by Marcus Chown
mutual 10, 20
Ford, Kenneth 244
Fourier, Joseph 249
Franklin, Benjamin 224
Fraunhofer telescope 69
Freundlich, Erwin 147
Friedmann, Aleksandr 162–3
fusion, nuclear 233
Galilean moons 16, 60
Galilei, Galileo 9, 13–14, 16, 18, 41, 59, 74, 96, 105, 108, 120–2, 228
galaxy xvi, 64, 131, 159, 162–3, 167, 192, 197, 208, 210, 214, 216, 220–2, 226, 236
spiral 78–81, 236, 255
central bulge of 78
Galle, Johann 68–70, 74
gamma ray 248, 251
gamma ray burster 188
Gamow, George 25, 163–4, 167, 228
Ganymede 16, 61, 63, 83
gas, poison 137
Gauss, Carl Friedrich 135
Geograpbika 45
general theory of relativity (see relativity) geometry
Euclidean 135
non-Euclidean 135, 138
Geneva 46, 192–3, 231, 234
geon 244
George III, King 72
George’s star 72
geysers on Io 59–60
Germer, Lester 181
Gilbert, William 9–10, 41
Gladstone, William 240
Gleick, James 26, 34–5, 229
Global Positioning Satellites 127
gluon 190, 198, 253
Goldreich, Peter 133
God 7, 21, 25–26, 33–1, 152, 154
as a mathematician 13
Gödel, Kurt 189
Goodstein, David 26, 31, 229
Goodstein, Judith 26, 229
Göttingen 138
Gould, Benjamin Apthorp 224
Grantham 5–6, 24, 34
gravitational waves
direct detection of xvi, 131–4, 242
from the big bang 192, 209, 251
indirect detection of 134
nature of xvi, 130
prediction of xvi, 130
graviton 190, 197, 205, 207–8, 251
gravity viii
acceleration due to 241
as acceleration 121
as an illusion 117, 201
as warped space-time 117–72
Einstein’s theory of (see relativity, general theory)
force of xvi, 4, 12, 14–19, 24, 117, 121, 150, 161, 189, 197, 202, 226, 253
inverse-square law of 16, 18, 22, 28–31, 57, 66, 71, 108, 141–2, 153, 197, 229–30, 253, 255
irresistibleness of xv
Newton’s theory 3–27
repulsion of 81, 221, 255
universal law of 3–4, 7, 21–2, 24, 41–2, 70
weakness of 19, 207
Grayling, A. C. 20, 228
Great Collider 189
Great Fire of London 28
Greeks, ancient 6, 8–9, 21, 223
Green, J. 233
Green, Lucie 237
Green, Mike 206
Greene, Brian 202
Greene, Graham 104
Greenwich 148
Grossman, Marcel 135, 238
Haber, Fritz 137, 242
Haber-Bosch process 242
Habicht, Conrad 115, 140, 240, 243
Habitable Zone 64
Hadhazy, Adam 232
Haldane, J. B. S. 149–150
Halley, Edmond 26, 28–34, 108
Halley’s Comet 33
Haller, Friedrich 99, 118, 238
Hamilton, Andy 20
Hamlet 221
Hanford, Washington xvi, 131
Hawking radiation 210–11, 213, 253
Hawking, Stephen 109, 132, 152, 168, 209–12, 254
Heisenberg, Werner 180–1, 218, 248, 250
Heisenberg uncertainty principle 155–6, 187, 210, 244
helium 87, 233, 246–7
Here’s Looking at Euclid 135, 242
Herman, Robert 165
Herschel, Caroline 72, 234
Herschel, William 72
Hertz, Heinrich 96–7, 108, 174
hieroglyphics 95
Higgs field 46, 234
Higgs particle 46–7, 194, 196, 198, 234
Higgsino 252
Higgs, Peter 234
Hilbert, David 138–40, 143
Hipparchus 65–6, 227
Hiroshima 112
Hitler, Adolf 135
Holmdel, New Jersey 165
Homo erectus 38
Hooke, Robert 10, 15, 28–9, 108
Hooker Telescope 163
Hoyle, Fred 159, 246
Hubble, Edwin 162–3, 166
Hubble Space Telescope 64, 160
Huber, Matthew 58, 233
Hull, Chris 204
Hulse, Russell 134
Humason, Milton 163
hydraulic jump 38
hydrogen 19, 54, 77, 159, 164, 188, 190, 196, 203–4, 207, 221, 233–4, 242, 246–7, 255
hydrothermal vents 63
hyperbola 30
ice age 54
inertia 20, 47, 120, 129, 196, 240
infrared 76
International Astronomical Union 61
International Space Station 18
gravity at altitude of 18
interstellar space 234
Io 16, 59–61, 63–4
volcanoes of 59–60
iron 9, 114, 247
Jobs, Steve 4
Jordan, Pascual 181
Journal of the Plague Year 4, 225
Julius Caesar 39
Julius Caesar 230
Jupiter 7, 9, 16, 57, 59–63, 71, 73, 76–7, 81, 84–5, 88, 190, 227, 232, 235, 237
Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) 64
Kaku, Michio 117, 129, 241–2
Kaluza, Theodor 202
Kaluza-Klein theory 202
Keck Observatory 76
Kepler, Johannes 10–16, 28, 30–1, 41, 68, 71
Kepler space observatory 235
Kepler’s 1st law 10, 30
Kepler’s 2nd law 11–12, 15, 31
Kepler’s 3rd law 12, 16, 28, 31
Kerr, Roy 244
Keynes, John Maynard 35, 226, 229
Kidwai, Azim 229
Klein, Oskar 202
Knox, Elizabeth 3, 225
Kuiper Belt 61–2, 75–6
Kuiper Belt Object 62, 75
Lagrange, Joseph Louis 28
Lagrange point 57, 233
Lai, C. H 229
Lamb shift 188
Lamb, Willis 188
Landau, Lev 160
Large Electron-Positron Collider (also see LEP) 47
Large Hadron Collider (also see LHC) 46–7, 189, 192–4, 196, 198, 201, 203, 206, 223, 231, 234
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope 80, 236
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (see LIGO)
last scattering, epoch of 167
Late Heavy Bombardment 232
Law of Cat Inertia 14
laws of physics 98, 105, 113, 152, 213, 219, 252
as consequences of symmetries 206
invariance of 138–9, 144
mathematical nature of 22
simplicity of 21
Leavitt, Henrietta 246
Lego 164, 233, 245
Leibniz, Gottfried 175, 198, 228, 252
Leiden 145
Leighton, Robert 26, 238
Lemaître, Georges Abbé 162–3
LEP (also see Large Electron-Positron Collider)
lepton 196, 198, 201, 220
Lescarbault, Edmond Modeste 85–6
Levenson, Thomas 89, 150, 170, 243
Levin, Janna 131, 133, 150, 242
Le Verrier, Urbain 68–9, 72–4, 79, 82–7, 89, 141, 222, 234
LHC (also see Large Hadron Collider)
libration 232
light bulb 111, 175, 177–8
LIGO xvi, 131–1, 242
Ling, Steve 37
light
as electromagnetic wave 96
interference of 237, 248
measur
ement of speed of 227
polarisation of 238
speed of xvi, 47, 55
riding alongside a beam of 97–8
uncatchability of 93–116
wavelength of 95, 237
wave-like nature of 95, 237
Livingston, Louisiana xvi, 131,
Lockyer, Norman 87
lodestone 9–10
London 4, 6–7, 28–30, 32, 34, 52, 87, 149–50, 173, 204, 206, 237
loop quantum gravity 252
Lorentz factor 231, 239
Lorentz, Hendrik 142, 149, 239
Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction 104, 239
Luna 3 space probe 51
lunar eclipse 227–8
lunar laser ranging 233
Lunokhod 1 55, 233
Lunar Prospector probe 49
Lunar Reconnaissance Observer 233
Lusitania 144
lymph glands 7
M-theory 204, 206–7
Madras 86
magnetism, force of 10, 20–2, 95–6, 113, 200, 215, 223, 237–8
magnetite 9
Maldacena, Juan 214–17, 254
Mallorca 53
Manin, Yuri Ivanovitch 112
Many Worlds interpretation of quantum theory 249
mare basins 49, 232
Marić, Mileva 98–100, 118, 136–7
Mars 7–8, 57, 73, 82–3, 85, 234
mass
as a form of energy 46, 81, 111, 129, 143, 200, 208, 221, 231, 243
gravitational 121
inertial 121
rest 112, 243
mass-energy 46, 81, 111, 129, 143, 200, 208, 221, 231, 243
mathematics, unreasonable effectiveness of 226
matrix mechanics 181
Mauna Kea, Hawail 76
Maxwell, James Clerk 21, 95–6, 98, 101, 108, 173–7, 215, 223–1
Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism 95, 97–8, 101, 110, 169–70, 173–6, 183, 193, 204, 215, 223^1, 238
Mediterranean sea 39–40, 43, 65, 232
Melbourne 86
Mercury 7, 61, 73, 82–9, 234
precession of the perihelion of xvii, 84–5, 138–42, 169, 222
meson 252–3
Michelangelo 31
Michelson, Albert 116, 239
Michelson-Morley experiment 239
microorganisms 58, 64
migration, planetary 38–9, 88
migrations, prehistoric 230
Milgrom, Mordehai 236, 255
Milky Way 78–81, 88, 160, 163, 189, 192, 226, 235
rotation period of 226
Minkowski, Hermann 109, 125–6
Minsterworth, Gloucester hire 36
Misner, Charles 240
Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) 236, 255
molecule 100, 103, 112, 247
momentum
linear 14, 155, 202, 217, 240, 243, 250, 254
angular 54, 55, 184–7, 226, 232–3
MOND (see Modified Newtonian Dynamics)
moon
acceleration of 19
birth of 57
braking of rotation of 51
distance of 18–19
falling of 16–19
full 39–40, 44, 94, 231
mountains of 9
new 40, 44, 47
orbital period of 18, 43
tilt of orbital plane of 230
recession of 55, 58
tidal locking of rotation of 51
moonquakes 48–51
Monroe, Marilyn 224
Morley, Edward 239
Mount Everest 23, 134, 159, 223
Mount Olympus 86
Mount Wilson 163
Morabito, Linda 59
Muir, Hazel 229
multiverse 204
Munich, lighting of city centre of 118
muon 102–3, 199, 252
Nagasaki 112
NASA 50, 57, 59, 62–4, 160, 236
Nature 165
Neptune 62, 75–6, 81, 86
discovery of 70, 74, 79, 83, 89, 225
prediction of xvii, 69, 72, 74, 82, 222
Nernst, Walther 136
neutralino 252
neutrino
electron- 199
muon-199
tau-199
neutron 159, 196, 199–200, 252
discovery of 158–9
neutron star 134, 158–60
Newcomb, Simon 87, 142–3, 243
Newton, Isaac
birth of 5
bullying of 24
power of concentration of 11–12
death of 25
grandparents of 5
fury of 5
half-siblings of 5
loneliness of 5
feuding of 25
mother of 5
possible autism of 28, 229
uncle of 6
Newton’s apple
connection with moon 17–18
falling 17–18, 241
story of fall of 3–4
Newton’s laws of motion 13, 31, 97–8, 211
New Horizons space probe 62
New York City 49, 131–3, 165–6, 173, 202
New York Post 228
New York Times 242
nitrogen 24
nitrogen glaciers 62
Nobel prize 32, 81, 99, 134, 154, 166, 178, 181, 188, 212, 242, 245, 252
Nöether, Emmy 206
non-locality (see also entanglement) 184–5, 215–17
Norris, Woody ix
North Pole 66, 135
Novikov, Igor 102, 239
nucleosynthesis 163, 246
stellar 164, 247
nuclear explosion 164
nuclear force, strong 159, 190, 196, 198, 200, 202
nuclear force, weak 161, 189–90, 196, 198, 202
nuclear reactor 173, 223
nucleus (see atomic nucleus)
Oberg, B. 256
Olympia Academy 240
Orgères-en-Beauce 85–6
On the Origin of Species 237
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres 8
Oort, Jan 79–80
Opticks 229
optics, law of 7, 113, 229
orbital velocity 79, 233
oxygen 63, 182–3, 247, 249
Overbye, Dennis 116, 143, 151, 242–3
Pacific Ocean 58
Padua 16, 74
Pais, Abraham 99, 116, 151, 238, 243
parabola 30–1
parallax 232
Pasadena 31, 75, 79, 133, 206, 212, 228
Patch, Blanche 229
Pauli Exclusion Principle 156, 196, 245
Pauli, Wolfgang 248
Paris observatory 69, 74, 82, 86
Philosophic Naturalis Principia Mathematical 27, 31–33, 35, 41, 129, 229, 233, 242
Pekeris, Chaim Leib 45–6, 231
Pemphigus vulgaris 153
Penzias, Arno 165–7
Penrose, Roger 109, 152, 167–8, 249
perihelion 82
precession of 83–4
phone, mobile xvii
photoelectric effect 178, 248
photon 164, 167, 177–80, 190, 198, 233, 240, 243, 248–9, 252
photino 252
photosphere 237
pigeon droppings 165
Piaf, Edith 149, 243
Pisa, Leaning Tower of 120–1
Pisces, constellation of 65
plague
bacterium 7
bubonic xviii, 4, 6, 7, 10, 225
buboes of 6
pits 7
year xviii, 4, 10, 225
Planck, Max 136, 175–7, 180, 189, 219, 222, 240, 251
Planck energy 192, 194
Plank’s constant 177
Planck length 189, 192, 194, 197, 203, 212, 251
Planck satellite 81
planet 223
dwarf 61–2, 75–6, 237
extrasolar 76
gas giant 57, 59–61, 64, 76, 84, 88, 235
Planet Nine 75�
��6
planets
elliptical orbits of 10, 11, 15, 30–1, 67, 71–3, 128–9, 141, 229
perihelion precession rates of 84
retrograde motion of 8
plate tectonics 58
Plato 6, 97
Plato crater 49
Plesch, Janos 137
Pluto 54, 56, 61–2, 75–6
Podolsky, Boris 216, 254
Pope, Alexander 33
Polaris 66
Poseidonios 45–6
positron 47, 187, 198, 231
post-glacial rebound 54
posthumous child 5
potassium 62
Potsdam 152
Pound, Robert 127
Pratchett, Terry 161, 245
Principia, The (see Philosophic Naturalis Principia Mathematica)
Princip, Gavrilo 147–8
Principe 147–9
prism 235
proton 19, 47, 158–9, 190, 196, 199–200, 207, 231, 233–4, 252
Prussian academy 137, 139–41, 143
pulsar 134, 244
binary 134
discovery of 159, 245
Pytheas 39–40, 42, 44
quantum computer 249
quantum
foam 188
gravity 197, 197, 224, 251–2
interference 183–7
scattering 183
spin 184–5, 195–8, 201, 205, 231, 245, 251–2
superposition 182–6, 249, 252
theory xvii, 21, 155, 157, 169, 173–95, 197–9, 203–5, 207, 212–16, 218–23, 247–9, 252, 255
unpredictability 179, 184–6, 234
vacuum 250–1
weirdness 183
quark 200, 252
anti- 200, 252
bottom- 199
charmed- 199
down-199
impossibility of isolated 200 strange- 199
top-199
up-199
quark-gluon plasma 253
quasar 188
Raby, 1.1.199
radioactivity 62, 89, 115
radio waves 134, 164–5, 238
discovery of 96, 174
prediction of 223
radio horn 165
radio station 213
radio transmitter 244
Randall, Lisa 207–8, 253
Rawlings, Wyoming 87
Rebka, Glen 127
reductionism 201
red giant star 54, 59
regolith 49, 232
relativistic aberration 239
relativistic beaming 239
relativity
Galilean 105
general theory of xvii, 113, 115, 116–73, 189–91, 193, 209, 197–8, 203, 205, 212–2, 239, 243–4, 252, 254–5
principle of 105–6, 239
special theory of 93–116, 120, 122, 125, 138–85, 194–5, 197–9, 203–4 206–7, 214, 219, 223, 231, 237, 239, 247,
252
Riemann, Bernhard 135
Riess, Adam 221
Roddenberry, Gene 82
Römer, Ole Christensen 227
Röntgen, Wilhelm 174
Rosen, Nathan 216, 254
Rosenthal-Schneider, Use 243
Rothenberg, Jess 241
Rothman, Tony 251
Royal Astronomical Society 149
Royal Mint 34
