Lavinia reviewed Black hole blues by Janna Levin
Review of 'Black hole blues' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College, explores the LIGO project, from its humble beginnings, about forty years ago, as the dream of Rainer Weiss, to the years-long effort and dedicated work of Kip Thorne and Ron Drever, a trio that is also known as the troika, to its exciting and successful completion.
The book is a chronicle of gravitational waves, a monumental breakthrough in science which marks the beginning of a new era of gravitational wave astronomy. It came after decades of research, through a world-wide effort of thousands of scientists. It is also "a tribute to a quixotic, epic, harrowing experimental endeavor, a tribute to a fool’s ambition,"as described in the book.
It is equally divided between the science and the story of the people behind the endeavour, their dreams and their challenges, the failures and the clashes of huge egos, and the drama …
Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College, explores the LIGO project, from its humble beginnings, about forty years ago, as the dream of Rainer Weiss, to the years-long effort and dedicated work of Kip Thorne and Ron Drever, a trio that is also known as the troika, to its exciting and successful completion.
The book is a chronicle of gravitational waves, a monumental breakthrough in science which marks the beginning of a new era of gravitational wave astronomy. It came after decades of research, through a world-wide effort of thousands of scientists. It is also "a tribute to a quixotic, epic, harrowing experimental endeavor, a tribute to a fool’s ambition,"as described in the book.
It is equally divided between the science and the story of the people behind the endeavour, their dreams and their challenges, the failures and the clashes of huge egos, and the drama and the excitement they share. Levin avoids using technical jargon and difficult scientific concepts associated with black holes.
