Cycles of Time: An Extraordinary New View of the Universe
Written by Roger Penrose
Narrated by Bruce Mann
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
From the best-selling author of The Emperor's New Mind and The Road to Reality, a groundbreaking book that provides new views on three of cosmology's most profound questions: What, if anything, came before the Big Bang? What is the source of order in our universe? What is its ultimate future?
Current understanding of our universe dictates that all matter will eventually thin out to zero density, with huge black holes finally evaporating away into massless energy. Roger Penrose-one of the most innovative mathematicians of our time-turns around this predominant picture of the universe's "heat death," arguing how the expected ultimate fate of our accelerating, expanding universe can actually be reinterpreted as the "Big Bang" of a new one.
Along the way to this remarkable cosmological picture, Penrose sheds new light on basic principles that underlie the behavior of our universe, describing various standard and nonstandard cosmological models, the fundamental role of the cosmic microwave background, and the key status of black holes. Ideal for both the amateur astronomer and the advanced physicist-with plenty of exciting insights for each-Cycles of Time is certain to provoke and challenge.
Intellectually thrilling and accessible, this is another essential guide to the universe from one of our preeminent thinkers.
More audiobooks from Roger Penrose
What is Life?: With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Cycles of Time
32 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I am very intrigued by physicist attempts to explain the fundamental structures of time and space, but unfortunately in this case, I feel compelled to give up. I think I need someone to explain Roger’s thinking for me to gain much from. There is a reliance on formulas and jargon that become increasingly confusing as I proceed, and I simply feel that it could be mind blowing if only I could make sense of it. Oh well! There are many other physics writers to try.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a short book with many chapters, making it a snappy read for those comfortable with abstract concepts. Penrose starts slowly taking the reader through some relevant basics of entropy and then defines his prime concern. Why were the conditions of the big bang so special? His partial answer is that the big bang was specially prepared by the death throes of a previous cosmos. Of course others have imagined the cosmos goes through cycles of crunch and re-explosion. Penrose’s vision is different. He acknowledges our cosmos will expand forever and die a cold death. Yet through conformal mapping he takes this picture into infinite time and into the start of a new rescaled cosmic aeon. Hence, in Cantorian fashion, he fits an infinite succession of infinite times within a greater infinity. His treatment is thought provoking. Furthermore it is both formal and presumptive. Thus the narrative is less physical and less philosophical than one would get from a theoretical physicist of equal eminence. Moreover it still does not actually explain the specialness of the big bang. Indeed at this preliminary stage it is also unsatisfactorily complicated. But who knows? Be prepared for talk of novel conjectures like a devaluation of phase space and all particle rest masses decaying to zero.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The book is okay, but it would be a very difficult read of the average reader. You should have some background in physics and preferably quantum mechanics. It definitely has some interesting idea though. I particularly like his discussion of entropy.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Picked this off the 'in' shelf at the library. I can see from the date stamps that loads of people have been reading this.... Technically it lost me very soon. While I have previously encountered null cones and think I get the drift - I have also previously encountered strict conformal diagrams - and they are still complete mysteries. Maybe next time. Because that is what I love - I might not understand very much but each time I read a book like this I do understand a little more. And I just love to know that so many people are borrowing this book!
1 person found this helpful