Helge Stjernholm Kragh Knihy

This biography explores the life and achievements of Dirac, a remarkable physicist renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to quantum mechanics. It delves into his intellectual journey, highlighting his unique approach to physics and the impact of his work on the scientific community. The narrative captures both his professional milestones and personal experiences, providing a comprehensive look at a man whose brilliance shaped modern physics.

The main focus of this book is on the interconnection of two unorthodox scientific ideas, the varying-gravity hypothesis and the expanding-earth hypothesis. As such, it provides a fascinating insight into a nearly forgotten chapter in both the history of cosmology and the history of the earth sciences. The hypothesis that the force of gravity decreases over cosmic time was first proposed by Paul Dirac in 1937. In this book the author examines in detail the historical development of Dirac’s hypothesis and its consequences for the structure and history of the earth, the most important of which was that the earth must have been smaller in the past.

The planet Venus is the closest neighbour to the Earth and in several respects similar to our globe. It revolves around the Sun at an average distance of 0. 72 astronomical units, in an elliptical orbit of eccentricity 0. 007. The corresponding 3 numbers for the Earth are 1 and 0. 017. The mean density of Venus is 5. 2 g/cm , 3 that of the Earth 5. 5 g/cm . Venus’ acceleration of gravity at its equator is 8. 9 2 2 m/s , compared with 9. 8 m/s at the Earth. The escape velocity is 10. 4 km/s, while the corresponding ? gure of the Earth is 11. 2 km/s. Although the mass of Venus is somewhat smaller than that of the Earth – the ratio is M /M =0. 815 V E – the diameters of the two planets are almost the same. In other words, Venus is indeed a sister planet of the Earth. In earlier times, when almost nothing was known about the physical con- tions of Venus, the similarity appeared even stronger than today. Not only was Venus’ period of rotation thought to be close to that of the Earth, it wasalso p- sible (and indeed common) to imagine intelligent life on Venus.

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of cosmic acceleration due to dark energy, a discovery that is all the more perplexing as nobody knows what dark energy actually is. We put the modern concept of cosmological vacuum energy into historical context and show how it grew out of disparate roots in quantum mechanics (zero-point energy) and relativity theory (the cosmological constant, Einstein's “greatest blunder”). These two influences have remained strangely aloof and still co-exist in an uneasy alliance that is at the heart of the greatest crisis in theoretical physics, the cosmological-constant problem.

The book explores the dramatic evolution of physics over the past century, highlighting the emergence of groundbreaking fields such as quantum mechanics, relativity, and cosmology. It illustrates how these advancements have reshaped our understanding of fundamental concepts like space and time, while also sparking a technological revolution that led to inventions like radio, television, and computers. Helge Kragh, a prominent historian of physics, provides a comprehensive overview of these significant scientific achievements and their impact on modern life.

The book explores the historical evolution of scientific cosmology from myth and philosophy to a physics-based discipline between 1920 and 1970. Helge Kragh delves into the emergence of the big bang theory, highlighting its empirical validation of long-held beliefs about the universe's origins. He details the controversies involving prominent scientists and the competition between the big bang and steady-state theories, illustrating the intellectual struggle over the concept of an evolving universe with a definitive beginning.

This book tells the fascinating history of cosmology using a series of fictitious interview transcripts with the field's leading scientists, including giants such as Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and George Gamow, to give the reader a lively and "almost authentic" impression of the problems that faced this early generation of cosmologists.

Focusing on the methodological and philosophical challenges in the history of science, this book provides a critical review of significant historiographical perspectives. It addresses key issues in historical writing across various disciplines, bridging general history with the history of science. The text explores early developments, theoretical frameworks, periodization, ideological roles, and historiographical conflicts. Additionally, it emphasizes the analysis of historical sources and the experimental reconstruction of history, making it a valuable resource for students and scholars in related fields.

1. How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe. Menas Kafatos, Rudolph E. Tanzi, and Deepak Chopra 2. Cosmological Foundations of Consciousness. Chris King 3. The Origin of the Modern Anthropic Principle. Helge Kragh 4. Consciousness in the Universe: Neuroscience, Quantum Space-Time Geometry. Roger Penrose, and Stuart Hameroff 5. What Consciousness Does: A Quantum Cosmology of Mind. Chris J. S. Clarke 6. Quantum Physics & the Multiplicity of Mind: Split-Brains, Fragmented Minds, Dissociation, Quantum Consciousness. R. Joseph 7. Logic of Quantum Mechanics and Phenomenon of Consciousness. Michael B. Mensky 8. Evolution of Paleolithic Cosmology and Spiritual Consciousness. R. Joseph 9. Alien Life and Quantum Consciousness, Randy D. Allen 10. Evolution of Consciousness in the Ancient Corners of the Cosmos. R. Joseph 11. How Consciousness Became the Universe R. Joseph 12. Cosmology and Psyche in the Classical World: Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Ptolemy, Nicholas Campion 13. Was There A Ptolemaic Revolution in Ancient Egyptian Astronomy? Nicholas Campion