Title:
Origins : the scientific story of creation
Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Publication Date:
2015
Publication Information:
Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2015.
Physical Description:
xvii, 403 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 25 cm
ISBN:
9780198707646
Abstract:
What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know?There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later. Chapter by chapter, it sets out the current state of scientific knowledge: the origins of space.
Contents:
In the "beginning" : the origin of space, time, and energy -- Breaking the symmetry : the origin of mass -- The last scattering surface : the origin of light -- Setting the firmament alight : the origin of stars and galaxies -- Synthesis : the origin of chemical complexity -- Sol : the origin of the sun and its planets -- Terra firma : the origin of a habitable Earth -- The cosmic imperative : the origin of life -- Symbiosis : the origins of complex cells and multicellular organisms -- A song of ice and fire : the origin of species -- The human stain : the origin of humanity -- Cogito ergo sum : the origin of human consciousness.
Language:
English
