 |
 |
Sign in/joinLanguage: English [ others ]
Over forty million books on members' bookshelves.
|
Loading... The Elegant Universeby Brian Greene
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Enlightening but a tough read for dummies like me. (  )Renzomalo | May 11, 2009 |   This is a fantastic book that hits a sweet spot between too much detail and too superficial coverage of the topic. Covering the breadth of modern physics, it does a creditable job of taking an interested layman through to the world of string theory, and allowing us to see that there really is elegance in the universe. (  )sirfurboy | Apr 24, 2009 | 1  You do not have to have a degree in physics to understand this book. Not only does the author lay out in an easy-to-understand way the history of understood physics, but he continues with its evolution to the point of infinite possibilities. While the subject is daunting, it is written elegantly and coherently. ( )Sovranty | Apr 23, 2009 | I can't claim to understand everything, but this book does a very good job at explaining the complete strangeness of the universe at its most basic levels. The book is laugh-out-loud funny in spots, both because of Greene's ability to illustrate difficult concepts in clever ways and because the things that science have discovered are so strange.If the standard model of the 20th century is hard to comprehend, string theory with it's curled up dimensions is even harder. Most of string theory is unproven, and the latter section of the book deals with its more speculative aspects (and I found that the weakest part of the book). But I found this to be a good introduction to difficult concepts without too much advanced math. (  )wrmjr66 | Sep 9, 2008 | Really is a particularly well written book of new science information in language most will understand ( )collsaccount | Sep 9, 2008 | 0.119 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0375708111, Paperback)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 (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:09 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
Abebooks |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
