The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins
Just about everyone in the scientific community accepts the theory that our universe began in a "big bang"--but that theory leaves numerous unanswered questions about why the cosmos formed in just the manner we observe today. InThe Inflationary Universe,physicist Alan Guth recounts his and others' struggle to expound a theory that could plug the gaps. 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. With the perspective that only a first-person account could provide,The Inflationary Universesheds light on a leading theory in humankind's continuing quest to understand the universe we live in.