A riveting appraisal of black holes, situating them at the heart of our understanding of ourselves and the universe and informed by original interviews with more than 20 world-leading researchers and Nobel laureates
Facing Infinity is an engaging journey through the history of black holes—from the discovery that the star at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*, is a black hole itself, to discussions of whether our universe is inside a black hole. Jonas Enander tackles some of the most mind-binding questions in physics and astronomy today, unveiling all we know, and have yet to discover, about the mysteries of our universe.
In late eighteenth-century England, clergyman and physicist John Michell posed a startling question— what if there are objects in space that are so large and heavy that they swallow up all of their surroundings, including light? Almost 250 years later, in April 2019, scientists captured the first picture of a black hole. We’ve come a long way since John Michell’s initial ponderings, with scientists constantly expanding our understanding of black holes—even as much remains mysterious about them.
Author Jonas Enander, himself a trained physicist, shares insights gained from his travels everywhere around the world, visiting telescopes and observatories, and interviewing over 20 world-leading experts on the subject. As he unravels the history of our understanding of black holes, he reveals the human story behind the science. Our curiosity to know more about these elusive celestial objects led to the invention of Wi Fi and the calibration of GPS; our observations of the solar system have shifted our views on climate change; and our race to discover more about the universe has had colonial impacts, leaving lasting ripples in our society today.
Innehållsförteckning
Prologue: The Ring of Light at the Edge of the Darkness
PART I: AMONG STARS, WAR AND DARKNESS
PART II: BLACK HOLES IN THE DEPTHS OF SPACE
PART III: BLACK HOLES AND OUR PLACE ON EARTH
Acknowledgments
Notes
Sources
Om författaren
Jonas Enander, Ph D, is a researcher and science communicator who studies cosmologyand astrophysics. His research focuses on dark matter and Einstein’s theory of general relativity.Previously, he has worked as a professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm andparticipated in the construction of the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, Antarctica. Henow works as a research communicator for Oskar Klein Centre in Stockholm and hosts the podcasts Spacetime Fika (in English) and Rumtiden (in Swedish).
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