"From Aristotle to Newton, Einstein and quantum mechanics, Introducing the Universe recounts the revolutions in physics and astronomy that underlie the present-day scientific picture of the Universe. It describes the scale of things, from atoms to galactic superclusters, and sketches the cosmological theories, based on Einstein's general relativity, used to describe the Universe's expansion. The book also discusses the significance of the cosmic background satellite observations, and explains why current theories have nothing reliable to say about whether the Universe had a 'beginning'."--BOOK JACKET.