Once Before Time - Martin Bojowald [0]
Translation copyright 2010 © by Martin Bojowald
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
www.aaknopf.com
Originally published in Germany as Zurück vor den Urknall: Die ganze Geschichte des Universums by S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, in 2009. Copyright © 2009 by S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Bojowald, Martin.
Once before time : a whole story of the universe / by Martin Bojowald.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-59425-9
1. Cosmology. 2. Beginning. 3. Space and time. I. Title.
QB981.B684 2010
523.1—dc22 2010015937
v3.1
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
1. GRAVITATION
2. QUANTUM THEORY
3. AN INTERLUDE ON THE ROLE OF MATHEMATICS
4. QUANTUM GRAVITY
5. OBSERVATIONAL COSMOLOGY
6. BLACK HOLES
7. THE ARROW OF TIME
8. COSMOGONY
9. ONE WORLD
10. THEORY OF EVERYTHING?
11. THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE AND THE NOBILITY OF NATURE
NOTES
A Note About the Author
PREFACE
… and if he does not do it solely for his own pleasure, he is not an artist at all.
—OSCAR WILDE, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”
There are many reasons for a scientist to write a popular book, and many others not to. Research has primacy in science; this is where careers are forged and honors earned. Everything else wastes precious time—at least in the eyes of many a colleague who might one day be asked for an evaluation of one’s work.
But what good does all scientific progress do if it cannot be communicated? Do we really understand the world if we cannot explain it without the requirement of long, demanding studies? Learning a complex matter too often means that we merely accept its crucial ingredients and principles, getting used to standard methods of calculation. A true test of our understanding comes only when knowledge is to be explained to an open-minded layperson free of preconceived notions. In this sense, quantum mechanics as one example is, despite all its many successes and technological applications, far from being understood (as indicated, perhaps, by the third chapter of this book). Writing a popular book is thus an exercise of utmost relevance for a scientist’s own work.
A popular book is, moreover, the ideal place to allude to the unity of science, literature, and art. In all these areas one tries to picture the world and to communicate it. This unity, of course, does not exist in reality but only as an ideal. But a book that aims to be widely accessible has a right to call upon this ideal. For this reason, I am grateful to those who helped me tap this unity. In the realm of art, I thank Gianni Caravaggio, some of whose works are represented here and who contributed in several discussions to my understanding. Thanks also go to Rüdiger Vaas, who, over many years, has helped me to understand and to communicate my understanding. He was among the first to find my scientific results worthy of wide dissemination. Many others, who cannot all be named here, have continually forced me to leave the fortified ivory tower of science.
This book would not have come into existence without the original suggestion of Jörg Bong from S. Fischer Verlag, and the subsequent support of Alexander Roesler. For reading parts of my manuscript and for their many useful suggestions, I am grateful to Gisele Ben-Dor, Maryam Shaeri, and Hannah Williams. I thank the Physics Department of Pennsylvania State University, who know how to provide an exceptionally agreeable and stimulating atmosphere for its members. Early on, they offered me a free semester without even knowing about my writing plans! Penn State’s Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos has afforded me unique opportunities for multidisciplinary discussions and research related to topics in this book. The expertise