Weird Universe

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. From Water World to Inflation; Humanity Faces the Universe

   • David A. J. Seargent

   Pages 1-56

3. Space, Time, Relativity … And Other Things

   • David A. J. Seargent

   Pages 57-112

4. The Shape, Size, Age and Origin of the Universe

   • David A. J. Seargent

   Pages 113-156

5. Of Atoms, Quanta, Strings and Branes; Just How Weird Can the Universe Really Be?

   • David A. J. Seargent

   Pages 157-211

6. Observations and Ideas from the Left Field

   • David A. J. Seargent

   Pages 213-260

7. Back Matter

   Pages 261-272

   PDF

As new discoveries complicate the scientific picture of the universe, the evolving theories about the nature of space and time and the origins and fate of the universe threaten to become overwhelming. Enter David Seargent. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Universe explains the bizarre, complicated terrain of modern cosmology for lay readers.

From exploring some of the strange consequences of the theories of special and general relativity, to probing time dilation and the twin and mother-and-baby “paradoxes” and the theory that the universe can be mathematically considered as a hologram, all of the latest findings and conjectures are clearly described in non-technical language. The development of quantum physics and the more recent developments of string and M-theory are looked at, in addition to several hypotheses that have not won wide acceptance from the scientific community, such as modified gravity. Enter the wonderfully weird world of these theories and gain a new appreciation for the latest findings in cosmological research.

• Big Bang Explained
• Cosmology Theories
• History of Astronomy
• Inflationary Theory Explained
• M-theory Explained
• Quantum Mechanics Explained
• String Theory Explained
• Theoretical Physics Theories
• Theories on Origins of Universe
• Theory of Relativity

From the book reviews:

“Seargent (amateur astronomer) describes the complicated nature of current astrophysical and cosmological theories by focusing on those ideas and consequences that either run contrary to the layperson’s ‘common sense’ or that could be regarded as outliers in current scientific thinking. … without a doubt, undergraduates and general audiences who are interested in paradoxes of modern physics will find this book enjoyable reading. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic and general library collections.” (A. Spero, Choice, Vol. 52 (9), May, 2015)

• The Entrance, Australia

  David A. J. Seargent

David A. J. Seargent holds an MA and Ph.D., both in Philosophy from the University of Newcastle NSW, where he formerly worked as a tutor in Philosophy for the Department of Community of Programs/Worker’s Educational Association external education program. As an amateur astronomer, he is known for his observations of comets, one of which he discovered in 1978. He is the author of five astronomy books: “Comets – Vagabonds in Space” (Doubleday, 1982), “The Greatest Comets in History” (Springer, 2008), “Weird Astronomy” (Springer, 2010), “Weird Weather” (Springer, 2012), and most recently "Weird Worlds" (2013). He is the author of a regular column in “Australian Sky and Telescope” magazine.

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