Flashes of Creation: George Gamow, Fred Hoyle, and the Great Big Bang Debate
- Downloads：8238
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-01 02:17:13
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Paul Halpern
- ISBN：154167359X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A respected physics professor and author breaks down the great debate over the Big Bang and the continuing quest to understand the fate of the universe。 Today， the Big Bang is so entrenched in our understanding of the cosmos that to doubt it would seem crazy。 But as Paul Halpern shows in Flashes of Creation， just decades ago its mere mention caused sparks to fly。 At the center of the debate were Russian American physicist George Gamow and British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle。 Gamow insisted that a fiery explosion explained how the elements of the universe were created。 Attacking the idea as half-baked， Hoyle countered that the universe was engaged in a never-ending process of creation。 The battle was fierce。 In the end， Gamow turned out to be right -- mostly -- and Hoyle， despite his many achievements， is remembered for giving the theory the silliest possible name: "The Big Bang。" Halpern captures the brilliance of both thinkers and reminds us that even those proved wrong have much to teach us about boldness， imagination， and the universe itself。
Reviews
Ramin
，
Here's a brief excerpt from my review in the New York Times。 Read the whole thing here: https://www。nytimes。com/2021/08/24/bo。。。When the Big Bang Was Just a TheoryThe universe is changing。 But scientists didn’t realize that a century ago， when astronomers like Edwin Hubble and Henrietta Leavitt discerned that other galaxies exist and that they’re hurtling away from the Milky Way at incredible speeds。 That monumental discovery sparked decades of epic debates about the vastness and origins of the Here's a brief excerpt from my review in the New York Times。 Read the whole thing here: https://www。nytimes。com/2021/08/24/bo。。。When the Big Bang Was Just a TheoryThe universe is changing。 But scientists didn’t realize that a century ago， when astronomers like Edwin Hubble and Henrietta Leavitt discerned that other galaxies exist and that they’re hurtling away from the Milky Way at incredible speeds。 That monumental discovery sparked decades of epic debates about the vastness and origins of the universe， and they involved a clash of titans， the Russian-American nuclear physicist George Gamow and the British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle。In his new book， “Flashes of Creation，” Paul Halpern chronicles the rise of Gamow and Hoyle into leaders of mostly opposing views of cosmology， as they disputed whether everything began with a Big Bang billions of years ago。Halpern， a physicist himself at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia， skillfully brings their fascinating stories to light， out of the shadow of the overlapping quantum physics debates between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr， which Halpern has written about in an earlier book。 Halpern also poses fundamental questions about how science should be done。 When do you decide， for example， to abandon a theory？ Ultimately， his book seeks to vindicate Hoyle， who in his later years failed to admit his idea had lost。。。[Check out my whole book review here: https://www。nytimes。com/2021/08/24/bo。。。] 。。。more
Andrea Wenger
，
This biography of physicists George Gamow and Fred Hoyle is told in the context of their ongoing debate over how the universe began: whether it started in a Big Bang， as Gamow proposed （though he didn’t use that term， which was coined by Hoyle）， or has always existed in a steady state of renewal and decay， as Hoyle imagined。 Told in language accessible to lay people， it portrays these larger-than-life men as uniquely human。 Mavericks who weren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries of science， they This biography of physicists George Gamow and Fred Hoyle is told in the context of their ongoing debate over how the universe began: whether it started in a Big Bang， as Gamow proposed （though he didn’t use that term， which was coined by Hoyle）， or has always existed in a steady state of renewal and decay， as Hoyle imagined。 Told in language accessible to lay people， it portrays these larger-than-life men as uniquely human。 Mavericks who weren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries of science， they contributed greatly to our understanding of how the elements in the universe were formed。 The book also explores their work as science communicators who inspired the next generation of scientists。 Informative and entertaining， this book is a pleasure to read。Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 。。。more
Maxine
，