Seven Wonders of the Universe that You Probably Took for Granted

Nonfiction

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SEVEN WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE THAT
YOU PROBABLY TOOK FOR GRANTED
By C. Renee James
240 pp. Johns Hopkins

Reviewed by Ruth Douillette

Live with something long enough and, let's face it, you take it for granted. This includes everything from spouses to the forces of the universe that support our very existence. No matter how wonderful something is, if you've experienced it a few times, it becomes “ho hum.” It's the way we are.

But do you remember a time of childlike curiosity? Why is the sky blue? Why don't we fall off the earth? Could we ever go back in time? In fact, what is time, exactly? When was the last time you gave anything beyond routine life a thought? C. Renee James hopes to rekindle the sense of wonder and awe we were all born with.

James, an associate professor of physics at Sam Houston State University in Texas, highlights seven topics: night, light, stuff, gravity, time, home, and wonder. Don't let the seemingly mundane subjects turn you away. They only seem “ho hum” because you take them for granted. Remember?

James's voice is perky and enthusiastic, and if you play along, she'll have you making a spectroscope or acting out scenarios for greater understanding. If, like me, you'd rather just read, that's fine. Her analogies and the accompanying sketches make scientific explanations clear. There is admittedly a “complete lack of formal scholarship, footnoting, and detailed bibliography,” but that's what makes the content so accessible. And did I mention, James is funny? She has a knack for the humorous aside.

It is particularly interesting to read in the chapter called “Home” all the events that occurred in just such a way to support the diverse life we have on Earth. Some we already know, of course--the earth's tilt on its axis, its distance from the sun--but others, occurring over billions of years as the planets were forming, made Earth uniquely able to support human life. There's “a relative rarity of Earth-like worlds,” she writes.

Do “aliens” exist? “Maybe,” she says.

It wouldn't be crazy to think that some of those stars have planets that are home to something. …. If, on the other hand, the question is whether aliens with a slightly modified version of the human body … are hanging around Earth and periodically mutilating our cattle, I'd have to say “no.” For one thing, it seems a huge waste of their time. Seriously. They traipsed across vast interstellar distances to get here and do what? Play hide-and-seek with us and do bovine vivisections?

The section on Earth's tectonic plates is timely, considering the recent quake in Japan. James likens the molten core of the earth to a lava lamp where molten rock heated by the solid iron core at the center of the planet continually rises, cools, and sinks. This causes dangerous earthquakes, but creates “the constant crustal turnover that helps regulate what's in our atmosphere.”

Carbon dioxide is released as tectonic plates bump and grind, keeping CO2 levels and temperatures “pretty stable over millions of years,” James writes. One theory suggests that lack of plate motion on Venus created “its hellish conditions.” Despite the devastation quakes cause on Earth, perhaps without them life as we know it wouldn't exist.

James provides a satisfying and entertaining read for those of us who have a latent curiosity, for those who watch Nova or listen to Stephen Hawking and are still left scratching our heads, for those with curious children who demand more than “just because” in answer to their questions, and for science teachers looking for student-friendly explanations.

Seven Wonders isn't a “comprehensive dissertation on anything,” James writes, and she doesn't claim to have the mathematical intelligence of Einstein, but she has something he didn't: the ability to explain esoteric scientific theories and concepts so that you understand them. As she would say, “No, really! You will.”