Book review: The Five Ages of the Universe, by F. Adams and G. Laughlin

Adams and Laughlin (1999) propose that the history of the Universe (past and future) be classified into five periods, not unlike geologic eras, based on what we've learned from physics and cosmology so far. These eras include the primordial era, the stelliferous era (in which we now live), the degenerate era, the black hole era, and the dark era. Much of this is an extrapolation of our physics into the far future of the Universe, and is thus somewhat speculative. The authors propose a Copernican time principle, which states that the era in which we humans find ourselves is not a privileged one in the history of the Universe. (Copernicus earlier showed the our location (Earth) is not a special one in the solar system.)

Reference

Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin, 1999: The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity. New York: Free Press.