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Exotic entities such as dark matter—the invisible material thought to make up about 27 percent of the universe—do not seem to have any direct impact on our lives here on Earth. But physicist Randall pokes a hole in that notion by proposing that a rogue disk of weird dark matter might have been responsible for aiming the comet that scientists suspect hit Earth and killed our planet's dinosaurs 66 million years ago. To examine the plausibility of that scenario, Randall's book traverses many scientific fields, including chemistry, planetary science and cosmology. Guided by her theory about the dinosaurs' demise, the author explores the often unappreciated connections between the tiniest particles right under our noses and the vastest structures that rule the universe. (Randall serves on the magazine's board of advisers.)
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