Prisons of Light - Black Holes

The first truly accessible account of black holes - beautifully written and fun to read.

Kitty Ferguson (Author)

9780521625715, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 February 1998

228 pages, 64 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.29 kg

'… delightfully clear account, well illustrated and bare of jargon and equations … I recommend it.' Robert Boyd, Science and Christian Belief

What is a black hole? Could we survive a visit to one … perhaps even venture inside? Have we yet discovered any real black holes? And what do black holes teach us about the mysteries of our Universe? These are just a few of the tantalizing questions examined in this tour-de-force, jargon-free review of one of the most fascinating topics in modern science. In search of the answers, we trace a star from its birth to its death throes, take a hypothetical journey to the border of a black hole and beyond, spend time with some of the world's leading theoretical physicists and astronomers, and take a whimsical look at some of the wild ideas black holes have inspired. Prisons of Light - Black Holes is comprehensive and detailed. Yet Kitty Ferguson's lightness of touch and down-to-earth analogies set this book apart from all others on black holes and make it a wonderfully stimulating and entertaining read.

Prologue
1. A cosmic case of burnout
2. Matters of gravity: Newton and Einstein
3. The capture of light
4. Tripping the theoretical fantastic
5. Crossing the bar
6. Contemplating an enormous nothing
7. Evidence in the case
8. Hearts of darkness
9. The search goes on
10. Passages into the labyrinth
11. Black hole legends and far out ideas
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Popular astronomy & space [WNX]