The Origins of the Universe for Dummies

Introduction 1
Part I: In the Beginning: Early Ideas About Our Universe7
Chapter 1: Exploring the Early Universe 9
Chapter 2: Looking Up at the Stars: Early Beliefs 17
Chapter 3: The Apple Drops: Newton, Gravity, and the Rotation ofthe Planets 27
Part II: Modern Cosmology: Going Off with a Bang 49
Chapter 4: Bending the Universe: Magnets and Gravity 51
Chapter 5: Measuring the Universe 73
Chapter 6: Cooking Up a Big Bang 95
Chapter 7: Letting It Rise: Expanding and Inflating the Universe107
Chapter 8: Thinking Differently About the Universe 119
Part III: Building Your Own Universe 129
Chapter 9: Building Things from Scratch 131
Chapter 10: Forcing the Pace: The Roles of Natural Forces in theUniverse 153
Chapter 11: Shedding Light on Dark Matter and Pinging Strings169
Chapter 12: Playing with the Universe's Chemistry Set181
Chapter 13: Making Stars, Solar Systems, Galaxies, and More197
Chapter 14: Giving Birth to Life 211
Chapter 15: Travelling Through Time 225
Part IV: Asking the Tough Questions 239
Chapter 16: Explaining the Unexplainable 241
Chapter 17: Finding Life Elsewhere 253
Chapter 18: Coming to an End 265
Part V: The Part of Tens 275
Chapter 19: Ten Different Beliefs about the Origins of theUniverse 277
Chapter 20: Ten Greatest Cosmological Advances 285
Appendix: Understanding Scientific Units and Equations 295
Index 303