Synopsis
Brian Greene, author of THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE, returns there, this time to examine the two components of reality--space and time--and he poses good and interesting questions, such as "Why is time directional?" and "Could our universe exist without space and time?" Greene adopts a more or less chronological approach in the 16 chapters, beginning with Newton, moving through Einstein and quantum physics, and then on to string theory and its assumptions. He advances beyond the three-dimensional sensory universe we are familiar with to a "multiverse" with 11 dimensions, which precipitates a discussion on teleportation and time travel. The prose is clear and at some points even poetic, and those daunted by abstruse physics concepts may appreciate the author's ability to explain tough ideas clearly. With 146 illustrations, including 85 line drawings.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2004-02-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 569 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 30.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
In his new widely anticipated new book, Brian Greene, one of the world's foremost string theorists and the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe, reveals the strange and stunning layers of reality modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of the everyday world.
Greene examines space--fromNewton's unchanging, realm, through Einstein's fusion of space and time, to recent breakthroughs suggesting that ours may be one of many island universes floating in a grand, multidimensional spatial expanse. We encounter the peculiar world of quantum physics, in which space and time are buffeted to and fro by the turbulence of quantum uncertainty. We see the paradoxical nature of time, which, according to the laws of physics, does not necessarily need to run in any particular direction. And Greene shows us how the tantalizing world of string and M-theory may unltimately provide us with the elusive unified theory of the universe.
In a book infused with his characteristic wit and humor, deftly making use of analogy and characters from popular culture, Brian Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific background, on an exhilarating journey toward understanding the physical relaity of the world we live in.
Industry Reviews
"As a popularizer of exquisitely abstract science, he is both a skilled and kindly explicator....[H]is excitement for science on the threshold of vital breakthroughs is supremely contagious. THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS is as dazzling as it is tough, and it beautifully reflects this theoretician's ardor for his work."
New York Times - Janet Maslin (02/26/2004)
"Brian Greene...has now followed up his earlier, very successful book, THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE, to give lucid and accessible explanations of a wider range of cosmological abstractions....[A] vivid, exciting book."
London Review of Books - Carolin Crawford (05/19/2005)
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