We are made of stardust-and so is all life as we know it. Every chemical element on earth except hydrogen has been scattered across the universe in great stellar explosions and recycled into new stars, planets, and parts of us. In this engrossing book, John and Mary Gribbin explain how developments in astronomy from the 1920s to the present day have led to this startling realization and to a new understanding of the relationship between the universe and the Earth.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
"We are stardust . . . ," harmonized the Woodstock generation in '69, and for the science behind the lyric, the go-to source is naturally John Gribbin, physicist-turned-prolific-science popularizer. He discourses on a question everyone asks: where did the atoms that comprise Earth, the universe, and us come from? Emerging from the history of chemistry, physics, and astronomy, the answer is approached stepwise through subsidiary queries, such as what powers the sun; what the spectra of starlight reveal; and what happens to a star that runs out of gas, the hydrogen kind. With exemplary explication, Gribbin culminates the story with the breakthrough theory of nucleosynthesis, formulated in the late '50s by Fred Hoyle and others. It explained how stars over their life cycles "burned" heavier and heavier elements. That theory has since been capped by an understanding of a supernova's manufacture of the heaviest elements in its titanic explosion and their scattering through space in dust and gas clouds that condense into solar systems. A fine summary of the origin of our elemental constitution. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Gribbin's theme remains clear and focused-how we came to know that we are all made of stardust." -- Sky & Telescope
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flawless metaphors and a even a mention of panspermia!,
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This review is from: Stardust: Supernovae and Life -- The Cosmic Connection (Hardcover)
For anyone curious about the sources for the chemical elements of life, this new book has the story. From the manufacture of hydrogen and helium in the big bang, to nucleosynthesis inside stars, to the production of the heaviest elements in supernovae, John Gribbin explains these phenomena in terms any interested person can understand. Often he stands slightly back from the day-to-day story, giving a full panorama that is usually seen only in textbooks. But textbooks never make it as intriguing as Gribbin does. He finds flawless metaphors for many difficult concepts, explains the background carefully, and gives us lots of inside info on the scientists involved. Having studied at Cambridge, he is personally acquainted with many of them. I especially enjoyed learning more about Fred Hoyle's role in the development of the Big Bang theory, his prediction of the carbon-12 resonance, and his contribution to stellar nucleosynthesis theory.In Stardust Gribbin pays needed attention to panspermia -- it is the subject of the first chapter. He fully recognizes the scientific paradigm shift toward panspermia that has already taken place, now that the abundance of organic compounds in space has become established. He even opines, rather than "biological material falling onto a pre-existing planet,... it is much simpler for the material to mingle with the stuff from which planest formed in the first place" (p 15). This idea might mesh with Thomas Gold's theory that there is life very deep below Earth's surface. But in the end, Gribbin sees no need for the stronger versions of panspermia. For example, he writes, "Amino acids, it cannot be stressed enough, are just one step away from living molecules" (p 177). What the heck are "living molecules?" Of course, Gribbin is an astrophysicist, and in this book his focus is on the chemicals of life only. He does not even consider the hard problem of accounting for the genetic programs behind life. If he were to consider it, he might find panspermia to be worthy of another whole book. From a scientists who does such thorough research and writes so well, this would be a welcome prospect!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"We are all starstuff",
By
This review is from: Stardust: Supernovae and Life -- The Cosmic Connection (Hardcover)
Carl Sagan was fond of the observation that "we are all starstuff"-that the atoms and molecules in our bodies were forged in the big bang and in the heart of exploding supernovae.Gribbin fills in the background on that observation, describing how the simpler elements are formed during the big bang and how more complex elements are formed inside stars, particularly when they explode. It is a two-fold history, both of how astronomers and astrophysicists (a remarkably recent discipline) discovered how these were formed and of the universe itself and how it developed. The only complaint I can come up with is that Gribbin gives Sagan too little credit, never quoting him with the statement above, even though it's truer and more characteristic than the "billions and billions" phrase the impressionists like to use. It's ironic that part of Gribbin's subtitle is the title of one of Sagan's most notable books. Other than that, this is a gripping and easy-to-read relating of some of the fundamental concepts in modern astronomy. Highly recommended.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
best book of all time,
This review is from: Stardust: Supernovae and Life -- The Cosmic Connection (Hardcover)
this book will tell you your place in the universe. every human being on the planet should be required to read this book. i have read every word in this book and i highlighted alot of text. i will re-read this book throughout my life. also, read 'river out of eden' by richard dawkins for information on human evolution.
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