Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time

From Publishers Weekly
Einstein is hot this year; not only has his brain traveled cross-country but his personal and scientific lives are being explored in depth. Gravity waves aren't as well-known as the more familiar theory of E=mc2 (which is getting its own book this season, see Forecasts, Sept. 18), but cross-promotion of related titles will boost sales of this graceful little book about the mysterious subject. Those waves are the only form of radiation predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity that remain undetected (a gravity wave is created by the movement of an object; it is not the same as gravitational attraction). Unlike a wave of light, which moves through a medium, space-time, a gravity wave is similar to a wave in water, which is movement of the mediumDhowever, a wave on a pond will go around you as you sit in a fishing boat, whereas a gravity wave will go through an astronaut in a spaceship as easily as it will pass through a star. Scientists predict the only gravity waves we will be able to detect at first are those from such galaxy-shaking events as supernova explosions or the collisions of binary neutron stars, but once gravity waves are graphed and analyzed, we should be able to confirm the existence of black holes, explore time back to the threshold of the big bang, and accurately map the dimensions of the universe. Today kilometers-long interferometer detectors are going online in Washington and Louisiana to detect gravity waves. Tomorrow scientists hope to have a space-based observatory tagging along behind Earth as it orbits the sun. Bartusiak (Thursday's Universe) has been writing about gravity waves for more than a decade, and her familiarity with the search and the scientists involved results in a thorough, engrossing and valuable chronicle. B&w illus. 25,000 first printing; author tour; Library of Science and Astronomy Book Club selections. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


John Gribben, The Washington Post Book World, Nov. & Dec. 2000, RAVE SELECTION FOR 2000
"... Einstein's Unfinished Symphony is her best [book] yet....a ringside seat at what is likely to be the next great revolution in astronomy."


From Book News, Inc.
Science writer Bartusiak introduces the science of gravity waves, or vibrations in space-time. Translating intricate physical concepts into accessible language, she describes how a gravity wave surges through the cosmos at the speed of light and what this phenomenon can tell us about the most violent events in the universe. Tracing the story of Einstein's theory of relativity and the evolution of physicists' views over the decades, she portrays the key players and puts a personal face on today's experiments. The 12 chapters engage the metaphor of music to reveal how the sounds of exploding and rotating stars, chirps from the merger of two black holes, and even remnant echoes from the mighty jolt of the Big Bang itself comprise Einstein's unfinished symphony still waiting to be heard.Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR


Astronomy Magazine
"Bartusiak's lively style [has] the reader rooting for scientists...who wait eagerly...for the universe to play them a tune."


David Goodstein, The New York Times Book Review, NOTABLE BOOK FOR 2000
"When a gravity wave is first detected... reader of this book will feel like a participant in the great event."


Discover, November 2000
"Bartusiak excitingly relates the hunt for proof of the gravity waves predicted by Einstein."


Library Journal
Best Sci-Tech Books of 2000


U.S. News & World Report, Nov. 6, 2000, TOP PICK OF THE WEEK, 2000
"Einstein predicted that gravitational waves exist...If found, the waves will be audible: Scientists could listen to a collapsing star."


Robert Matthews, New Scientist
"Bartusiak...gives a sense of the ebb and flow of confidence among scientists trying to hunt down gravitational waves."


Book Description
We all know that water and sound move in waves-but gravity? In Marcia Bartusiak's new book, we are introduced to the physics of gravity waves-or vibrations in space-time. We learn about the new generation of observatories, now being completed worldwide, that will give astronomers not just a new window on the cosmos but a whole new sense with which to explore the heavens. Instead of collecting light waves or radio waves, these novel instruments will allow scientists to listen to the very rhythms of the universe, adding an auditory dimension to the grand images we study through powerful telescopes. In accessible and lively writing that translates intricate physical concepts into lyrical language, Bartusiak describes how a gravity wave surges through the cosmos at the speed of light. She traces the fascinating story of Einstein's theory of general relativity and goes on to explore how physicists' views of gravity waves have evolved over the decades. We also come to know many of the people involved in today's experiments. As Bartusiak weaves their personal histories in with the ultimate aspirations for the new technologies, an absorbing story of science unfolds. This gripping account of complex, cutting-edge science is brought down to earth and made interesting by an author skilled in the telling of popular science.


Book Info
Uses the metaphor of music to describe the science of gravity waves, a major part of the work of Albert Einstein. Allows scientists and astronomers to see the rhythms of the universe, seeing space time in a whole new way. Uses lyrical language to describe how gravity waves surge through the cosmos at the speed of light. DLC: Space and time.


From the Publisher
Marcia Bartusiak won the 2001 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award for her book, Einstein's Unfinished Symphony


About the Author
Marcia Bartusiak is the author of two previous books, Thursday's Universe and Through a Universe Darkly, both of which were named notable books by The New York Times; she is the co-author of A Positron Named Priscilla. With a background in both journalism and physics, Bartusiak has been covering the fields of physics and astronomy for more than two decades. She was the first woman to receive the prestigious Science Writing Award from the American Institute of Physics. A former MIT Knight Fellow, she has also taught science journalism at Boston University. For many years a contributing editor to Discover magazine, Bartusiak is now on the editorial advisory board of Astronomy magazine. Her reviews of science books are regularly seen in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. Marcia Bartusiak lives outside of Boston in Sudbury, Massachusetts.


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Hang on tight and lean into the curves of space-time as Marcia Bartusiak takes you surfing through the world of gravitational waves. You'll meet the fountain-pen theorists and dirty-fingernail experimenters, from Einstein to today's graduate students, who are straining together to open a great new window on the Universe. Will they succeed? Nobody knows. But Marcia Bartusiak shines a laser beam of intelligence down the long dark tunnels of their work so you can share in the fun of this scientific adventure.  — Robert P. Kirshner


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