Only six numbers. The main forces shaping the Universe

In the book by world-renowned astrophysicist and member of the Royal Astronomical Society Sir Martin Rees, the fundamental forces governing our Universe are described. The author argues that the expanding Universe can be defined by just six numbers: N, e, l, Q, D, each of which plays a special and crucial role in its evolution, and together they determine its development and potential possibilities. Two of them are related to the fundamental forces; the other two determine the size and overall structure of the Universe and indicate whether it will exist forever; the last two speak of the properties of the Universe itself. If any of them were even slightly different, there would be no stars and life could not exist. We might have emerged — and exist now — only in a Universe with the right combination of these fundamental numbers. Therefore, the awareness of this provides a completely new perspective on the Universe and our place in it, as well as on the very nature of physical laws. Martin Rees has managed to describe the key concepts of cosmology, which is rapidly developing and is now at the forefront of science, in an accessible language without using complex mathematical apparatus.