248 pages
English language
Published Jan. 6, 1996
The book was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe, but since that time there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring his original text the new knowledge revealed by these many observations, as well as his most recent research, for this expanded edition Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on the fascinating subject of wormholes and time travel, and updated the original chapters. This edition is enhanced …
The book was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe, but since that time there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring his original text the new knowledge revealed by these many observations, as well as his most recent research, for this expanded edition Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on the fascinating subject of wormholes and time travel, and updated the original chapters. This edition is enhanced throughout with more than 240 full-color illustrations, including satellite images, photographs made possible by spectacular technological advances such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and computer-generated images of three and four dimensional realities.
By now well-covered only-so-popularizable territory of special relativity, black holes, expanding universe, quantum mechanics, anthropic principle, string theory, and does a reasonable job of remaining humble while inquisitive about the parts that might have no answer.
Ein sehr aufschlussreiches Buch, das so geschrieben ist, dass auch Laien wie ich etwas verstehen können (natürlich nicht alles, aber das muss auch nicht sein). Hawking beschreibt die Grundlagen von Newton über Einstein und Heisenberg bis hin zu seinen eigenen Forschungen und gibt einen Ausblick in die zukünftigen Forschungsrichtungen und Ziele (wie die Suche nach einer vereinheitlichten Theorie) in dem Bereich. Ich habe das Buch mit Gewinn gelesen, wenngleich es heute nicht mehr aktuell ist. Einige Theorien wurden ad acta gelegt, andere konnten in der Zwischenzeit belegt werden (Graviationswellen, Schwarze Löcher...). Zwei Anmerkungen habe ich: Im ganzen Buch kommt nur eine einzige (!) Wissenschaftlerin vor. Das wäre mir vielleicht früher gar nicht aufgefallen, aber heute achte ich auf so etwas. Herr Hawking haut manchmal ganz schön auf die Kacke (bezüglich sich selbst), aber er darf das auch. Er ist ja tatsächlich einer der wichtigsten Wissenschaftler des letzen Jahrhunderts gewesen.
