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Gravity's Century
Year
2019
Language
ENGLISH
Publication Information
Harvard University Press
Summary
Albert Einstein did nothing of note on May 29, 1919, yet that is when he became immortal. On that day, astronomer Arthur Eddington and his team observed a solar eclipse and found something extraordinary: gravity bends light, just as Einstein predicted. The finding confirmed the theory of general relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time. A century later, the Event Horizon Telescope examined the space surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, to determine whether Einstein was right on the details. In Gravity's Century, award-winning science writer Ron Cowen brings to life the incredible scientific journey between these two events and sheds light on their groundbreaking implications. From the development of radio telescopes to the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still-unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory, Cowen breaks down the physics in clear and approachable language. Gravity's Century vividly demonstrates how the quest to understand gravity is really the quest to comprehend the universe.