The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life? (Cosmic Jackpot)
Cover
AuthorPaul Davies
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPhysics
PublisherPenguin Group
Publication date
2007
Media typePrint
Pages242
ISBN978-0-618-59226-5
OCLC70775587
523.1/2 22
LC ClassBS651 .D325 2007

Cosmic Jackpot, also published under the title The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?,[1] is a 2007 non-fiction book by physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies, describing the idea of a fine-tuned universe.

The Enigma

In Cosmic Jackpot, Davies argues that certain universal fundamental physical constants are precisely adjusted to make life in the Universe possible: that we have, in a sense, won a "cosmic jackpot," and that conditions are "just right" for life, as in The Story of the Three Bears. As Davies writes elsewhere, "There is now broad agreement among physicists and cosmologists that the universe is in several respects 'fine-tuned' for life."[2]

After explaining this enigma, Davies discusses possible solutions, such as the anthropic principle, the idea of a multiverse which contains many different universes (including our "just right" one), and the idea of intelligent design.

The Multiverse

Davies also discusses a number of other ideas connected with the "multiverse." Much like a pencil falling to the ground from its tip in a trade off of symmetry for stability, Davies writes that the Big Bang could have established a complex but stable universe (or multiverse) from symmetry breaking as the heat radiation in "space" lowered abruptly past the Curie Point.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Google Books: The Goldilocks Enigma
  2. ↑ Paul Davies, "How bio-friendly is the universe?" International Journal of Astrobiology, vol. 2, no. 2 (2003): 115.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.