This Way to the Universe
A Theoretical Physicist's Journey to the Edge of Reality
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
For readers of Sean Carroll, Brian Greene, Katie Mack, and anyone who wants to know what theoretical physicists actually do.
This Way to the Universe is a celebration of the astounding, ongoing scientific investigations that have revealed the nature of reality at its smallest, at its largest, and at the scale of our daily lives. The enigmas that Professor Michael Dine discusses are like landmarks on a fantastic journey to the edge of the universe.
Asked where to find out about the Big Bang, Dark Matter, the Higgs boson particle—the long cutting edge of physics right now—Dine had no single book he could recommend. This is his accessible, authoritative, and up-to-date answer. Comprehensible to anyone with a high-school level education, with almost no equations, there is no better author to take you on this amazing odyssey.
Dine is widely recognized as having made profound contributions to our understanding of matter, time, the Big Bang, and even what might have come before it. This Way to the Universe touches on many emotional, critical points in his extraordinary carreer while presenting mind-bending physics like his answer to the Dark Matter and Dark Energy mysteries as well as the ideas that explain why our universe consists of something rather than nothing. People assume String Theory can never be tested, but Dine intrepidly explores exactly how the theory might be tested experimentally, as well as the pitfalls of falling in love with math. This book reflects a lifetime pursuing the deepest mysteries of reality, by one of the most humble and warmly engaging voices you will ever read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Theoretical physicist Dine (Supersymmetry and String Theory) addresses big questions about the universe—including where it came from and how it's likely to end—in this enthusiastic if impenetrable account. In order "to convey excitement about what we understand, and appreciation of the mysteries we currently confront," Dine covers a massive range of topics, from "microminiature" subatomic particles to the vastness of the universe itself. He outlines the development of Newtonian physics and Einstein's work on general and special relativity (the man "was a genius— and he was also lucky"), details attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity (sparked by Stephen Hawking), and investigates black holes (which he calls "theoretical laboratories), summarizing his own research on supersymmetry and string theory along the way. Unfortunately, Dine frequently forgoes necessary context; his description of quantum entanglement, for example, something that greatly troubled Einstein, is knotty, and while he makes it clear that modern physicists believe that the strength of gravitational force and the speed of light have remained constant since the formation of the universe, he doesn't clearly explain how they know that. Nonspecialists will have a tough time finding their way into this one.
