13.8: The Quest to Find the True Age of the Universe and the Theory of Everything

De: John Gribbin

Narrado por: Sam Devereaux

A celebrated astronomer makes a powerful case for the harmony between two of physics' most important and seemingly contradictory theories.

The 20th century gave us two great theories of physics. The general theory of relativity describes the behavior of very large things, and quantum theory the behavior of very small things. In this landmark audiobook, John Gribbin - one of the best-known science writers of the past 30 years - presents his own version of the Holy Grail of physics, the search that has been going on for decades to find a unified "Theory of Everything" that combines these ideas into one mathematical package, a single equation that could be printed on a T-shirt, containing the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

With his inimitable mixture of science, history, and biography, Gribbin shows how - despite skepticism among many physicists - these two great theories are very compatible, and points to a deep truth about the nature of our existence. The answer lies, intriguingly, with the age of the universe: 13.8 billion years.

Published by Yale University Press.

"A lively and accessible look at how astronomers determined the age of our universe." - Publishers Weekly

"An exciting chronicle of a monumental scientific accomplishment by a scientist who participated in the measuring of the age of the universe." - Kirkus Reviews

"Gribbin is a confident, engaging guide...a lovingly rendered history." - Wall Street Journal

©2015 John and Mary Gribbon (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Decent read

I found this to be a good book, but not a great one. Much of the early chapters are bogged down with an excess of names and dates that get lost in the verbosity. The later sections have a bit better pace, but the final discoveries are too brief in their discussion. It almost felt that the author had a limited number of pages and spent so much in the early stages of astrophysics that by the end of the story, he had to wrap it up without detail or adequate time spent.
By the end, I did enjoy the book though. It has made me think. Ponder theories and yearn for more.
To be conclusive, the performance was sufficient. Like the book, good but not great.

Simple, entertaining and easily understood

Simple, entertaining and easily understood story of how scientists arrived at the conclusion that the Universe was 13.8 billion years old.

very informative and factual

has a lot of facts and information about the early universe and it's evolution according to our best estimates right now.

Needed more

There were definitely parts of the book where the author glossed over how something was figured out from observations and it would have been better if it was described a little more in depth. It was an interesting and brief history on how scientists got to figuring out how old the universe is and I am sure it will change again...