The Accelerating Universe: Infinite Expansion, the Cosmological Constant, and the Beauty of the Cosmos

by Mario Livio

Advance Praise for The Accelerating Universe """"The Accelerating Universe"" is not only an informative book about modern cosmology. It is rich storytelling and, above all, a celebration of the human mind in its quest for beauty in all things.""
--Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams ""This is a wonderfully lucid account of the extraordinary discoveries that have made the last years a golden period for observational cosmology. But Mario Livio has not only given the reader one clear explanation after another of what astronomers are up to, he has used them to construct a provocative argument for the importance of aesthetics in the development of science and for the inseparability of science, art, and culture.""
--Lee Smolin, author of ""The Life of the Cosmos"" ""What a pleasure to read! An exciting, simple account of the universe revealed by modern astronomy. Beautifully written, clearly presented, informed by scientific and philosophical insights.""
--John Bahcall, Institute for Advanced Study ""A book with charm, beauty, elegance, and importance. As authoritative a journey as can be taken through modern cosmology.""
--Allan Sandage, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington

Genres: Science, Physics, Nonfiction, Audiobook

292 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2000

Reviews

[Cassandra Kay Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing that I think endears the reader to this author is that he is very right brain oriented. I think that is rare for science authors. He tries to weave beauty and storytelling and the arts into his descriptions of the cosmos. I find this terribly appealing. Unfortunately this is kind of a beginners guide to cosmology, which was not exactly what I was hoping for. I ordered it through the online library so I was not able to browse before getting it. However, for anyone who has recently decided to take up cosmology, especially if you are unsure about science, this will be a wonderful edition for you and I highly recommend it.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The scientist does not study nature because it is useful to do so. They study it because they take pleasure in it, and they take pleasure in it because it is beautiful". Jules Henri Poincaré (p. 260)
"The measure of the success of a scientific theory is, in fact, a measure of its aesthetic value, since it is a measure of the extent to which it has introduced harmony into what was before chaos" - Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (p. 261).

This is a phenomenal book that explores the relationship between beauty and scientific theory. The writing is magnificent, the author cites scientists, philosophers, and writers from a huge array of times and cultures, and each topic seamlessly flows into the next. Before this book, I never really appreciated the value of a "popular" scientific book - why not just read "real" books and journal articles? This book completely changed my perspective, because the author explains cosmology, astrophysics, and quantum mechanics in a way that is eminently comprehensible and beautiful.

[Ronald McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written astounding view of universe. There are quite a few books out there on this topic, but Livio always manages to put a different view forward to that is well researched, highly informed and always humanistic. I really enjoyed this book, because it stands out from others in the field. Highly recommended.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

The underlying message: the universe is inherently beautiful. Feels like it goes on for 1,000 pages, loosely fitting things together using an arbitrary definition of beauty.
In the end? The author comes back around to state that beauty is subjective and we’re still defining things.
The science between the nonsense was redeeming enough that I made it through.

[Salvatore Mauricio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good yap sesh

[Jocelyn]

Written great, easy to understand, interesting topics and interpretations

[Jef · Rating 5 out of 5]

A discussion of beauty versus the anthropic principle. As I see it, the anthropic principle is kind of like appealing to God for an explanation... 'Why is the universe the way it is? Because if it wasn't then we wouldn't be here to see it.' That is just 1/2 step up from 'Because God made it that way.' The data of the accelerating universe are new and have yet to be fully incorporated into theory. I believe that once they are then we will find a beautiful theory of everything.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on the universe for those who are still working up to Stephen Hawking.

[Jason Presser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book..not too heavy that layman can't understand..