideas like the origin of the elements, the General Theory of Relativity, quantum theory, and the standard model of particle physics, ideas that constitute modern cosmology, are explained in a simple way. Speculative ideas like inflation, Theories of Everything, strings and superstrings, are also in this book, but they are treated with a refreshing skepticism.
Although most of what we know has been learned during the twentieth century, Rowan-Robinson gives an historical perspective and honors the achievements of the Greeks, renaissance astronomers, and the age of Newton. He ends the book with an analysis of the future, predicting that with the advent of the MAP and PLANCK-Surveyor space missions, the Large Hadron Collider, and other planned experiments, all nine numbers will be accurately known by 2015. However, he stresses that many questions and mysteries will remain, and the book concludes with the idea that the origin of the Big Bang will remain a mystery in 2100 and perhaps even in the year 3000.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing upon Descartes's saying, "What do I know?" Rowan-Robinson asks what we know about the universe. In answer, he has come up with nine numbers that summarize our current understanding of the cosmos. The practice of using numerology and mystical numbers to understand reality dates back through the astrologers and alchemists to antiquity, but the numbers Rowan-Robinson presents are grounded in scientific research, although more than a little speculation was used in deriving a couple of them. Rowan-Robinson, a physics professor at Imperial College, London, and author of two other books on cosmology (Ripples in the Cosmos; Cosmology), wants to keep readers in suspense and so unveils his numbers chapter by chapter, instead of summarizing them at the beginning, which would give readers a better overview and help them to see how each number relates to the others instead of having to wait until the conclusion. His nine numbers relate to the density of baryonic matter, the anisotropy of the universe, the Hubble constant, the age of the universe, the temperature of the microwave background, the densities of cold dark matter and hot dark matter, the cosmological constant and the star formation history of the universe. Rowan-Robinson's writing is a bit dry and some of his explanations are too condensed, but readers should gain an excellent understanding of what we currently know about the universe and the techniques through which we have acquired that knowledge. Much of this may not be new to dedicated science buffs, but the book is a good summary and will make a useful addition to general science collections. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The science of cosmology asks the big questions: How old and how large is the universe? How did it start? How did stars and galaxies come into being? What will the future bring? As such, it is a mixture of astronomy, physics, and philosophy with religious implications. Since no one can go backward or forward in time and actually observe the process, there is a lot of room for debate. However, a general consensus is emerging among scientists based upon the best available evidence. Physics professor Rowan-Robinson describes our state-of-the-art answers to these questions. More importantly, he indicates the direction in which further research is heading in an attempt to pin down the important parameters (the nine numbers) that will resolve most of the open questions. Although not easy going, this book is recommended to informed lay readers who have been following recent developments and would like to know where we stand. For larger science collections.
-Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (December 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198504446
• ISBN-13: 978-0198504443
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review Update, Jan. 2004 - Nine Numbers Now Outdated, October 31, 2003

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nine Numbers of the Cosmos (Hardcover)

Cosmology is in upheaval. In January, 2004 the AAAS journal Science selected the confirmation of dark energy as the scientific breakthrough of 2003. The universe is only 4 percent ordinary matter (galaxies and interstellar dust). Dark energy and exotic matter make up the other 96 percent. The universe is a strange place.

It is great to be an astronomer, or astrophysicist, or cosmologist in heady times like this. But for an author such times are difficult; a book can become outdated in less time than it takes to write it.

In 1999 Michael Rowan-Robinson, Head of the Astrophysics Group at Imperial College, discussed nine numbers that play a critical role in our description of the universe. Just four years later, with our new understanding of dark energy, this well-written, detailed look at observational astronomy and cosmology needs substantial revision.

We now say the age of the universe is 13.7 billion years plus or minus a few hundred thousand. Just a year ago our best estimate was 10 to 14 billion years. The rate of expansion of the universe is now pinned down at 71 kilometers per second per megaparsec, 10 percent higher than the value in Rowan-Robinson's text (but within his stated margin of error). And how does one now measure the density of the universe?

Should you read this text today? Probably not, even though it does provide a good snapshot of our understanding at the end of the twentieth century. I suggest investing your efforts in the most current literature available.

Possibly Rowan-Robinson will create an updated addition. I hope so.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still mostly relevant, still excellent, November 5, 2005

By 

Y. Sageev "a garden-variety dude" (Western NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nine Numbers of the Cosmos (Hardcover)

Nine Numbers is similar to the later work by Martin Rees ("Just Six Numbers") in its approach to a popular work on cosmology. Rowan-Robinson looks at nine cosmological numbers that are so crucial to our understanding that if altered but little would make our existence impossible.

While the work is dated (1999), those aspects are primarily cosmetic (exact value of constants, exact age of the universe, etc.) The key concepts are mostly applicable today, to the best of my knowledge. Those concepts that are radically different in 2006 are still so cutting edge that we can't be confident about them anyway. While we can only hope that the author updates Nine Numbers, it would be a shame to reject this fine book because it doesn't cover Dark Energy, the latest kinks in String Theory or the Holographic Universe.

Rowan-Robinson is unique among cosmology writers in that he does not eschew a bit of technical dirty-work. Readers should be comfortable with graphs, charts, trends, logarithms, and orders of magnitude. At the same time, the work is not so technical that most readers couldn't grasp it.

Especially refreshing is the author's excellent writing -- very fluid, yet direct and unflambuoyant. Nine Numbers is an unassuming work that offers a rich trove of insight. If you are looking for another cosmology book to read at a bargain price, consider this one.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cosmology updated, March 10, 2001

By 

Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nine Numbers of the Cosmos (Hardcover)

There's a beguiling simplicity to this attractive primer on cosmology. Professor Rowan-Robinson uses mostly plain English in describing what is currently known, and he keeps it short. But make no mistake about it: this is a complex and technical book on a difficult subject. It requires study. I have read it twice, and could profit from additional readings, but, as I like to say, life is short, and I'll have to be satisfied with what I have thus far garnered.

One of my pet peeves about books on cosmology is the constant rehashing of ancient conceptions of how and why the universe came into being, along with mistaken ideas from the early days of astronomy, anything, it sometimes seems, to pad out the requisite three hundred pages or so. Consequently I was pleased not to encounter any tales of turtles holding up the world or any retracing of the Ptolemaic model before the author gets to the current state of affairs (although he does give some brief history as he goes along).

The nine numbers serve as an organizing device through which a picture of modern cosmology is revealed, or as the author puts it in the Prologue, "a peg on which to hang different aspects of our knowledge." Incidentally, the Prologue, "Que sais-je," is particularly well written and candid and valuable for what it reveals about what Rowan-Robinson's knowledge. The first number is the amount of baryonic matter in the universe, as revealed in Chapter 1 entitled, "We exist." Chapter 2 is "We are not in a special place," revealed by the considerable extent to which the universe is isotropic and homogeneous. The third number is the Hubble constant, the fourth, the age of the universe, the fifth, the temperature of the background radiation, etc. I'll leave it to the reader to discover the other numbers. What I want to focus on are Professor Rowan-Robinson's speculations on extraterrestrial life from Chapter 1.

He begins by expressing his "difficulty...with the idea that advanced technological civilizations like ourselves are common in our Galaxy" (p. 16). I think he has expressed it exactly right here with the words "like ourselves," which I want to emphasize. However on the next page he goes on to present the familiar argument (from Fermi) that a civilization much in advance of ours would have found us by now. He cautions that he doesn't accept the view that "they keep themselves hidden so as not to interfere with our development." Hence the tired conclusion that THEY probably do NOT exist.

The main problem with this argument is that it projects human psychology and desire onto beings of an advanced civilization. They might very well have their reasons for leaving us alone. Additionally, it's not clear that the problem of interstellar travel is as easily solved as some might think, and I'm thinking here of the emotional and psychological difficulties as well as the technical ones. Rowan-Robinson writes that he doesn't accept "any really fundamental limits on colonizing the Galaxy" (p. 17). Even if he is right, would such beings have the desire to colonize? I suspect that their psychology might differ, perhaps startlingly, from our own, and that they may prefer to stay at home.

Rowan-Robinson also considers the case of an advanced civilization, unable to colonize other planets, facing the death of its star. He believes they "would surely put some effort into demonstrating that they had existed. There would be the astronomical equivalent of the pyramids, some kind of beacon signaling forever" ( p. 17). To me, such a vain glorious enterprise is more characteristic of human psychology than anything else, especially that of our pre-technological civilizations. I would add that in advancing it, Rowan-Robinson is guilty of anthropomorphizing the aliens! Surely, one would think, after a billion years or so of development, there would be some advance on this sort of psychology. Perhaps Professor Rowan-Robinson would appreciate being reminded of the lesson of Shelley's poem, "Ozymandias," that "king of kings" whose "shattered visage lies" amid the drifting sands.

Rowan-Robinson concludes the book with a prediction for the year 2100 (repeated from page 64) that the Planck era (10 to the minus 43 seconds after the Big Bang) will remain "shrouded in mystery." He adds, "It would not surprise me if this were still a mystery in the year 3000." There are some helpful diagrams and tables, some black and white photos, a brief glossary, and a name, and a subject index.