Cycles of Time: An Extraordinary New View of the Universe

WhatcamebeforetheBigBang?Howdidtheuniversebeginandmustitinevitablyend?InthisremarkablebookRogerPenrosebrilliantlyilluminatessomeofthedeepestmysteriesoftheuniverse.CyclesofTimecontainsapenetratinganalysisofthesecondlawofthermodynamics-accordingtowhichthe'randomness'ofourworldiscontinuallyincreasing-andathoroughexaminationofthelight-conegeometryofspace-time.Itcombinesthesetwocentralthemestoshowhowtheexpectedultimatefateofouraccelerating，expandinguniversecanactuallybereinterpretedasthe'bigbang'ofanewone.Presentingvariousstandardandnon-standardcosmologicalmodels，discussingblackholesindepthaswellastakingintheroleofthecosmicmicrowavebackgroundalongtheway，RogerPenrosearguesthattheBigBangwasnotactuallythebeginningofeverything-norwillitsignaltheend.Originalandcompelling，CyclesofTimeoffersnewanswerstotheultimatequestionsoflife.