Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
There is an ill-concealed skeleton in the closet of physics: "As they are currently formulated, general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot both be right." Each is exceedingly accurate in its field: general relativity explains the behavior of the universe at large scales, while quantum mechanics describes the behavior of subatomic particles. Yet the theories collide horribly under extreme conditions such as black holes or times close to the big bang. Brian Greene, a specialist in quantum field theory, believes that the two pillars of physics can be reconciled in superstring theory, a theory of everything.
Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate.
Though Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study is in many ways the human hero of The Elegant Universe, it is not a human-side-of-physics story. Greene's focus throughout is the science, and he gives the nonspecialist at least an illusion of understanding--or the sense of knowing what it is that you don't know. And that is traditionally the first step on the road to knowledge. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Much hype, great material for science fiction, but not convincing
Customer Rating:
Back in the early seventies I loved physics, but left it for a career working at cutting edge software R&D. I purchased this book to get up to date in the world of physics. I was very disappointed reading this book. The other did a valient attempt to introduce the reader to the subject without the math. The problem is with the subject matter, or at least how it was presented. The theory may be elegant, but has no real experimental proof. From reading this book, I got the impression that whenever they came to a snag, they just added a few more dimensions, made some new rationalizations, or buried it in more complex mathematics. The other concedes that in order to prove anything here, you would need to develop a collider, which to some authorities would have to be the size of the entire known universe. It sounds more like some new age belief system (who's devoutest of worshippers are paid the highest salaries). Sorry for being so cynical. With all do respect to the author who is probably a brilliant man, but all through the book I was reminded of the popular song about the man who lived in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody. I am currently reading another book on the subject. If I get more intrigued, I may in the future give this book a reread. For now I put it down after 300 pages.
excellent introduction
Customer Rating:
May favorite thing about this book was Greene's perfectly simple explanation of why under Einstein's relativity we cannot exceed c (the speed of light) with respect to another object. The reason is that the four relative vectors (dimensions) of space-time must add up to the speed of light. So time passes at c among objects not moving with respect to each other. The rest of the book is pretty good, too.
Fascinating and mind boggling . . .
Customer Rating:
This book outlines one of the most seductive theories in physics today. Superstring or M theory seeks to reconcile the two opposing theories of quantum mechanics and relativity. Dr. Greene does a fantastic job of trying to explain the abstract concepts behind both of the divergent theories and doesn't shy away from admitting that one or both may be flawed and that string theory itself may be totally wrong. Roughly half of the book explains how far science has come in understanding the structure of the universe, from the smallest to the largest objects.
The other half of the book deals with the next great theory on the horizon and its proposed tenets which are vastly more complex than those underlying relativity and quantum mechanics. Dr. Greene does the best he can to explain a theory that is mostly mathematical in everyday terms and is successful for the most part.
There are problems, especially as this book was written before the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, something string theory does not predict and can't account for. Greene is also truthful in explaining that string theory is untestable and the equations underlying it have not been written yet. This is the core problem underlying this theory and for now it is a fascinating mathematical construct with no testable way of proving it right or wrong.
The book is mentally challenging, but for those interested in what may be the next 'great idea' it is very interesting and thought provoking. The great debate here is not whether the math is good enough, but whether the theory even applies to our universe and if so, whether or not experiments can verify it sometime in the near future. For now, theory is way ahead of technology and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. That fact alone causes one to take the entire premise with a grain of salt and shrug. Ultimately, no one knows how to reconcile relativity with quantum mechanics and this appears to be next great stumbling block.
A great counter argument is provided by Dr. Smolin in 'The Problem with Physics' in which he discusses why string theory may not be correct and may in fact be philosophy masquerading as science. After I had finished this book, I had a vague sense of unease with the entire theory, but I wasn't able to express what it was until I read Smolin's book in which he claims that the theory may be a convoluted hoax that scientists have devoted whole careers to. Physics is at a major crossroads to say the least.
ripped off
Customer Rating:
I don't know what this book was about. I ordered it from Amazon but despite several emails, I never received it.
Just perfect!
Customer Rating:
The book really helped me understand the basic principles behind the topic. It was very thorough but not too complex in it's explanations. I wish it had gone a little deeper into the formulas. Overall I enjoyed this book.
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