Stardust

by John Gribbin (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2000

  $3.25

  Life begins with the process of star formation. Except for hydrogen, every single atom of every single element in our bodies has been manufactured inside stars and then scattered across the universe in great stellar explosions known as supernovas, only then to be recycled as part of us. The hydrogen is primordial material, produced in the Big Bang, but everything else has been built up in the burning hearts of stars. We are made of stardust. Here the author relates the series of breakthroughs in astronomy that have led to this almost unbelievable insight into human origins. He begins his rich and characteristically accessible account in the 1920s, when astronomers discovered that the oldest stars are chiefly composed by hydrogen and helium, produced at the birth of the universe. He then describes the seminal work of the 1950s and 1960s which unlocked the secret of how elements are crated by nuclear fusion inside stars. In detail, this book goes on to follow the only recently understood life cycle of a star to its climatic end: supernova, the dramatic death of a star. during these explosions, a single star briefly shines as brightly as a hundred billion suns. The resulting ash is spread far and wide throughout the cosmos, forming new generations of stars, planets, and people. Focusing on the relationship between the Universe and the Earth, the author eloquently explains how the physical structure of the Universe has produced conditions ideal for life. In a Universe where the necessary processes operate with such prolific abandon, life-forms like ourselves cannot be unique.

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $3.39

  'Superb ...Gribbin has done it again ...the story of how the matter that makes up our bodies travelled from the stars ...a wonderful account' - Sunday Times , Books of the Year. Every one of us is made of stardust, John Gribbin explains in this dazzling book. Everything we see, touch, breathe and smell, nearly every molecule in our bodies, is the by-product of stars as they live and die in spectacular explosions, scattering material across the universe which is recycled to become part of us. It is only by understanding how stars are made and how they die that we can every understand how we came into being. Taking us on an enthralling journey, John Gribbin shows us the scientific breakthroughs in the quest for our origins. With the raw materials for creating life all around us, he concludes, it is impossible to believe we are alone in the universe. 'An incredible story ...gives a sense of the almost unbelievable coincidence of physical laws and circumstances that resulted in your being able to read these words today' - Literary Review . 'Gribbin skilfully and engagingly traces the historical sequence ...rather like Sherlock Holmes reading clues' - New Scientist .