The Cosmic Cocktail - (Science Essentials) by Katherine Freese (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The inside story of the epic quest to solve the mystery of dark matter

The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe--from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars--constitute only 5 percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The rest is known as dark matter and dark energy, because their precise identities are unknown. The Cosmic Cocktail is the inside story of the epic quest to solve one of the most compelling enigmas of modern science--what is the universe made of?--told by one of today's foremost pioneers in the study of dark matter.

Blending cutting-edge science with her own behind-the-scenes insights as a leading researcher in the field, acclaimed theoretical physicist Katherine Freese recounts the hunt for dark matter, from the discoveries of visionary scientists like Fritz Zwicky--the Swiss astronomer who coined the term "dark matter" in 1933--to the deluge of data today from underground laboratories, satellites in space, and the Large Hadron Collider. Theorists contend that dark matter consists of fundamental particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. Billions of them pass through our bodies every second without us even realizing it, yet their gravitational pull is capable of whirling stars and gas at breakneck speeds around the centers of galaxies, and bending light from distant bright objects. Freese describes the larger-than-life characters and clashing personalities behind the race to identify these elusive particles.

Many cosmologists believe we are on the verge of solving the mystery. The Cosmic Cocktail provides the foundation needed to fully fathom this epochal moment in humankind's quest to understand the universe.

From the Back Cover

"The Cosmic Cocktail provides a complete guide to the dark side--the unknown stuff that makes up most of the universe yet hides its identity so well that scientists don't even know what they're seeking. The search takes us into extra dimensions and black holes, orbiting satellites and South Pole ice, even tracking chambers stuffed with strands of DNA. It's a wild ride, and cosmologist Freese is just the person to guide us. Negotiating a Stockholm stairway in a ball gown and laurel wreath or learning to manage men by cocktail waitressing, she reminds us that interesting women are a key ingredient in the cosmic scientific mix."--K. C. Cole, author of Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and His Astonishing Exploratorium

"Freese tells her trailblazing and very personal story of how the worlds of particle physics and astronomy have come together to unveil the mysterious ingredients of the cosmic cocktail that we call our universe."--Brian Schmidt, 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Australian National University

"As one of the pioneers in the hunt for dark matter, Freese weaves together tales of her own adventures in cosmology with the broader history of this historic quest. Her book elegantly conveys both the underlying science and the excitement of discovery."--David Spergel, Princeton University

"Katherine Freese has long been a major player in the quest to discover dark matter's identity. She tells her story with an insider's perspective--the perspective of the dark matter hunter."--Dan Hooper, author of Dark Cosmos: In Search of Our Universe's Missing Mass and Energy

"I enjoyed reading this book. Its unique blend of personal anecdote and cutting-edge research is entertaining and refreshing. Freese is a very well-known and respected scholar in the field."--Juan I. Collar, University of Chicago

Review Quotes

"[I]f you have some science background and want to improve your overall understanding of the Universe without reaching for a textbook, this could be just the thing."---Ruth Angus, BBC Focus Magazine

"Check out The Cosmic Cocktail to get an exciting look at the forefront of astrophysics!"-- "Astro Guyz"

"Freese . . . tells a lively personal tale of her trajectory through the world of science. . . . You end up thinking that being a physicist is certainly important and definitely difficult--but it could also be a lot of fun."---Nancy Szokan, Washington Post

"Freese is not the first scientist to delve into the mysteries of cosmology with a popular science book, but she seems to have the most fun doing it. It's as if she's sitting at a bar describing the cool stuff she studies every day. . . . Interspersed with explanations chock-full of historical figures, numbers and acronyms are valuable insights into the human side of science."-- "Science News"

"Freese mixes a stiff drink, but it goes down smoothly."---Lisa Messeri, Journal for the History of Astronomy

"Freese successfully treads the line between assuming too much of her readers and missing out key aspects of the story to simplify it. . . . [She] gives context and insight into a complex and fast-moving field."---Nicky Guttridge, BBC Sky at Night

"Freese's extensive research in this field, and her familiarity with many of the other key researchers in dark matter, helps give The Cosmic Cocktail a human touch: she sprinkles into the book anecdotes from her own career and meetings with other scientists throughout."---Jeff Foust, Space Review

"Freese's writing style interweaves anecdotes from her personal life with the scientific explanations. . . . Especially on the topic of dark-matter detection, the book provides a valuable, nontechnical, and up-to-date overview."---Sabine Hossenfelder, Physics Today

"In The Cosmic Cocktail, Professor Katie Freese offers a gripping first-person account of her life as a cosmologist. The recipe? Part memoir, part tutorial, part social commentary. Shaken, not stirred."---Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, host of the television series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

"In prose as in life, Katherine Freese is never boring. . . . Clear and accessible . . . The Cosmic Cocktail is an excellent primer for the intrigued generalist, or for those who have spent too much time in particle-physics labs and want to catch up on what cosmologists are up to."---Francis Halzen, Nature

"It's a very powerful book."---Pranav Sharma, Yash Pal Centre for Science and Technology

"Physicist Katherine Freese drinks deep of her life's adventures and cosmic mysteries alike in her captivatingly frank book The Cosmic Cocktail. Why do tales of major scientific endeavours, told from the viewpoint of a single participant, rarely make captivating reading? Frankly, because few scientists are that interesting to the general public, and fewer still possess the trick of passionate engagement. Luckily, The Cosmic Cocktail is an exception. . . . The Cosmic Cocktail is a refreshingly honest account of a frontier field where the author's enthusiasm and sense of fun shine through every page."---Marcus Chown, New Scientist

"The story is fascinating, well told, and the balance, I think, is just right. This is a rapidly developing field of research."---Anthony Toole, Amazon.co.uk

"This book blends two rather different flavours. . . . First is the enormous excitement of working on a front-line problem in science. . . . The other is the great fun Katie has had, and continues to have, being a female physicist. . . . A number of other front-line particle physicists, cosmologists and so forth have also written up their versions of the dark matter story. . . . But none of the other accounts I've read is more fun than The Cosmic Cocktail."---Virginia Trimble, Times Higher Education

"This is an important and thought-provoking book."---Shawn Donnan, Financial Times

"This new book covers in clear prose the fundamental knowledge underlying the present stage of dark matter physics. Anecdotes on the history of cosmology, including also adventures of the author, turn the book into an enjoyable reading."---Claudia-Veronika Meister, Zentralblatt MATH

About the Author

Katherine Freese is director of Nordita, the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Stockholm, and professor of physics at the University of Michigan.