Modern cosmology in retrospect
An account of the development of modern cosmology with contributions by many of the leading protagonists in the field. The book looks at physical and observational cosmology, the great cosmological debates, important observations and the riddle of dark matter, as well as the Big Bang theory.
XX, 426 p. 26 cm
9780521372138, 0521372135
1014503641
Preface; Part I. The General Framework: 1. Cosmology, a peculiar science B. Bertoti; 2. The early years J. D. North; Part II. Riddles of and Clues to Cosmology: 3. Olbers' paradox in recent times E. Harrison; 4. The part played by Mach's Principle in the genesis of relativistic cosmology J. B. Barbour; 5. The mysterious lore of large numbers J. D. Barrow; Part III. Geometrical and Physical Cosmology: 6. Innovation, resistance and change: the transition to the expanding universe G. F. R. Ellis; 7. Early inhomogeneous cosmological models in Einstein's theory A. Krasinski; 8. Early work on 'big-bang' cosmology and the cosmic blackbody radiation R. A. Alpher and R. Herman; 9. Deciphering the nuclear ashes of the early universe: a personal perspective R. V. Wagoner; Part IV. The Great Cosmological Debates: 10. The cosmological scene 1945–1952 H. Bondi; 11. Personal recollections: some lessons for the future W. McCrea; 12. An assessment of the evidence against the steady-state theory F. Hoyle; 13. Steady-state cosmology, the arrow of time, and Hoyle and Narlikar's theories J. M. Sanchez-Ron; Part V. Cosmological Observations and Discoveries: 14. The observational approach to cosmology: US observatories pre-World War II D. E. Osterbrock; 15. Discovery of the cosmic microwave background R. M. Wilson; 16. The entry of radio astronomy into cosmology: radio stars and Martin Ryle's 2C survey W. T. Sullivan, III; 17. Radio source counts P. Scheuer; 18. Discovery of quasars M. Schmidt; 19. History of dark matter in the universe (1922–1974) V. Trimble; Part VI. Dramatis Personae: 20. Carl Wilhelm Wirtz - a pioneer in observational cosmology W. C. Seitter and H. W. Duerbeck; 21. Cosmic rays and cosmological speculations in the 1920s: the debate between Jeans and Millikan M. De Maria and A. Russo; 22. Sinclair Smith (1899–1938) V. Trimble; 23. Revisiting Fritz Zwicky A. Braccesi.