by Don Lichtenberg (Indiana University, Bloomington, USA)

Table of Contents (44k)
Preface (37k)
Chapter 1: Early Ideas about the Univer (97k)

This is a fascinating and popular account of the very large and the very small, from the universe as a whole to subatomic physics. It includes qualitative explanations of quantum mechanics and relativity, the big bang with inflation, the synthesis of elements, atoms, nuclei, subnuclear physics, quarks, leptons, and other elementary particles. It also gives an account of dark matter and dark energy. In summary, it provides and overview of what we know about the universe and what it is made of, and also what we don't know.

• Early Ideas About the Universe
• The Solar System and Beyond
• Newton's Ideas About Space and Time
• Early Ideas of Motion
• Newton's Laws of Motion
• Newton's Theory of Gravity
• Energy and Momentum
• Electricity and Magnetism
• Wave Motion
• Relativity
• Atoms
• Early Days of Quantum Theory
• Quantum Mechanics
• The Elements
• Nuclear Physics
• Elementary Particles
• The Sun and the Solar System
• The Milky Way
• The Universe
• Speculations