Why did Ptolemy's theory cause problems for the church? What is the big secret concerning the "?Age" of the earth? Why do many scientists reject the use of design in explaining origins? The seemingly absurd idea that all matter, energy, space, and time once exploded from a point of extreme density has captured the imagination of scientists and laypersons for decades. The big bang has provided a central teaching for the eons of time of "cosmic evolution", undermining the history and cosmology of the Bible. It is a theory that fails, even violating the very physical laws on which it is purportedly based. In this easy-to-read format, authors Alex Williams and John Hartnett explode this naturalistic explanation for the universe, and show that the biblical model provides a far better explanation of our origins. This fully indexed, illustrated analysis of the big bang theory is an invaluable help in understanding and countering a world view that is as chaotic and destructive as its name implies.
A mesmerizing challenge to orthodox cosmology with powerful implications not only for cosmology itself but also for our notions of time, God, and human nature -- with a new Preface addressing the latest developments in the field. Far-ranging and provocative, The Big Bang Never Happened is more than a critique of one of the primary theories of astronomy -- that the universe appeared out of nothingness in a single cataclysmic explosion ten to twenty billion years ago. Drawing on new discoveries in particle physics and thermodynamics as well as on readings in history and philosophy, Eric J. Lerner confronts the values behind the Big Bang theory: the belief that mathematical formulae are superior to empirical observation; that the universe is finite and decaying; and that it could only come into being through some outside force. With inspiring boldness and scientific rigor, he offers a brilliantly orchestrated argument that generates explosive intellectual debate.
Why isn't the evolution of flight shown in the fossil record? Bugs, birds, bats and dinosaurs flew and are shown fully formed in the fossil record, but there are no animals with halfway wings in the fossil record leading from ground based animals to flying animals. What is desperately wrong with the Grand Canyon if evolution is true? Where are the massive signs of erosion between the sedimentary layers of the Grand Canyon if they were laid down a "million years" at a time? Why does massive erosion only show up at the top? Animals with well-developed eyes show up suddenly in the fossil record as do flying animals. It's the norm for plants and animals to show up in the fossil record with the same separations as we see in different types of living animals and plants today. The "second law of thermodynamics" is a law of science that says everything left to its own will wear out, run down. It is a fundamental law of science. So how did evolution accidentally go up? How could a DNA molecule fumble together? The cell needs DNA; DNA needs the cell ñ which came first? 'Beneficial' mutations also weaken in other areas, and don't write evolutionary advancing DNA code. Spiral galaxies (which have the shape of a star fish that is spinning quickly) throughout our universe, like our Milky Way galaxy, are supposed to be over 10 billion years old. If they were over a billion years old they would lose their spiral arm shape. The arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way, only show a maximum age of 0.3 billion years. People want to know why they're here now and where they're going to go. They want surety of truth also. Read this book and see how well evolution holds up in all the sciences. Read this book and see if life can have meaning, direction and hope ñ with surety. For those who claim to be open minded, put on your seatbelts and keep your arms inside as you ride the roller coaster of your own value systems!
This is a provocative account of the astounding new answers to the most basic philosophical question: Where did the universe come from and how will it end?
Long-listed for the 2016 PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "An important book that provides insight into key new developments in our understanding of the nature of space, time and the universe. It will repay careful study." --John Gribbin, The Wall Street Journal "An endlessly surprising foray into the current mother of physics' many knotty mysteries, the solving of which may unveil the weirdness of quantum particles, black holes, and the essential unity of nature." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time: nonlocality-the ability of two particles to act in harmony no matter how far apart they may be. It appears to be almost magical. Einstein grappled with this oddity and couldn't come to terms with it, describing it as "spooky action at a distance." More recently, the mystery has deepened as other forms of nonlocality have been uncovered. This strange occurrence, which has direct connections to black holes, particle collisions, and even the workings of gravity, holds the potential to undermine our most basic understandings of physical reality. If space isn't what we thought it was, then what is it? In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser sets out to answer that question, offering a provocative exploration of nonlocality and a celebration of the scientists who are trying to explain it. Musser guides us on an epic journey into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers finding galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang. He traces the often contentious debates over nonlocality through major discoveries and disruptions of the twentieth century and shows how scientists faced with the same undisputed experimental evidence develop wildly different explanations for that evidence. Their conclusions challenge our understanding of not only space and time but also the origins of the universe-and they suggest a new grand unified theory of physics. Delightfully readable, Spooky Action at a Distance is a mind-bending voyage to the frontiers of modern physics that will change the way we think about reality.
NAMED A BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF 2021 BY KIRKUS * An acclaimed experimental physicist at CERN takes you on an exhilarating search for the most basic building blocks of our universe, and the dramatic quest to unlock their cosmic origins. "A fascinating exploration of how we learned what matter really is, and the journey matter takes from the Big Bang, through exploding stars, ultimately to you and me." (Sean Carroll) Carl Sagan once quipped, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” But finding the ultimate recipe for apple pie means answering some big questions: What is matter really made of? How did it escape annihilation in the fearsome heat of the Big Bang? And will we ever be able to understand the very first moments of our universe? In How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch, Harry Cliff—a University of Cambridge particle physicist and researcher on the Large Hadron Collider—sets out in pursuit of answers. He ventures to the largest underground research facility in the world, deep beneath Italy's Gran Sasso mountains, where scientists gaze into the heart of the Sun using the most elusive of particles, the ghostly neutrino. He visits CERN in Switzerland to explore the "Antimatter Factory," where the stuff of science fiction is manufactured daily (and we're close to knowing whether it falls up). And he reveals what the latest data from the Large Hadron Collider may be telling us about the fundamental nature of matter. Along the way, Cliff illuminates the history of physics, chemistry, and astronomy that brought us to our present understanding—and misunderstandings—of the world, while offering readers a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic intellectual journeys human beings have ever embarked on. A transfixing deep dive into the origins of our world, How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch examines not just the makeup of our universe, but the awe-inspiring, improbable fact that it exists at all.
In the few seconds it's taken you to read these words, trillions of molecular interactions have taken place in your eyes and brain. And this is just one of the amazing things that today's molecular biology has revealed about the complex inner workings of our cells. We now know that even a 15-billion-year-old universe allows far too little time for life to arise through evolutionary random chance. Exploring and revealing the magnificent complexity of the universe, Dismantling Evolution takes you beyond the data and gives you a glimpse of the Designer who's behind everything that exists.
Many still doubt the Bible's clear timescale because, they think, it is impossible for light to have reached Earth in only a few thousand years from stars that are millions of light-years away. This is often the ultimate stumbling block to belief in the Bible and its salvation message. In this exciting new book, physics professor John Hartnett, inspired by the pioneering work of creationist Russell Humphreys, and building on the work of secular cosmologist Moshe Carmeli, shows how the answer to the starlight travel-time problem falls out of the same equations that undermine many of the props for big bang thinking. The main text is easily digestible for the intelligent layperson, with a supporting series of technical appendices for the specialist. - Publisher.
Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world, and in their wake have left an uneasy coexistence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical inquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality? After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophic study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry—scientific as well as spiritual—must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examinations of reality. This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers—both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.
