The Lighter Side of Gravity

Review
"...an accessible account of gravity, black holes and the Universe, has been updated, but he retains his sceptical views on the big bang. A refreshing alternative to the received wisdom..." New Scientist


Book Description
From the drop of an apple to the stately dance of the galaxies, gravity is omnipresent in the Cosmos. Even with its high profile, gravity is the most enigmatic of all the known basic forces in nature. The Lighter Side of Gravity presents a beautifully clear and completely nontechnical introduction to the phenomenon of this force in all its manifestations. Astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar begins with an historical background to the discovery of the law of gravitation by Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century. Using familiar analogies, interesting anecdotes, and numerous illustrations to get across subtle effects and difficult points to readers, he goes on to describe the general theory of relativity and some of its strange and unfamiliar ideas such as curved spacetime, the bending of light, and black holes. Since first publication in 1982 (W.H. Freeman), Dr. Narlikar has brought his book completely up to date and expanded it to include the discovery of gigantic gravitational lenses in space, the findings of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, the detection of dark matter in galaxies, the investigation of the very early Universe, and other new ideas in cosmology. This lucid and stimulating book presents a clear approach to the intriguing phenomenon of gravity for everyone who has ever felt caught in its grip. Jayant Narlikar is the winner of many astronomical prizes and the author of Introduction to Cosmology (Cambridge University Press, 1993).


Book Info
Familiar analogies, interesting anecdotes, and numerous illustrations are used to build a lucid and stimulating introduction to all manifestations of gravity for the student and general reader. DLC: Gravity.


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Gravity is the most enigmatic of all known basic forces in nature. Yet it controls everything from the motion of ocean tides to the expansions of the entire Universe. Many books use technical jargon and high-powered maths to explain what gravity is all about. In The lighter side of gravity, the presentation is beautifully clear and completely nontechnical. Familiar analogies, interesting anecdotes, and numerous illustrations are used throughout to get across subtle effects and difficult points. The coverage is, however, comprehensive and makes no compromise with accuracy. This second edition has been brought completely up to date and expanded to include the discovery of gigantic gravitational lenses in space, the findings of the COBE satellite, the detection of MACHOs, the investigation of the very early Universe, and other new ideas in cosmology. In short, this lucid and stimulating book presents 'the lighter side' of the intriguing phenomena of 'gravity' to the student and general reader.


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