Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

by Lisa Randall
Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

by Lisa Randall

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Overview

In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.

Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.

Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings—established and speculative—regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos’ history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062328519
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 10/27/2015
Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 1,021,095
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Lisa Randall studies theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University, where she is Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees. Professor Randall was included in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" of 2007 and was among Esquire magazine's "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century." Professor Randall's two books, Warped Passages (2005) and Knocking on Heaven's Door (2011) were New York Times bestsellers and 100 Notable Books. Her stand-alone e-book, Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space, was published in 2012.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part I The Development of the Universe

1 The Clandestine Dark Matter Society 1

2 The Discovery of Dark Matter 11

3 The Big Questions 25

4 Almost the Very Beginning: A Very Good Place to Start 35

5 A Galaxy Is Born 55

Part II An Active Solar System

6 Meteoroids, Meteors, and Meteorites 75

7 The Short, Glorious Lives of Comets 95

8 The Edge of the Solar System 117

9 Living Dangerously 123

10 Shock and Awe 147

11 Extinctions 155

12 The End of the Dinosaurs 189

13 Life in the Habitable Zone 219

14 What Goes Around Comes Around 237

15 Flinging Comets from the Oort Cloud 251

Part III Deciphering Dark Matter's Identity

16 The Matter of the Invisible World 271

17 How to See in the Dark 289

13 Socially Connected Dark Matter 303

19 The Speed of Dark 315

20 Searching for the Dark Disk 331

21 Dark Matter and Comet Strikes 347

Conclusion: Looking Lip 363

Acknowledgments 373

List of Illustrations 376

Supplementary Reading 377

Index 397

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