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	4. The Big Bang Books		Navigate sections: 1. Cosmology 2. Life on other planets 3. Parallel universes 4. The Big Bang 5. Our fate 6. Credits
	The First Three Minutes: A modern view of the origin of the universe by Steven Weinberg (Basic Books, 1993) This classic of contemporary science writing by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist explains to general readers what happened when the universe began. The Big Bang is presented as a three-minute film, which is repeatedly paused to allow readers to see what’s going on. Get this book
	The Inflationary Universe: Quest for a new theory of cosmic origins by Alan Guth (Vintage, 1998) Most of the scientific community accepts the theory that our universe began in a Big Bang. But physicist Guth recounts his and others' struggle to accept this view. The outcome is a theory of ‘inflation’ that postulates that the universe underwent an incomprehensibly large expansion in the first fraction of a microsecond of its existence. His book sheds light on a leading theory in humankind's continuing quest to understand the universe we live in. Get this book
	The Life of the Cosmos by Lee Smolin (Oxford University Press, 1999) Smolin offers a theory of the universe that is radically different from anything proposed before. He departs from contemporary physicists to explore the idea that the laws of nature we observe may be the partial result of a process of natural selection that occurred before the Big Bang. Get this book
	Websites Big Bang cosmology primer http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/IUP/Big_Bang_Primer.html Clear explanations of the current Big Bang view of the universe with some good graphics. The site content comes from Berkeley University in California. Big Bang theory under fire http://nowscape.com/big-ban2.htm William C Mitchell looks at the Big Bang and ‘Inflation’ theories in this article, published in Physics Essays in 1997. He concludes that both theories are problematic and contain logical inconsistencies. The hot Big Bang theory http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1997/ph410/l1.html Straight-talking description of the Big Bang theory with background information and charts. The Official String Theory Web Site www.superstringtheory.com/ Superb site by physicist Patricia Schwarz who includes audio interviews with string theorists, gives a tour of the Big Bang, a timeline, a history of string theory and black holes and runs a forum. The information is presented as either basic or advanced to cater for different levels of knowledge. < PREVIOUS PAGE \| 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| NEXT PAGE >