Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved
Apr 2015 · Yale University Press
4.8star
14 reviewsreport
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252
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About this ebook
The award-winning science writer “packs a lot of learning into a deceptively light and enjoyable read” exploring the contentious history of the black hole (New Scientist).
For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The strange notion of a space-time abyss from which not even light escapes seemed to confound all logic. Now Marcia Bartusiak, author of Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony and The Day We Found the Universe, recounts the frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over one of history’s most dazzling ideas.
Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein’s greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades of languishing in obscurity. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. Black Hole explains how Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and other leading thinkers completely changed the way we see the universe.
For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The strange notion of a space-time abyss from which not even light escapes seemed to confound all logic. Now Marcia Bartusiak, author of Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony and The Day We Found the Universe, recounts the frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over one of history’s most dazzling ideas.
Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einstein’s greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades of languishing in obscurity. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. Black Hole explains how Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and other leading thinkers completely changed the way we see the universe.
Ratings and reviews
4.8
14 reviews
Kenneth Miller
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June 3, 2015
Fast-paced March through 100 years of cosmic theory that really helps to put the 1960s and 70s in perspective. For anyone who didn't complete all their physics homework. Delightful!
Kaushal parikh
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June 10, 2015
Great
1 person found this review helpful
Seth
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November 10, 2015
Great to see
About the author
Combining her skills as a journalist with a master's degree in physics, Marcia Bartusiak has been covering the fields of astronomy and physics for three decades. Currently a professor of the practice of the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is the award-winning author of six critically acclaimed books. Visit her at marciabartusiak.com.
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