A

Absolute mass, 167

Absolute motion, 33

Absolute space, 33

Absolute time, 33

Absorption spectra, 9, 163–164

Acceleration, 32, 39

centripetal, 168

mass as elongated waves and, 73–74

measuring differences in, 60–62

rotation of universe and, 170

of universal expansion, 23, 24, 114–116, 142, 143, 154, 162, 170, 192

Accretion, 49

ADD model, 186–188

Adelberger, Eric, 61, 63, 144, 187

Aether, 33, 35

Age of universe, 1, 3, 5, 25, 228–229

and communication with aliens, 19–20

and Olbers’ paradox, 12–15

Large Numbers Hypothesis, 151, 152

Albrecht, Andreas, 107, 161, 162

Alcock, Charles, 126

Aliens. See Extraterrestrial life

Allen, Woody, 1

Almagest (Ptolemy), 2

Alpher, Ralph, 87, 92

American Physical Society, 112, 118, 143

Amherst College, 165

Andromeda, 11, 75, 154

Anisotropies, 100-101, 111–113, 117

Anthropic principle, 101–102, 193

Anti-de Sitter space, 144, 188

Antigravity, 76, 80, 116, 142.

See also Dark energy

Antimatter, 56

APOLLO (Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation) mission, 62–63, 157–158, 160

Apollo Moon landings, 62

Arecibo radio observatory, 122

Arkani-Hamed, Nima, 186

Arsenic and Old Lace, 52

Asimov, Isaac, 132

Astrology, 27–29

Astronomical measurements

Martian orbit, 3

technology and, 2–4

Astronomical objects, classification of, 165–166, 169

Atomic clocks, 69–70

Atomic spectra, 9–10, 44

Australian National Laboratory, 114

Axions, 23, 128, 131–135

B

Babylonians, 85

Ballard, J. G., 207, 208

Barbour, Julian, 207, 208

Barrow, John, 95, 163

Baryons, 127–128

Bell Labs, 90–91

Bernabei, Rita, 136–137

Bernstein, Aaron, 103

Besso, Michele, 209

Beta decay, 128–129, 130

Bethe, Hans, 86, 87

Big Bang theory, 1, 2, 5, 15, 85

αβγ model, 87–88, 90, 92

confirmation of, 111–113

cosmic microwave background and, 13, 91–93, 111–113

Eddington model, 84–86

flatness problem, 95–98, 103, 104, 106, 110, 161, 193

graceful exit problem, 105, 107

homogeneity problem, 99, 104, 188

horizon problem, 98–102, 104, 106, 161, 187–188, 193

Hubble expansion and, 3, 13, 103, 105

inflationary models, 89, 102–113, 117, 118, 119, 154, 161, 162, 175–176, 188, 190, 193

isotropy problem, 99, 100–102, 104, 111

Lemaitre model, 83–84

magnetic monopole problem, 103, 104

mixmaster (anisotropic) universe, 100–101, 131

and nucleosynthesis, 87, 90, 93–94

objections to, 83, 88, 89, 112, 158

shape of, 202

singularity, 119, 171, 173–176, 192, 202

standard model, 1, 2, 3, 93–94, 103, 109, 158, 190, 191

temperature of fireball, 92, 100

timing of events, 93–95

Weyl curvature hypothesis and, 102

Big Crunch, 1, 81, 85, 145

Big Rip, 144–146, 230

Big Whimper, 1, 145–146

Binary pulsars, 69

Binary star systems, 44, 49

Black holes, 166, 192, 193

accretion process, 49

astronaut’s fate in, 50–51, 52

candidates, 49

Chandrasekhar limiting mass, 156, 169

colliding, 69, 71, 72

detection, 49, 169

escape from, 51, 53

event horizon, 48, 50, 52, 58, 204

formation process, 49–50, 146

general relativity and, 50, 65

geodetic effects, 65

gestation of baby universes in, 226

Hawking radiation, 52–53

Kerr-Newman solution, 51

Kruskal diagrams, 53

massive, 65

in Milky Way, 51–52

and negative mass, 57, 58

primordial, 51

properties, 47–49, 51, 125, 169, 203

Schwarzschild metric, 48, 53, 203–204

singularities, 48, 50, 51, 52, 171, 174, 204

sizes, 51–52

time dilation, 50

wormholes, 53–54

X-ray emissions, 49

Blackett, Patrick, 67

Blake, William, 7

Bloated massive neutrinos, 137

Blueshift, 10

Bohr, Niels, 180, 213, 217, 228

Bolyai, János, 78

Bondi, Hermann, 9, 56, 88

Bonnor, William B., 177

Borges, Jorge Luis, 221

Bosonic strings, 138, 183

Bosons, 108, 137–139, 140–141, 181, 219

Boulby salt mine, 135

Brahe, Tycho, 3

Branes, 184–185

Brans, Carl, 153, 206

Brill, Dieter, 197

Brookhaven National Laboratory, 134

Brosche, Peter, 170

Brown dwarfs, 23, 125

Bubbles, 166, 176

Bulk, 185, 186, 187, 188

Burbidge, E. Margaret, 89

Burbidge, Geoffrey, 89

C

Calabi, Eugenio, 182

Calabi-Yau shapes, 182–183, 185

Caltech, 67, 69, 71, 85

Calvino, Italo, 173

Campbell, John Edward, 201

Campbell’s theorem, 201

Canuto, Vittorio, 154

Cardiff University, 121

Carey, S. Warren, 159

Carnegie Institute, 123

Carroll, Lewis, 121, 195

Case Western Reserve University, 143

Cavorite, 142

Centre for Mathematical Sciences, 190

Cepheid variable stars, 127

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), 43, 47, 134, 139, 231

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, 114

Chandrasekhar limiting mass, 156

Chaotic cosmology programme, 95

Chaotic inflation, 110, 176, 223

Chibisov, Gennady, 103

Chinese, dynastic, 85

Chodos, Alan, 143

Chronology Protection Conjecture, 211

City College of New York, 139, 154

Clayton, Donald, 90

Clifford, William, 196–197

Closed strings, 183, 186

Closed timelike curves, 171

Clusters, 3, 22, 98–99, 144, 154, 155, 156, 166, 167

Collins, C. B. (Barry), 101

Columbia University, 103

Coma Berenices, 22

Coma Cluster, 22

Communications

alternate realities, 223–224

intergalactic, 18, 19–20, 25, 145–146, 212

superluminal, 188

time characterized through, 210

Compactification, 180, 181

Complementarity, 217

Complex numbers, 73–74

Conservation of angular momentum, 79, 157, 169–170

Conservation of energy, 79, 88, 153, 154

Conservation of mass, 89

Constants.

See also Cosmological constant;

Gravitational constant;

Speed of light;

Variable constants;

other specific constants

Contact, 53–54

Continental drift, 159, 160

Continuous creation process, 88–89

Cooperstock, Fred, 173, 197

Copernicus, Nicholas, 2, 75, 95

Cornell University, 103

Cosmic Background Explorer, 3, 111, 115, 205

Cosmic egg, 83

Cosmic microwave background (CMB), 13, 91–93, 99, 100, 111, 118, 200

Cosmological constant, 26, 36, 76, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85–86, 115, 116, 117, 143, 144, 148, 161, 162, 175, 230

Cosmological models.

See also Big Bang theory;

other individual models

anthropic principle, 101–102, 193

concordance model, 118–119, 229–230

continuous creation process, 88–89

creation field, 89

de Sitter universe, 82

Einstein static universe, 76–77, 81, 84

Friedmann, 1, 81, 82, 85, 94, 115, 119

quasi-steady state, 112

religious traditions and, 83, 95, 101, 230–231

scale-free principle, 169–171

steady state, 88–89, 90, 93, 153–154, 176

Tolman’s oscillatory universe, 85, 86, 191, 193, 231

Cosmological principle, 88

Counselman, Charles, 156

CP (charge-parity) invariance, 132

CP symmetry, 133

Creation event, 175, 206–207.

See also Big Bang theory

Creation field, 89

Crime and Punishment, 150

Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS), 137

D

D-branes, 185–186

DAMA, 136–137

Dark energy

abundance in universe, 25, 119

antigravity property, 21, 142

and Big Rip, 144–146

cosmological constant and, 26, 84, 143, 144, 146

cyclic model and, 192

and gravitational constant, 154

and laws of nature, 24–25, 146

quintessence, 25, 117, 142–144

Randall-Sundrum model, 144

and universal expansion, 192

as vacuum energy, 142

Dark matter

candidates, 125–128, 141

cold, 128;

see also Axions;

MACHOs;

WIMPs

composition, 23, 24, 128–135

content of universe, 25, 114, 119, 127

discovery, 21–22, 123–125

gravitational lensing and, 21–22, 23, 125, 187

hot, 128;

see also Neutrinos

invisible galaxy, 119, 121–123

MACHOs, 125–128

manyfold universe model and, 187

non-baryonic, 127, 128

properties, 122, 124, 127–128

search and classification methods, 125–128

Dark of night, 7–8, 25.

See also Olbers’ paradox

Davies, Jonathan, 121

Davis, Raymond, 129

de Sitter, Willem, 65, 189

de Sitter space, 144

Deutsch, David, 207, 208

DeWitt, Bryce, 60, 223, 227

Dicke, Robert H. (Bob), 61, 70, 91–92, 96, 103, 153, 160, 206

Digital cameras, 3–4

Dimensions, higher.

See also Fifth dimension;

M-theory;

Space-time;

Supergravity theory;

Superstring theories;

Unified field theory

detecting, 57–58

external, 219–220

inertial vs. gravitational mass, 58

inferring, 78–79

internal, 219–220

mapping, 199–202

warped, 188

Dimopoulos, Savas, 186

Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice, 150–152, 153, 154, 160, 184, 213

Dirac equation, 151

Dirichlet p-branes, 185–186

Doppler effect, 9–10, 44, 111, 114

Drake, Frank, 16

Drake’s equation, 16–17

Dresden, Max, 101–102

Drever, Ronald, 69

Duff, Michael, 184

Dvali, Gia, 186

E

Eclipses, 44, 158

Eddington, Arthur, 43–45, 66, 82–83, 84–85, 88, 179, 189, 207, 208, 213, 215–217, 220, 221–222, 228, 233

Ehrenfest, Paul, 76

Ehrmann, Max, 147

Einstein, Albert, 1, 2, 5, 25, 27, 34–36, 66, 70, 76–77, 80, 81, 82, 86, 147, 148, 153, 161, 173, 179, 189, 194, 196, 197, 207, 209, 213, 218, 233.

See also General theory of relativity;

Mass-energy equation;

Special theory of relativity

Einstein ring, 125–126

Einstein tensor, 41

Ekpyrotic universe, 190–191, 192, 197

Electric dipole moment, 132–133

Electromagnetic theory, 132

Electrons, 140

Dirac equation, 151

energy states, 9

rest mass, 206

spin state, 138

Electroweak theory, 45, 108, 132, 141, 229

Elements

fireball theory, 90

supernova theory, 86–87, 89–90

Emission spectra, 9

Energy vibrations. See Superstring theories

Entropy, 85, 155, 191, 192, 208, 209–210

Eötvös, Roland von, 60–61

Eöt-Wash group, 61–62, 144, 187

Equations of state, 109, 201, 202, 204

Equivalence principle, 39–40, 58

laser and space probe tests, 62–69

torsion balance tests, 59, 60–62

EROS (Expérience de Recherche d’Objets Sombres), 126, 127

Eternal inflation, 176

European Space Agency, 63, 232

Event horizon, 48, 50, 52, 58, 204

Events, 36–37

Everett, Hugh, 223

Everitt, C. W. Francis, 66–67, 68, 69

Exchange particles, 108

Exotic matter, 55–59, 137.

See also MACHOs;

Neutrinos;

WIMPs

Expanding-Earth hypothesis, 158–161

Extraterrestrial life

age of civilizations and, 19

belief in abundance of, 16

belief in rarity of, 18

communications, 18, 19–20, 25, 145–146, 212

extragalactic cultures, 18–19

probability of contact, 15, 16-17

search for, 17, 19

space travel, 53–54

F

Fairbank, Bill, 66–67

Fermi, Enrico, 15–16

Fermi paradox, 16, 18, 21, 25

Fermions, 137–139, 140, 181, 219

Feynman, Richard, 213

Fibonacci sequence, 148, 149

Field, defined, 40

Fifth dimension, 5, 57, 59–62, 78, 144, 176, 178–179, 185, 188, 191, 194, 197–202, 205–207, 211–212, 219

Fifth element, 117

Filaments, 166

Fine-structure constant (alpha), 5, 160, 162–164, 232

Flat metric, 38

Flatness problem, 95–98, 102, 103, 104, 106, 110, 161, 193

Fountain clock, 70

Fowler, William, 89, 90

Fractals, 164, 165

Frayn, Michael, 227–228

Friedmann, Alexander, 1, 80–81, 82, 87, 94

Fusion process, 86–87, 155

G

Gaia satellite, 232

Galaxies, 75–76

age of, 14

clusters and superclusters, 3, 22, 98–99, 144, 154, 166, 167

dark halos, 125, 137, 187

distribution, 98–99, 167

evolution of, 83–84, 89, 98, 112, 144

flat rotation curves, 124–125

Great Wall, 99, 166

invisible, 119, 121–123, 141

light from, 8

mapping, 4

redshift, 10–11

relative scale of, 166

rotation, 170

velocities, 114, 161–162

Galilei, Galileo, 2, 3, 31, 63

Gamow, George, 81, 87–88, 90, 92, 123, 170–171, 180, 189, 213

Gaudi, Antonio, 42

Gauss, Karl Friedrich, 78

Gell-Mann, Murray, 56, 151–152

Geller, Margaret, 166

General theory of relativity, 215, 218–219, 233

chaotic cosmology programme and, 95

and complex numbers, 73–74

confirmation of, 43–45, 80, 229

cosmological constant, 26, 36, 76, 80, 82, 116, 148, 230

dark energy and, 26

equivalence principle, 40–41

five-dimensional solutions, 5, 57, 58, 59–62, 176, 178–179, 198–199, 201, 206

and frame dragging, 64, 65

geodetic effect, 41, 42, 43, 48, 64, 65

gravitational constant, 1, 2, 5, 22, 39–41, 43, 46, 56, 58–59, 65, 139, 152–154, 196

and gravitational waves, 69–72

and Hubble expansion, 26, 81–82, 109

and inflation model, 109

and Mach’s principle, 72–74, 76–77

quantum mechanics and, 45–47, 66, 72–75, 218–219

rotating universe and, 170

scalar field, 153

and singularities, 48

solutions, 149, 153

and space-time, 39, 45–46, 54–55, 58, 64, 69–72, 78, 211

and tensors, 41–42

tests of, 43–45, 59–72

and wormholes, 54–55

Geodetic effect, 64, 65

Geons, 197, 203

Georgetown University, 123

Gervais, Jean-Loup, 139

Gibbons, Gary, 184, 189

Glashow, Sheldon, 140

Gödel, Kurt, 170, 211, 221

Godlowski, Wlodzimierz, 170

Gold, Thomas, 88

Golden Ratio, 149

Goldhaber, Gerson, 113

Goldman, Itzhak, 156

Gravitational constant

astrophysical effects of variability, 154–158

Earth-Moon dynamics and, 157–158

expanding-Earth hypothesis, 158–161

general theory of relativity and, 1, 2, 5, 22, 39–41, 43, 46, 56, 58–59, 65, 139, 152–154, 159, 196

Hoyle-Narlikar theory, 160

Large Numbers Hypothesis and, 151, 152, 154, 157, 160

Newton’s laws, 152, 159

relative mass and, 167, 206

variability theories, 5, 148, 152–154, 187, 206

Gravitational force.

See also Antigravity;

Dark energy

astrology and, 28–30

black holes, 49

brane-world models, 186–189, 226

Chandrasekhar limiting mass, 156

changes in laws of, 144, 152

in concentrated systems, 124

density of universe and, 83, 107

equivalence principle, 39–40, 58, 59–69

Hubble expansion and, 24

localization, 188–189

lunar, 28, 29, 30, 157–158

M-theory and, 186–189

mass and, 195–196

neutrinos, 128

Newton’s laws, 5, 22, 25, 29, 30, 43, 56, 58, 124, 148, 152, 159, 166

particle carrier of, 139;

see also Gravitons

and planetary orbits, 43, 65, 124, 157–158

and quantum mechanics, 45–47, 181–183

Riemann manifolds and, 41–42

and shadow matter, 141

strength of, 29

symmetry breaking, 108

and time dilation, 50–51

Gravitational lensing, 22–23, 125, 187, 204

Gravitational mass, 58–59, 60

Gravitational microlensing, 125–128

Gravitational redshift, 44, 60

Gravitational waves, 69–72, 73, 197

Gravitometer, 70

Gravitons, 183, 186, 187, 188, 231

Gravity Probe B (GP-B) satellite, 64, 65, 66, 67–68

Gravity Research Foundation, 158

Gravity wave detectors, 141, 221

Great Wall astronomical structure, 99, 166

Greeks, ancient, 85, 149

Green, Michael, 139

Gross, David, 183

Grossmann, Marcel, 40

Guth, Alan, 102, 103, 104–105, 108, 175

Gyroscopes, 66, 169

H

Half-integer spin state, 138–139

Halpern, Paul, 227–228

Hänsch, Theodor, 163–164

Harrison, Edward, 13

Hart, Michael, 18

Hartle, James, 197

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 166

Harvard University, 140, 182

Harvey, Jeff, 183

Hawking, Stephen, 53, 101, 174, 175, 210, 211

Hawking radiation, 52–53

Heisenberg, Werner, 218–219, 228

Heisenberg uncertainty principle, 45, 56, 79, 105

Hercules constellation, 154

Herman, Robert, 87, 92

Heterotic string theories, 183

Hierarchy problem, 151, 186

Higgs boson, 108, 138, 141, 231

Higgsino, 141

Hilbert space, 218, 219, 221

Hindus, 85

Hoffman, Banesh, 218

Homestake gold mine, 130

Hooker telescope, 82

Horgan, John, 140

Horizon problem, 98–102, 161, 187–188, 191, 193

Horn Antenna, 91

Hoyle, Fred, 83, 88, 89, 90, 93, 112, 153–154, 160, 189, 207, 208

Hoyle-Narlikar theory, 160

HR8703, 66

Hubble, Edwin, 3, 9, 10–11, 75, 76, 81, 82, 86, 92, 232

Hubble expansion

acceleration, 23, 24, 114–116, 142, 143, 154, 162, 192

cause, 13

and cooling, 155

dark energy and, 115–117

deceleration, 116, 192–193

and dilution of light, 9–12, 15

discovery, 9, 81–82

eternal, 210

and extraterrestrial communications, 20, 210

general theory of relativity and, 26, 81–82

phase transitions and, 109

rate, 4, 5, 23–24, 83–84, 103, 109, 113–116

rotation of universe and, 170

and steady state theory, 88–89

Hubble radius, 224

Hubble Space Telescope, 3, 62

Huchra, John, 166

Hulse, Russell, 69

Hunter College, 175

Hypersphere, 77, 80

Hypersurfaces, 202

I

Imaging, space-based technologies, 3–4

Imperial College London, 161

Indeterminate expressions, 46

Induced-matter theory, 185, 197–199, 201, 203, 205, 206

Inertia, 27, 39

equivalence principle and, 40, 60

lunar and planetary motion, 30–31, 43

Mach’s principle, 33–34, 72–74

Newton’s thought experiment, 31–33

principle, 30

universal reference frame, 33

Inertial mass, 58–59, 60

Infeld, Leopold, 218

Infinities, 46

Inflaton field, 109

Inflationary models, 89, 102–113, 117, 118, 119, 154, 161, 162, 175–176, 188, 193

Integer spin state, 138–139

Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 164

Invariant relationships, 148

Ionization, 135

Isotopic spin state, 219

J

Jagellonian University, 170

James, Ioan, 150

Jodrell Bank Observatory, 121, 122

Johns Hopkins University, 143

Jordan, Pascual, 153, 160

Jordan-Brans-Dicke scalar-tensor theory, 153, 154

K

Kalligas, Dimitri, 68–69

Kaloper, Nemanja, 187

Kaluza, Theodor, 57, 178–179, 180

Kaluza-Klein theories, 179–181, 197, 198–199, 201, 204–205, 219

Kaons, 132

Kepler, Johannes, 2, 3, 28–29, 117, 213

Kepler’s laws, 29

Kerr, Roy, 51

Kerr-Newman solution, 51

Khoury, Justin, 190

Kirzhnits, David, 102

Klein, Oskar, 57, 87–88, 179–181, 219

Klein-Gordon equation, 180, 203

Koch curve, 165

Konopinski, Emil, 15

Korteweg-deVries equation, 203

Krauss, Lawrence, 143

Krotkov, R., 61

Kruskal diagrams, 53

L

La, Daile, 154

Large Hadron Collider, 47, 231–232

Large Magellanic Cloud, 126, 127

Large Numbers Hypothesis, 151, 152, 154, 157, 160, 213

Laser interferometry, 70–71

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, 111, 113

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 134

Lemaitre, Georges, 83–84, 86, 87, 233

Length contraction, 36

Lense, Joseph, 64

Lerner, Eric J., 112

Light.

See also Photons;

Speed of light

Doppler effect, 10

wave properties, 35

Light-year, 13

Lightlike interval, 38

LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) project, 69, 70–72

Linde, Andrei, 102, 103–104, 107, 110, 118, 176, 227

Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector experiment, 131

Liu, Hongya, 73

Lobachevsky, Nikolai Ivanovich, 78

Local Supercluster, 154

Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, 36

Los Alamos National Laboratory, 15, 131

Lunacy, 27–28

M

M-theory

ADD model, 186–188, 189

colliding branes, 190–194

Cyclic universe, 190, 191–194, 197, 231

D-branes, 185–186

Ekpyrotic universe, 190–191, 192, 197

and fifth dimension, 5, 57, 185, 191, 198

framework, 183–186

and hierarchy problem, 186

and horizon problem, 191, 193

manyfold universe model, 187–188, 189

Randall-Sundrum model, 144, 188–189

research centers and collaborations, 189–191

superstring dualities, 184–185, 219

tests of, 57

Mach, Ernst, 33–34

Mach’s principle, 33–34, 72–74, 76–77, 153

MACHO group, 126–128

MACHOs (Massive Astronomical Compact Halo Objects), 125–128, 131, 135

Magnetic dipole moment, 133

Magnetic monopole problem, 103

Magueijo, João, 161, 162, 163

Mandelbrot, Benoit, 164

Mandelbrot set, 165

Manifolds, 41, 42, 43, 64, 65, 144, 200–201, 202, 219

Manyfold universe model, 187–188

Marcy, Geoff, 17

Mars, orbital measurements, 3, 29

Martinec, Emil, 183

Mass.

See also Matter

converting to distance, 205

detection of changes, 207

gravitational theory and, 195–196

relative, 167

rest, 195, 198, 206

Mass-energy equation, 147, 148

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 69, 70, 71, 83, 103, 134, 156

Mathematical democracy, 227

Matter.

See also Mass

geometrizing, 77–81, 196, 197;

see also Dimensions;

Fifth dimension

induced-matter theory, 185, 197–199, 203, 205

origin of, 195–202, 205–207

space theory of, 196–197

Maxwell, James Clerk, 35

Maxwell’s equations, 178

McDonald, Art, 131

Membrane theory, 46, 184.

See also M-theory

Mercury (planet), 43, 44, 60, 65, 80

Metagalaxy, 165

Meteorites, 155, 159

Metric, 37–38

Metric tensor, 41, 42

MICROSCOPE project, 63

Milky Way, 11, 18, 22, 51–52, 76, 124, 126, 137, 187

Milne, E. A., 215

Minchin, Robert, 121

Minkowski, Hermann, 36–37, 178

Minkowski space-time, 36–38, 41, 177, 194

Mirror matter, 141

Misner, Charles, 100–101

Mixed systems, 209

Mohapatra, Rabindra N., 141

Moon

gravitational influence, 28, 29, 30, 34, 157–158

inertial motion, 30

Morris, Michael, 54

Motion, Newton’s second law, 58

Mount Wilson Observatory, 3, 82

Muons, 130–131

Murphy, Tom, 63

N

Narlikar, Jayant, 89, 153–154, 160

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 62, 67–68, 91, 111, 158

National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 134

Naval Observatory, 123

Nebulas, 75–76

Negative energy, 151

Negative mass, 4, 55–59, 142

Negative pressure, 175, 176, 177

Neptune (planet), 79, 124

Neutralinos, 140–141

Neutrinos, 24, 58, 79–80, 128–131, 133, 134, 135, 182, 183

Neutron stars, 23, 47, 49, 57, 69, 125, 146, 166, 192

Neutrons, 132, 133, 137, 152

Neveu, André, 182

New York University, 160

Newman, Ted, 51

Newton, Isaac, 3, 16, 31–33, 35, 117, 212–213, 233

Newtonian physics, 218–219

Nietzsche, Friedrich, 225

Niven, Larry, 223–224

Non-Euclidean geometry, 77–78

Nordström, Gunnar, 178

Nuclear force, 86, 87

Nuclear recoil, 135, 141

Nucleosynthesis, 86–87, 226

O

Observable universe, 21, 119, 165

Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm, 8

Olbers’ paradox, ix–x, 6, 18, 21, 25

age of universe and, 12–15

Hubble expansion and, 8–12, 15

thought experiment, 14–15

Oldershaw, Robert, 165

Omega parameter, 81, 94–98, 106, 114, 115–116

Oort, Jan, 22, 122–123

Open strings, 183, 185–186, 187

Oroville Dam, 136

Ovrut, Burt, 190

Oxford University, 150, 208

P

Paczynski, Bohdan, 125, 126

Parallel universes, 223, 224–227, 228, 230

Parity reversal, 132

Particle horizon, 20

Pattern recognition, 149, 213

Pauli, Wolfgang, 79–80

Peccei, Roberto, 133

Peccei-Quinn theory, 133

Pedagogical University, 170

Peebles, P. J. E. (Jim), 92

Pegasus constellation, 66

Pennypacker, Carl, 113

Penrose, Roger, 102, 174, 210

Penzias, Arno, 91–92, 93, 111

Perfect cosmological principle, 88

Perimeter Institute, 226

Perlmutter, Daniel, 113

Perlmutter, Felice, 113

Perlmutter, Saul, 113–114, 143, 162

Phase transitions, 104, 105, 108, 109, 176, 181

Photinos, 140, 141

Photons, 99, 138, 140, 141

axion conversion to, 134

string theory, 187

wavelike characteristics, 9

WIMP detection and, 135

Pi (film), 149

Pioneer 10 space probe, 135

Planck satellite, 232

Planetary orbits, 3, 29, 42–43, 65, 213

Planetary systems, abundance of, 17

Plasma cosmology, 112

Plate tectonics, 159

Poe, Edgar Allen, 12–13

Point particles, 46, 182

Polchinski, Joseph, 184

Ponce de Leon, Jaime, 201–202

Positrons, 56, 151

Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory, 48

Price, Richard, 11

Primakoff effect, 134

Primordial atom, 83, 87

Princeton University, 61, 75, 92, 107, 125, 170, 189–190, 224

Proceedings of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, 179

Project Echo, 91

Protons, 140, 152, 195, 211, 219

PSR 0655+64, 156

Ptolemy, Claudius, 2

Pulsars, 156, 169

Pythagorean theorem, 37, 210

Q

Quantum mechanics, 45–47, 66, 151, 180, 216–219

chromodynamics, 45, 152, 229

electrodynamics, 163

field theory, 45, 86, 103, 105, 106–107, 138, 143, 163, 175, 179, 209

fluctuations, 191, 192

many-world interpretation, 223, 227

randomness, 175

Quarks, 133, 140, 152, 206

Quasars, 125, 164

Quasicrystals, 107

Queen’s University, 131

Quinn, Helen, 133

Quintessence, 25, 117, 142–144

R

Radiation, energy and density of, 11

Radiometers, 92, 111

Ramond, Pierre, 138–139

Randall, Lisa, 144, 188, 227

Randall-Sundrum model, 144, 188–189

Red dwarfs, 125

Redshift, 10, 11, 44, 60

Reichenbaecher, Ernst, 27

Relative mass, 167

Relativity, 31.

See also Einstein, Albert;

General theory of relativity

acceleration of reference frames, 32

contradictory views, 217

universal reference frame, 33

velocity of reference frames, 32

Religion, 2

Rest mass, 195, 198, 206

Ricci tensor, 41

Ricci-Curbastro, Gregorio, 41

Riemann, Bernhard, 41

Riemann manifolds, 41, 42, 43, 64, 65

Riemann tensor, 41, 102

Riemannian space-time, 42–43

Rohm, Ryan, 183

Roll, George, 61

Rosen, Nathan, 173

Rosenberg, Leslie, 134, 135

Rubin, Vera, 123–125

Russell, John Scott, 202–205

S

S-duality, 185

Sagan, Carl, 17, 30, 53–54

Sakita, Bunji, 139

Salam, Abdus, 178

Sandvik, Håvard, 163

Scalar fields, 108, 153, 175, 176, 205

Scalar waves, 70

Scale-covariant theory, 154

Scale factor, 81, 177

Scale-free principle, 168, 169–171

Scherk, Joël, 139

Schmidt, Brian, 114, 143, 162

Scholem, Gershom, 147

Schrödinger wave equation, 180

Schucking, Engelbert, 150, 160

Schwarz, John, 139, 182

Schwarzschild, Karl, 48, 51

Schwarzschild metric, 48, 53

Schwarzschild model, 203–204

Schwarzschild radius, 51, 52

Sciama, Dennis, 72–73

Science, subjectivity in, 215–217, 221–222

Scintillation, 135

Seahra, Sanjeev, 73

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), 17, 18

Selectrons, 140

Self-organization, 148

Self-similarity, 164–165, 166, 167

Shadow matter, 141

Shadow realm, 186

Shadow worlds, 142

Shakespeare, William, 27

Shapiro, Irwin, 156

Shiff, Leonard, 64

Signature, 37

Sikivie, Pierre, 134

Singularities

Big Bang, 119, 171, 173–176, 192

black hole, 50, 51, 52, 174

CMB evidence, 174

defined, 48

and general relativistic solutions, 48, 173–174

naked, 204

Sirius A (Dog Star), 44

Sirius B, 44

Sky surveys, 4, 232

Slaughterhouse Five, 211

Sloan Digital Sky Surveys, 4

Small Magellanic Cloud, 126

Smolin, Lee, 226, 227

Smoot, George, 111–112

Sodium iodide, 135

Solar system

Copernican model, 2

Ptolmeic model, 2, 3

Solitons, five-dimensional, 202–205

Solvay, Mark, 143

Soudan mine, 137

Space.

See also Universe

curvature of, 80–81

distribution of galaxies, 98–99

temperature and composition, 99

warps, 144, 187

Space-time.

See also General theory of relativity

boundary-free, 174–175

breach in, 48

curvature, 78, 80–81, 220

dents, 64, 65

flat regions, 43, 96

foam, 46–47

frame dragging, 64

interval, 37, 38, 41, 210, 211

Klein-Gordon equation, 180

metric, 73

Minkowski, 36–38, 41, 177, 194

ripples in, 69–72, 106–107, 220

rotation, 170–171, 211

in special theory of relativity, 178

warping, 22, 42, 43, 44, 65

Space travel, 53–54

Spacelike interval, 38, 211, 212

Sparticles, 140–141

Spatial maps, 4

Spatial vacuum, 56

Special theory of relativity, 35–36, 38–39, 40, 42, 43, 129, 161, 178, 180, 210

Speed of light, 5, 18, 20, 25, 35, 36, 37, 51, 129, 147, 148, 160, 161–162, 167, 206, 210

Spin

centripetal force, 168

state, 138–139, 153, 219

Spinoza, Baruch, 48

Spontaneous compactification, 181

Squarks, 140

SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices), 64, 66

Srianand, Raghunathan, 164

St. Augustine of Hippo, 84

Stabell, Rolf, 14

Standard candles, 114

Standard model, 1, 2, 3, 93–94, 132

Stanford Linear Accelerator, 56

Stanford University, 64, 66, 67, 68, 103, 133, 137, 186, 187

Starlight

age of, 12–15

behavior near the Sun, 60

Starobinsky, Alexei, 103, 175

Stars

clusters, 154, 156, 166

evolution, 49–50

fusion process, 86–87, 155

lunar occultation, 158

nucleosynthesis, 86–87, 226

relativistic properties, 48

scale of, 166

State University of New York at Stony Brook, 101

Steady state theory, 88–89, 90, 93, 153–154, 176

Steinhardt, Paul, 75, 107–108, 109–110, 116–117, 154, 162, 190, 191, 192–193

STEP (Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle), 63–64, 65–66

Stress-energy tensor, 41–42

“String quartet,” 183

String theory, 5, 46, 138, 184, 186.

See also Superstring theories

Strominger, Andrew, 184

Strong CP problem, 133

Strong nuclear force, 45, 108, 128, 132–133, 138, 152, 180–181, 209

Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, 131

Sun, 49, 60, 129, 134, 155

Sundrum, Raman, 143, 144, 188, 189

Suntzeff, Nicholas, 114

Superclusters, 3, 98–99, 154, 155, 165, 167

Superconductivity, 64, 65–66

Supergravity theory, 5, 139, 181–182, 183, 184

Supernova Acceleration Probe, 117

Supernova Cosmology Project, 113–115

Supernovas, 23, 49, 69, 89–90, 170

clocking Type 1a, 113–115, 116, 117, 118, 162

mapping, 115

Superstring theories, 139–140, 144, 181–183

Supersymmetry, 137–138, 139, 181, 219

Symmetry breaking, 102, 104–105, 108–109, 132–133, 225

Szydlowski, Marek, 170

T

T-duality, 184–185

Tauons, 130–131

Taylor, Joseph, 69

Tegmark, Max, 95, 224–228

Telescopes, 3

Television, range of signals, 13–14, 19–20

Teller, Edward, 15

Temple University, 113

Tensor calculus, 41, 222

Tensors, 41–42

Teplitz, Vigdor, 141

Thirring, Hans, 64

Thorne, Kip, 54, 67, 69, 211

Time

causation-violating loops, 171, 211

communications and, 210

converting to distance, 205

Copernican principle, 75, 116–117

dilation, 36, 50

five-dimensional theory and, 211–212

imaginary, 174–175

Nows, 208

reality of, 207–212

scale factor as function of, 177

travel, 171, 175, 211

Timelike interval, 38, 211, 212

Tipler, Frank, 18, 19

Tolman, Richard, 85, 191

Torsion balance tests, 60–62, 144, 187

Townsend, Paul, 184, 189

Truth, and mathematics, 221–222

Tryon, Edward, 175

Tulane University, 18

Turner, Michael, 23, 24, 118

Turok, Neil, 189, 190, 191, 193

Tye, Henry, 103

U

UFOs, 15

Uluru (Ayers rock), 188

Unified field theory, 70, 86, 138, 173.

See also M-theory

compactification approach, 180, 185

domains, 218–219

five-dimensional theory and, 57, 176, 178–179, 180, 185, 194

Kaluza-Klein theories and, 179–181

quantum connections, 179–181, 218–219

strong and weak nuclear forces and, 209

supergravity theory and, 181–182, 183

superstring theories and, 182–183

Universe.

See also Age of universe;

Cosmological models;

Space

atomic coalescence, 99

biological analogy, 226

bubble, 225–226

causally-connected regions, 106, 110

closed, 81, 85, 94, 96, 115

cyclic, 190, 197

density, 81, 83, 89, 94–95, 98, 99, 106, 109, 112–113, 114, 115–116, 177

density distribution of structures, 166–168

dynamic, 1, 81, 82, 85, 94, 115

early snapshot of, 117–119, 174

Ekpyrotic, 190–191, 197

equation of state, 109, 201, 202

expansion, 1, 3.

See also Big Bang theory;

Hubble expansion

fate of, 81, 94–95, 230

finite, 78

flat, 81, 94, 95–98, 101, 115–116, 118, 161, 199–200

fractal concept, 164, 165

geometry of, 77, 80–81, 118, 199–202

hesitation, 83–84

hierarchical approach, 165–166

isotropic vs. anisotropic, 100–102

multiverse, 223

observable, 21, 119, 122

open, 81, 94, 96

oscillatory, 85, 86, 191, 193, 230, 231

parallel, 223, 224–227, 228

phase transitions, 104, 105, 108, 109, 176, 181

pressure, 109

recession, 155

rotation, 170–171

scale of objects, 164–168

self-reproducing, 176, 223

static, 76–77, 81, 84, 233

vacuum fluctuation, 175

vacuum regions, 105

University of Bonn, 170

University of California

at Berkeley, 113, 134

at Los Angeles, 133

at San Diego, 63

at Santa Barbara, 183

University of Cambridge, 83, 163, 183, 189–190

University of Chicago, 23

University of Florida, 134, 138

University of London, 139

University of Maryland, 100

University of Massachusetts, 13

University of Munich, 139

University of New South Wales, 163

University of Oslo, 14

University of Pennsylvania, 66–67, 107, 113, 129, 182, 190

University of Rome, 137

University of Southern California, 184

University of Stockholm, 180

University of Texas, 11, 183

University of Tokyo, 134

University of Washington at St. Louis, 55, 61

Upsilon particles, 58–59

V

Vacuum

energy, 142–144, 192, 198

fluctuation, 175

regions, 105

Valle, Knut, 14

Van Bibber, Karl, 134

Van Flandern, Thomas, 158

Variable constants, 5

astrophysical effects, 154–158

cosmological constant, 205

expanding-Earth hypothesis, 158–161

fine-structure constant (alpha), 5, 160, 162–164

G-variable theories, 5, 148, 152–154, 187, 206

general theory of relativity and, 152–154, 159

Hoyle-Narlikar theory, 160

Large Numbers Hypothesis and, 151, 152, 154, 157, 160

scale considerations, 164–168

speed of light, 160, 161–162

Varying Speed of Light (VSL) hypothesis, 161–162

Very Large Telescope, 164

Virgo cluster, 121

VIRGOH121 galaxy, 121, 125, 141

Virtual particles, 105, 163

Visser, Matt, 55, 56–57, 211

Vogt, Rochus, 69

Voids, 98, 166

Vonnegut, Kurt, 211

W

W boson, 108, 140

Walls, 166

Wave functions, 73, 79, 209, 217

Weak nuclear force, 45, 108, 128, 180–181, 209

Webb, John K., 163

Wegener, Alfred, 159

Weinberg, Steven, 93–94

Weiss, Rainer (Rai), 69, 70, 71

Wells, H. G., 142

Wess, Julius, 139, 139

Wesson, Paul, 14, 73, 177

Weyl, Hermann, 102

Weyl curvature hypothesis, 102

Weyl tensor, 102

Wheeler, John, 46–47, 48–49, 51, 197, 203, 224

White dwarfs, 44, 49, 125, 146, 166, 192

White holes, 53

Whitehead, A., 215

Whitman, Walt, 121

Wilczek, Frank, 131–132

Wilkinson, David, 92

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), 3, 25, 117, 118, 119, 170, 174, 199–200, 205, 232

Wilson, Robert, 91–92, 93, 111

WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles), 128, 131, 135–137, 140–141

Winos, 140

Witten, Edward, 139, 181, 183, 184, 185

World War 1, 43

Wormholes, 53–55, 56–57, 211

X

X-rays, 49, 156

Xenon, 135

Y

Yale University, 158

Yau, Shing-Tung, 182

York, Herbert, 15

Z

Z bosons, 108, 141, 182

Zacharias, Jerrold, 69–70

Zen koans, 217

Zero interval, 38

Zino, 141

Zumino, Bruno, 139

Zwicky, Fritz, 22, 122–123