Short description
The Astronomer Royal shows how the behaviour and origins of the universe can be explained by just six numbers
Long description
How did a single 'genesis event' create billions of galaxies, black holes, stars and planets? How did atoms assemble -- here on Earth, and perhaps on other worlds -- into living beings intricate enough to ponder their origins? This book describes the recent avalanche of discoveries about the universe's fundamental laws, and the deep connections that exist between stars and atoms -- the cosmos and the microscopic world. Just six numbers, imprinted in the 'big bang', determine the essence of our world, and this book devotes one chapter to explaining each.
Review
The Astronomer Royal turns his attention to one of the great mysteries - why is the universe 'just right' for lifeforms like us to exist in it? Things such as the strength of gravity and the speed with which the universe is expanding turn out to be astonishingly fine tuned: a tiny difference in one of these could make the universe unrecognizably different and uninhabitable. In fact, there are at least a score of such cosmic coincidences, but here Rees picks on just six to discuss in detail. A fascinating way to present the latest ideas about the universe. (Kirkus UK)