Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature (2000)(en)(288s)

Eric J. Chaisson9780674003422, 0-674-00342-X

We are connected to distant space and time not only by our imaginations but also through a common cosmic heritage. Emerging now from modern science is a unified scenario of the cosmos, including ourselves as sentient beings, based on the time-honored concept of change. From galaxies to snowflakes, from stars and planets to life itself, we are beginning to identify an underlying ubiquitous pattern penetrating the fabric of all the natural sciences – a sweepingly encompassing view of the order and structure of every known class of object in our richly endowed universe.This is the subject of Eric Chaisson’s new book. In Cosmic Evolution Chaisson addresses some of the most basic issues we can contemplate: the origin of matter and the origin of life, and the ways matter, life, and radiation interact and change with time. Guided by notions of beauty and symmetry, by the search for simplicity and elegance, by the ambition to explain the widest range of phenomena with the fewest possible principles, Chaisson designs for us an expansive yet intricate model depicting the origin and evolution of all material structures. He shows us that neither new science nor appeals to nonscience are needed to understand the impressive hierarchy of the cosmic evolutionary story, from quark to quasar, from microbe to mind.

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Table of contents :
COSMIC EVOLUTION……Page 1
Contents……Page 5
Preface……Page 7
Overview of Cosmic Evolution……Page 11
The Arrow of Time……Page 13
No Anthropocentric Agenda……Page 16
Rise of Complexity……Page 22
Summary of Cosmic Evolution……Page 25
Thermodynamics……Page 26
Equilibrium……Page 33
Order and Disorder……Page 34
Open Systems……Page 36
Time Revisited……Page 39
Quantum Principles……Page 44
Chance and Probability……Page 46
Statistical Principles……Page 52
Maxwell's Demon……Page 56
Information Theory……Page 57
Dissipative Structures……Page 60
The Case of Water Formation……Page 78
The Case of an Emerging Star……Page 80
The Case of Cell Metabolism……Page 84
Summary of the Nature of Change……Page 88
Galaxy Recession……Page 89
Cosmological Models……Page 93
Two Useful Notes……Page 98
Evolution of Cosmic Density……Page 99
Age of Controversy……Page 103
Summary of Chapter One……Page 109
Cosmic Background Radiation……Page 111
Evolution of Cosmic Temperature……Page 115
Descriptive Narrative of Universal History……Page 116
Comparison of Energy Densities……Page 126
Summary of Chapter Two……Page 130
03| LIFE……Page 131
Diverging Temperatures……Page 133
More on Information, Entropy, and Negentropy……Page 137
Free Energy Rate Density……Page 142
Summary of Chapter Three……Page 155
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DISCUSSION| Evolution, Broadly Considered……Page 158
Evolution: A Physical Perspective……Page 162
Evolution: A Biological Perspective……Page 179
Evolution: A Cultural Perspective……Page 203
Summary: A Cosmic Perspective……Page 217
EPILOGUE| A Grand Synthesis……Page 219
Frequently Asked Questions……Page 223
Symbols and Numerical Constants……Page 237
Glossary……Page 239
Prologue……Page 249
01| Matter……Page 250
02| Radiation……Page 252
03| Life……Page 260
Discussion……Page 265
Works Cited……Page 268
Further Reading……Page 275
Index……Page 281
About the Author……Page 285