Download or read book Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe written by Sandip K. Chakrabarti and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A conference on `Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe' was held in Calcutta during January 10-17, 1998. This was the first time that experts had gathered to debate and discuss topics such as: Should black holes exist? If so, how to detect them? Have we found them? This book is the essence of this gathering. Black holes are enigmatic objects since it is impossible to locate them through direct observations. State-of-the-art theoretical works and numerical simulations have given us enough clues of what to look for. Observations, from both ground and space-based missions, have been able to find these tell-tale signatures. This book is a compendium of our present knowledge about these theories and observations. Combined, they give a thorough idea of whether black holes, galactic as well as extragalactic, have been detected or not. Forty-one experts of the subject have contributed to this volume to make it the most comprehensive to date.
Download or read book Gravity s Fatal Attraction written by Mitchell Begelman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-12-21 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richly illustrated with the images from observatories on the ground and in space, and computer simulations, this book shows how black holes were discovered, and discusses our current understanding of their role in cosmic evolution. This second edition covers new discoveries made in the past decade, including definitive proof of a black hole at the center of the Milky Way, evidence that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, and the new appreciation of the connection between black holes and galaxy formation. There are entirely new chapters on gamma-ray bursts and cosmic feedback. Begelman and Rees blend theoretical arguments with observational results to demonstrate how both approaches contributed to this subject. Clear illustrations and photographs reveal the strange and amazing workings of our universe. The engaging style makes this book suitable for introductory undergraduate courses, amateur astronomers, and all readers interested in astronomy and physics.
Download or read book Quasars and Black Holes written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An introduction to quasars and black holes with information about their formation and characteristics. Includes diagrams, fun facts, a glossary, a resource list, and an index"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Black Holes and Relativistic Stars written by Robert M. Wald and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive summary of progress made during the past decade on the theory of black holes and relativistic stars, this collection includes discussion of structure and oscillations of relativistic stars, the use of gravitational radiation detectors, observational evidence for black holes, cosmic censorship, numerical work related to black hole collisions, the internal structure of black holes, black hole thermodynamics, information loss and other issues related to the quantum properties of black holes, and recent developments in the theory of black holes in the context of string theory. Volume contributors: Valeria Ferrari, John L. Friedman, James B. Hartle, Stephen W. Hawking, Gary T. Horowitz, Werner Israel, Roger Penrose, Martin J. Rees, Rafael D. Sorkin, Saul A. Teukolsky, Kip S. Thorne, and Robert M. Wald.
Download or read book The Detection of Gravitational Waves written by David G. Blair and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-10-13 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the concepts of gravitational waves within the context of general relativity. The sources of gravitational radiation for which there is direct observational evidence and those of a more speculative nature are described. He then gives a general introduction to the methods of detection. In the subsequent chapters he has drawn together the leading scientists in the field to give a comprehensive practical and theoretical account of the physics and technology of gravitational wave detection.
Download or read book Astrobiology written by Andrew May and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extraterrestrial life is a common theme in science fiction, but is it a serious prospect in the real world? Astrobiology is the emerging field of science that seeks to answer this question. The possibility of life elsewhere in the cosmos is one of the most profound subjects that human beings can ponder. Astrophysicist Andrew May gives an expert overview of our current state of knowledge, looking at how life started on Earth, the tell-tale 'signatures' it produces, and how such signatures might be detected elsewhere in the Solar System or on the many 'exoplanets' now being discovered by the Kepler and TESS missions. Along the way the book addresses key questions such as the riddle of Fermi's paradox ('Where is everybody?') and the crucial role of DNA and water – they're essential to 'life as we know it', but is the same true of alien life? And the really big question: when we eventually find extraterrestrials, will they be friendly or hostile?
Download or read book Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-02-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In preparing the report, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millenium , the AASC made use of a series of panel reports that address various aspects of ground- and space-based astronomy and astrophysics. These reports provide in-depth technical detail. Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millenium: An Overview summarizes the science goals and recommended initiatives in a short, richly illustrated, non-technical booklet.
Download or read book Joint Evolution of Black Holes and Galaxies written by M. Colpi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-01-27 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black holes are among the most mysterious objects that the human mind has been capable of imagining. As pure mathematical constructions, they are tools for exploiting the fundamental laws of physics. As astronomical sources, they are part of our cosmic landscape, warping space-time, coupled to the large-scale properties and life cycle of their host
Download or read book Modern General Relativity written by Mike Guidry and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-03 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Einstein's general theory of relativity is widely considered to be one of the most elegant and successful scientific theories ever developed, and it is increasingly being taught in a simplified form at advanced undergraduate level within both physics and mathematics departments. Due to the increasing interest in gravitational physics, in both the academic and the public sphere, driven largely by widely-publicised developments such as the recent observations of gravitational waves, general relativity is also one of the most popular scientific topics pursued through self-study. Modern General Relativity introduces the reader to the general theory of relativity using an example-based approach, before describing some of its most important applications in cosmology and astrophysics, such as gamma-ray bursts, neutron stars, black holes, and gravitational waves. With hundreds of worked examples, explanatory boxes, and end-of-chapter problems, this textbook provides a solid foundation for understanding one of the towering achievements of twentieth-century physics.
Download or read book What Is Inside a Black Hole written by Stephen Hawking and published by Brief Answers, Big Questions. This book was released on 2022-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'If you feel you are in a black hole, don't give up. There's a way out' What is inside a black hole? Is time travel possible? Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen Hawking expanded our understanding of the universe and unravelled some of its greatest mysteries. In What Is Inside a Black Hole? Hawking takes us on a journey to the outer reaches of our imaginations, exploring the science of time travel and black holes. 'The best most mind-bending sort of physics' The Times Brief Answers, Big Questions: this stunning paperback series offers electrifying essays from one of the greatest minds of our age, taken from the original text of the No. 1 bestselling Brief Answers to the Big Questions.
Download or read book The Little Book of Black Holes written by Steven S. Gubser and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-25 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dive into a mind-bending exploration of the physics of black holes Black holes, predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity more than a century ago, have long intrigued scientists and the public with their bizarre and fantastical properties. Although Einstein understood that black holes were mathematical solutions to his equations, he never accepted their physical reality—a viewpoint many shared. This all changed in the 1960s and 1970s, when a deeper conceptual understanding of black holes developed just as new observations revealed the existence of quasars and X-ray binary star systems, whose mysterious properties could be explained by the presence of black holes. Black holes have since been the subject of intense research—and the physics governing how they behave and affect their surroundings is stranger and more mind-bending than any fiction. After introducing the basics of the special and general theories of relativity, this book describes black holes both as astrophysical objects and theoretical “laboratories” in which physicists can test their understanding of gravitational, quantum, and thermal physics. From Schwarzschild black holes to rotating and colliding black holes, and from gravitational radiation to Hawking radiation and information loss, Steven Gubser and Frans Pretorius use creative thought experiments and analogies to explain their subject accessibly. They also describe the decades-long quest to observe the universe in gravitational waves, which recently resulted in the LIGO observatories’ detection of the distinctive gravitational wave “chirp” of two colliding black holes—the first direct observation of black holes’ existence. The Little Book of Black Holes takes readers deep into the mysterious heart of the subject, offering rare clarity of insight into the physics that makes black holes simple yet destructive manifestations of geometric destiny.
Download or read book Astrophysical Black Holes written by Francesco Haardt and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on graduate school lectures in contemporary relativity and gravitational physics, this book gives a complete and unified picture of the present status of theoretical and observational properties of astrophysical black holes. The chapters are written by internationally recognized specialists. They cover general theoretical aspects of black hole astrophysics, the theory of accretion and ejection of gas and jets, stellar-sized black holes observed in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers and quasars as well as their influence on the dynamics in galactic nuclei. The final chapter addresses analytical relativity of black holes supporting theoretical understanding of the coalescence of black holes as well as being of great relevance in identifying gravitational wave signals. With its introductory chapters the book is aimed at advanced graduate and post-graduate students, but it will also be useful for specialists.
Download or read book Three Steps to the Universe written by David Garfinkle and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-05-15 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If scientists can’t touch the Sun, how do they know what it’s made of? And if we can’t see black holes, how can we be confident they exist? Gravitational physicist David Garfinkle and his brother, science fiction writer Richard Garfinkle, tackle these questions and more in Three Steps to the Universe, a tour through some of the most complex phenomena in the cosmos and an accessible exploration of how scientists acquire knowledge about the universe through observation, indirect detection, and theory. The authors begin by inviting readers to step away from the Earth and reconsider our Sun. What we can directly observe of this star is limited to its surface, but with the advent of telescopes and spectroscopy, scientists know more than ever about its physical characteristics, origins, and projected lifetime. From the Sun, the authors journey further out into space to explore black holes. The Garfinkle brothers explain that our understanding of these astronomical oddities began in theory, and growing mathematical and physical evidence has unexpectedly supported it. From black holes, the authors lead us further into the unknown, to the dark matter and energy that pervade our universe, where science teeters on the edge of theory and discovery. Returning from the depths of space, the final section of the book brings the reader back down to Earth for a final look at the practice of science, ending with a practical guide to discerning real science from pseudoscience among the cacophony of print and online scientific sources. Three Steps to the Universe will reward anyone interested in learning more about the universe around us and shows how scientists uncover its mysteries.
Download or read book Anthropic Bias written by Nick Bostrom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropic Bias explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by "observation selection effects"--that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to "have" the evidence. This conundrum--sometimes alluded to as "the anthropic principle," "self-locating belief," or "indexical information"--turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy. There are the philosophical thought experiments and paradoxes: the Doomsday Argument; Sleeping Beauty; the Presumptuous Philosopher; Adam & Eve; the Absent-Minded Driver; the Shooting Room. And there are the applications in contemporary science: cosmology ("How many universes are there?", "Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?"); evolutionary theory ("How improbable was the evolution of intelligent life on our planet?"); the problem of time's arrow ("Can it be given a thermodynamic explanation?"); quantum physics ("How can the many-worlds theory be tested?"); game-theory problems with imperfect recall ("How to model them?"); even traffic analysis ("Why is the 'next lane' faster?"). Anthropic Bias argues that the same principles are at work across all these domains. And it offers a synthesis: a mathematically explicit theory of observation selection effects that attempts to meet scientific needs while steering clear of philosophical paradox.
Download or read book The Joy of X written by Steven Henry Strogatz and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2012 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, showing how math intersects with philosophy, science, art, business, current events, and everyday life, by an acclaimed science communicator and regular contributor to the "New York Times."
Download or read book Neutron Stars and Pulsars written by Werner Becker and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-02-11 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neutron stars are the most compact astronomical objects in the universe which are accessible by direct observation. Studying neutron stars means studying physics in regimes unattainable in any terrestrial laboratory. Understanding their observed complex phenomena requires a wide range of scientific disciplines, including the nuclear and condensed matter physics of very dense matter in neutron star interiors, plasma physics and quantum electrodynamics of magnetospheres, and the relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics of electron-positron pulsar winds interacting with some ambient medium. Not to mention the test bed neutron stars provide for general relativity theories, and their importance as potential sources of gravitational waves. It is this variety of disciplines which, among others, makes neutron star research so fascinating, not only for those who have been working in the field for many years but also for students and young scientists. The aim of this book is to serve as a reference work which not only reviews the progress made since the early days of pulsar astronomy, but especially focuses on questions such as: "What have we learned about the subject and how did we learn it?", "What are the most important open questions in this area?" and "What new tools, telescopes, observations, and calculations are needed to answer these questions?". All authors who have contributed to this book have devoted a significant part of their scientific careers to exploring the nature of neutron stars and understanding pulsars. Everyone has paid special attention to writing educational comprehensive review articles with the needs of beginners, students and young scientists as potential readers in mind. This book will be a valuable source of information for these groups.
Download or read book Cosmic Impact written by Andrew May and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realisation that the dinosaurs had been wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course – a procedure depicted, with little regard for scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies. Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact event would produce, and – more optimistically – the way future space missions could avert a catastrophe.
