George Smoot and Keay
Davidson, Wrinkles in Time (New York: Avon, 1993),Pb, 331 pp. US$13.50/C$18.00 ISBN 0-360-72044-2
George Smoot worked on NASA’s
Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which
proved the predictions of Inflation Theory, a refinement of the Big Bang
Theory. The book was given to me by my son, David, for Christmas.
To make a long story short, Inflation Theory was developed
to explain why there were “wrinkles” in the space-time continuum. The question
was what was it about the Big Bang that resulted in slightly non-uniform
conditions, conditions which allowed for the creation of heavy elements
(anything beyond helium) and galaxies, stars and planets. It also answered
questions in the Big Bang theory which seem to suggest that somehow different
parts of the universe had shared information at speeds faster than the speed of
light. It turns out that this is because there was a period of hyper-inflation
at the very beginning (before about 1 x 10^^-23 seconds). Space expanded (and
continues to expand) at a speed faster than the speed of light, which doesn’t contradict Einstein’s
dictum. Einstein said nothing *in* the universe could travel faster than
the speed of light, but the universe isn’t expanding
“in” anything – it’s space itself that is expanding
faster than the speed of light.
Anyway, it’s a very readable book
– the co-author, Keay Davidson, is the SF
Chronicle science columnist.
My judgement as to its reading level: Grade XII AP; or a
mature person with some exposure to science. Not for the rank beginner, but
speaks down a bit to people with university training in science. That’s why I
gave it a Grade XII AP rating. Oh, also, it’s
very out-of-date for those with considerable training or background in
cosmology and particle physics. For people like that it’s
an interesting history. For beginners it’s a good
introduction to things like the Big Bang and Inflation Theory.
“The scientific discovery of the century, if not all time” –
Stephen Hawking [exaggerating a bit, imo]
“Behold the Handwriting of God”
Astrophysicist and adventurer George Smoot spent twenty
years pursuing the “holy grail of science” – a relentless hunt that led him
from the rain forests of
“Remarkable…deserves to be widely read…a rewarding entrée to modern cosmology, a rare glimpse
of important science in the making and a rollicking adventure yarn, all rolled
into one, ‘Wrinkles in Time’ breathes life and romance into science.” – David Darling, “The New York Times Book Review.
“It is a wonder…the fast-forward
account of a great moment of affirmation” – Publishers Weekly.
“Shocking…impressive…a highly
personal account…the reader needs bring nothing to
the book but curiosity.” Curt Suplee, “
“Succeeds better than just about any book I know in
capturing the excitement of major scientific discoveries…a
must read for anyone interested in the way science is really done.” John
L. Casti, author of “Paradigms Lost.”