Publisher's Synopsis
This book is about the cosmology of a universe that is infinite in time and space. To support the concept of such a universe, one needs to abandon the notion of an infinite range of gravitational interaction. And, one needs to dehumanize classical physics at the fundamental level, which involves the acceptance of two kinds of laws in physics: the laws of nature that exist independent of the human mind; and the physical laws that are invented by physicists and exist in the human mind only. Those two notions allow for the development of a cosmological model of the universe that is cogent and simple. They also enable the explanation of some of the most notable mysteries in physics, such as the constancy of the speed of light, the ratio of the magnitude of the electrostatic force to the gravity force for elementary particles, the origin of the force of inertia, and the presence and motion of gravitational energy. Those explanations support the concept of an infinite universe, which is very old. (It dates back to at least the ancient Greeks.) What is new in this book is the attempt to base the cosmology of the universe primarily on logical reasoning and the fundamentals of physics rather than observations, which may be subject to bias interpretations.- -"The Standard Cosmological Model, or Big Bang model, is currently the most widely accepted theory of how the universe is structured. Szymanski, however, argues for a different one, based on the idea that the universe is infinite in time and space and therefore not expanding as the Big Bang model suggests. He achieves this conclusion by arguing that the underlying theories and mathematical laws that inform our current model of the universe are flawed, as they're human inventions that exist only in the mind. The fundamental laws of nature, he maintains, are simple and nonmathematical .... Szymanski challenges the current understanding of the range of gravitational interactions, photon energy and speed, the distribution of galaxies, and many other areas of cosmology. The vision of the universe he puts forth is a fixed one that would have been familiar to philosophers and astronomers of previous generations, but which has since fallen out of favor. The book is dense, by Szymanski's own admission: "I have attempted to design this book so that the cosmology of the infinite universe can be understood and appreciated by the curious non-specialist. That, however, does not mean that the book has become easy to read." It includes a glossary of scientific terms for novices, but this is no work of popular science, and some background in cosmology is recommended. Even so, the author's prose is clear and relatively easy to follow, so long as one is capable of keeping up with the highly complex concepts. Whether Szymanski's alternative model proves to be accurate or not, the book provides an illustration of how human understanding of the universe continues to evolve."-Kirkus Review