J. Craig Wheeler

Cosmic Catastrophes (eBook, ePUB)

Exploding Stars, Black Holes, and Mapping the Universe

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

From supernovae and gamma-ray bursts to the accelerating Universe, this is an exploration of the intellectual threads that lead to some of the most exciting ideas in modern astrophysics and cosmology. This fully updated second edition incorporates new material on binary stars, black holes, gamma-ray bursts, worm-holes, quantum gravity and string theory. It covers the origins of stars and their evolution, the mechanisms responsible for supernovae, and their progeny, neutron stars and black holes. It examines the theoretical ideas behind black holes and their manifestation in observational astronomy and presents neutron stars in all their variety known today. This book also covers the physics of the twentieth century, discussing quantum theory and Einstein's gravity, how these two theories collide, and the prospects for their reconciliation in the twenty-first century. This will be essential reading for undergraduate students in astronomy and astrophysics, and an excellent, accessible introduction for a wider audience.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungstermin: 4. Januar 2007
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781316099476
• Artikelnr.: 41447184

Autorenporträt

J. Craig Wheeler is Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas Austin. He was elected President of the American Astronomical Society in 2006.

Inhaltsangabe

Preface; 1. Setting the stage: star formation and hydrogen burning in single stars; 2. Stellar death: the inexorable grip of gravity; 3. Dancing with stars: binary stellar evolution; 4. Accretion disks: flat stars; 5. White Dwarfs: quantum dots; 6. Supernovae: stellar catastrophes; 7. Supernova 1987A: lessons and enigmas; 8. Neutron stars: atoms with attitude; 9. Black holes in theory: into the abyss; 10. Black holes in fact: exploring the reality; 11. Gamma-ray bursts, black holes and the universe: long, long ago and far, far away; 12. Supernovae and the universe; 13. Worm holes and time machines: tunnels in space and time; 14. Beyond: the frontiers; Index.

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Preface
1. Setting the stage: star formation and hydrogen burning in single stars
2. Stellar death: the inexorable grip of gravity
3. Dancing with stars: binary stellar evolution
4. Accretion disks: flat stars
5. White Dwarfs: quantum dots
6. Supernovae: stellar catastrophes
7. Supernova 1987A: lessons and enigmas
8. Neutron stars: atoms with attitude
9. Black holes in theory: into the abyss
10. Black holes in fact: exploring the reality
11. Gamma-ray bursts, black holes and the universe: long, long ago and far, far away
12. Supernovae and the universe
13. Worm holes and time machines: tunnels in space and time
14. Beyond: the frontiers
Index.

Rezensionen

'Wheeler's is one of those rare popular science books that leaves readers both thoroughly entertained and considerably more expert than when they began. Written in a lively, jargon-free style, laced with personal anecdotes, this is a hard-to-put-down, deeply satisfying book.' Kitty Ferguson, author of the best-seller, Stephen Hawking: Quest for a Theory of Everything