Set in a revolutionary era of physics and science when a series of rapid-fire discoveries was upending our understanding of the universe, Splinters of Infinity by Mark Wolverton tells a little-known story- the tale of two of America's foremost physicists, Robert Millikan (1868-1953) and Arthur Compton (1892-1962), who found themselves locked in an intense, often deeply personal, conflict about cosmic rays. Confirmed in 1912, cosmic rays-enigmatic forms of penetrating radiation-seemed to raise all new questions about the origins of the universe, but they also offered the potential to explain everything-or reveal the existence of God.
In engaging, accessible prose, Wolverton takes the reader through the twists and turns of the Millikan-Compton debate, one of the first major public examples of how heated the controversies among scientists could become-and the lengths that scientists would go to settle their disputes. What set them apart, at least in most cases, Wolverton shows, was their ability to concentrate finally on what mattered- the science. Along the way, Wolverton probes the forever elusive question, still unanswered today, about where cosmic rays come from and what they reveal about black holes, distant galaxies, the existence of dark matter and dark energy, and the birth of the universe, concluding that these splinters of infinity may not hold the keys to the secret of creation but do bring us ever closer to it.
The riveting story of a modern age scientific feud between two Nobel Prize-winning scientists over the nature of cosmic rays and the universe.
Set in a revolutionary era of physics and science when a series of rapid-fire discoveries was upending our understanding of the universe, Splinters of Infinity by Mark Wolverton tells a little-known story- the tale of two of America's foremost physicists, Robert Millikan (1868-1953) and Arthur Compton (1892-1962), who found themselves locked in an intense, often deeply personal, conflict about cosmic rays. Confirmed in 1912, cosmic rays-enigmatic forms of penetrating radiation-seemed to raise all new questions about the origins of the universe, but they also offered the potential to explain everything-or reveal the existence of God.
In engaging, accessible prose, Wolverton takes the reader through the twists and turns of the Millikan-Compton debate, one of the first major public examples of how heated the controversies among scientists could become-and the lengths that scientists would go to settle their disputes. What set them apart, at least in most cases, Wolverton shows, was their ability to concentrate finally on what mattered- the science. Along the way, Wolverton probes the forever elusive question, still unanswered today, about where cosmic rays come from and what they reveal about black holes, distant galaxies, the existence of dark matter and dark energy, and the birth of the universe, concluding that these splinters of infinity may not hold the keys to the secret of creation but do bring us ever closer to it.
By:
Mark Wolverton
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780262048828
ISBN 10: 0262048825
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 09 April 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
CONTENTS PRELUDE: SHAKING HANDS WITH MUSSOLINI 1 1 “A VERY INTERESTING DISCUSSION” 5 2 THE PENETRATING RADIATION 15 3A ONENESS ABOUT THE WHOLE OF NATURE 27 4 THE DIN OF BATTLE 39 5 CHALLENGERS 53 6 MOUNTAINEERS, FLIERS, AND SAVANTS 65 7 TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS 79 8 GLOBETROTTING 93 9 SKYSCRAPING 107 10 THROWING THE GAUNTLET 115 11 THE GATHERING FORCES 129 12 HIGH NOON IN ATLANTIC CITY 141 13 HOORAY FOR THE COSMIC RAYS 153 14 FALLING AND RISING 167 15 RISING AND FALLING 181 16 CREATION AND ANNIHILATION 193 17 QUARRELS IN THE FAMILY 203 18 A SORT OF PEACE 221 POSTLUDE: THE UNITY OF ALL CREATION 231 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 235 NOTES 237 BIBLIOGRAPHY 259 INDEX 263
Mark Wolverton is the author of Nuclear Weapons (MIT Press); Burning the Sky- Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space; A Life in Twilight- The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer; The Depths of Space- The Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes; and The Science of Superman.
