Cosmic Heritage: Evolution from the Big Bang to Conscious Life

277 Pages·2011·2.892 MB·English

by  Peter Shaver (auth.)

Cosmic Heritage
.
Peter Shaver
Cosmic Heritage
Evolution from the Big Bang
to Conscious Life
Dr.PeterShaver
SydneyandToronto
[email protected]
ISBN978-3-642-20260-5 e-ISBN978-3-642-20261-2
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-20261-2
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011932248
# Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg,2011
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To Jenny, Nikki and Adam
.
Contents
1 SettingtheScene ................................................... 1
2 TheUniverseIsExpandingandEvolving ........................ 17
3 What’stheMatter? ................................................ 35
4 InnerandOuterSpace ............................................. 43
5 TheOriginofOurUniverse–andOthers? ...................... 55
6 IsOurUniverseFine-TunedforLife? ............................ 65
7 TheUniverseonFastForward .................................... 71
8 TheCradlesofLife ................................................ 81
9 TheAstonishingDiversityofLife ................................ 89
10 TheAstonishingUnityofLife ................................... 97
11 HowDidLifeBegin? ............................................. 105
12 HowDidLifeEvolve? ............................................ 117
13 ComingsandGoings ............................................. 137
14 DidCognitionEvolve? ........................................... 153
15 WhatAboutConsciousness? .................................... 179
16 AreWeSpecial? ................................................... 197
17 AreWeAloneintheUniverse? ................................. 203
18 WhatIstheFutureoftheUniverse? ............................ 225
19 WhyShouldWeBeAbletoUnderstand
theUniverseAtAll? ............................................. 229
Epilogue ................................................................ 243
FurtherReading ....................................................... 247
Acknowledgements ................................................... 255
AbouttheAuthor ..................................................... 257
Index ................................................................... 259
vii
.
1. Setting the Scene
Our connections to the early universe are profound. The universe
and its contents have evolved continuously all the way from the
Big Bang to the present, and this has made us what we are today.
We are part of the universe. This is our Cosmic Heritage.
The very matter we’re made of comes from the earliest
moments of the universe. The physical laws that govern our
universe were there from the start. At one stage darkness turned
into light, as stars and galaxies formed. When we now look out
into the universe we look back into the past, so we can readily
followthehistoryoftheuniversebyobservinggalaxies–beadson
thestringoftime.
The elements are constantly being brewed up in stars, and
have accumulated over the aeons. The continuing process of star
formation led to by-products such as planets, many of which
may be suitable habitats for life. Organic molecules formed in
the surrounding space. The scene became primed for life.
OurEarthisoneofthoseplanets,andlifeemergedarelatively
short time after the Earth was formed. Over the history of the
planetagreatmanyspecieshavetakentheirturn.Morethan99%
of them eventually became extinct, but they are always being
replacedbynewly-evolvedspecies.
We have come to realize that all living things on Earth,
including ourselves, are members of one single family. And that
life itself is just based on ‘information’. This information is the
code of life, common to all life forms, from bacteria to us. It is
written and saved in our genomes. The atoms and molecules of
whichwearemademaycomeandgo,buttheinformationwritten
in our genomes remains with us forever.
Brains have evolved as much as anything else in our bodies,
and our brains happen to have become exceptional. As a result,
at the moment we humans are dominant on this planet, and
P.Shaver,CosmicHeritage,DOI10.1007/978-3-642-20261-2_1, 1
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