Gravity from the ground up: an introductory guide to gravity and general relativity

Preface
1. Gravity on Earth: the inescapable force
2. And then came Newton: gravity takes center stage
3. Satellites: what goes up doesn't always come down
4. The Solar System: a triumph for Newtonian gravity
5. Tides and tidal forces: the real signature of gravity
6. Interplanetary travel: the cosmic roller-coaster
7. Atmospheres: keeping planets covered
8. Gravity in the Sun: keeping the heat on
9. Reaching for the stars: the emptiness of outer space
10. The colors of stars: why they are black (bodies)
11. Stars at work: factories for the Universe
12. Birth to death: the life cycle of the stars
13. Binary stars: tidal forces on a huge scale
14. Galaxies: atoms in the Universe
15. Physics near the speed of light: Einstein stands on Galileo's shoulders
16. Relating to Einstein: logic and experiment in relativity
17. Spacetime geometry: finding out what is not relative
18. Einstein's gravity: the curvature of spacetime in the Solar System
19. Einstein's recipe: fashioning the geometry of gravity
20. Neutron stars: laboratories of strong gravity
21. Black holes: gravity's one-way street
22. Gravitational waves: gravity speaks
23. Gravitational lenses: bringing the Universe into focus
24. Cosmology: the study of everything
25. Big Bang: the seed from which we grew
26. Einstein's Universe: the geometry of cosmology
27. Ask the Universe: cosmic questions at the frontiers of gravity
Appendix A. Useful constants: values used in this book
Appendix B. Background: what you need to know before you start.

This book invites the reader to understand our Universe, not just marvel at it. From the clock-like motions of the planets to the catastrophic collapse of a star into a black hole, gravity controls the Universe. Gravity is central to modern physics, helping to answer the deepest questions about the nature of time, the origin of the Universe and the unification of the forces of nature. Linking key experiments and observations through careful physical reasoning, the author builds the reader's insight step-by-step from simple but profound facts about gravity on Earth to the frontiers of research. Topics covered include the nature of stars and galaxies, the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, black holes, gravitational waves, inflation and the Big Bang. Suitable for general readers and for undergraduate courses, the treatment uses only high-school level mathematics, supplemented by optional computer programs, to explain the laws of physics governing gravity.

Highly accessible introduction to astronomy and general relativity
Imaginative use of high-school mathematics and computer programs to explain deep physics
Tied to a website providing programs, solutions to exercises and other useful resources


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