Amazon.com
As a scientist, Albert Einstein is undoubtedly the most epic among 20th-century thinkers. Albert Einstein as a man, however, has been a much harder portrait to paint, and what we know of him as a husband, father, and friend is fragmentary at best. With Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson (author of the bestselling biographies Benjamin Franklin and Kissinger) brings Einstein's experience of life, love, and intellectual discovery into brilliant focus. The book is the first biography to tackle Einstein's enormous volume of personal correspondence that heretofore had been sealed from the public, and it's hard to imagine another book that could do such a richly textured and complicated life as Einstein's the same thoughtful justice. Isaacson is a master of the form and this latest opus is at once arresting and wonderfully revelatory. --Anne Bartholomew
Read "The Light-Beam Rider," the first chapter of Walter Isaacson's Einstein: His Life and Universe.
Five Questions for Walter Isaacson
Amazon.com: What kind of scientific education did you have to give yourself to be able to understand and explain Einstein's ideas?
Isaacson: I've always loved science, and I had a group of great physicists--such as Brian Greene, Lawrence Krauss, and Murray Gell-Mann--who tutored me, helped me learn the physics, and checked various versions of my book. I also learned the tensor calculus underlying general relativity, but tried to avoid spending too much time on it in the book. I wanted to capture the imaginative beauty of Einstein's scientific leaps, but I hope folks who want to delve more deeply into the science will read Einstein books by such scientists as Abraham Pais, Jeremy Bernstein, Brian Greene, and others.
Amazon.com: That Einstein was a clerk in the Swiss Patent Office when he revolutionized our understanding of the physical world has often been treated as ironic or even absurd. But you argue that in many ways his time there fostered his discoveries. Could you explain?
Isaacson: I think he was lucky to be at the patent office rather than serving as an acolyte in the academy trying to please senior professors and teach the conventional wisdom. As a patent examiner, he got to visualize the physical realities underlying scientific concepts. He had a boss who told him to question every premise and assumption. And as Peter Galison shows in Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps, many of the patent applications involved synchronizing clocks using signals that traveled at the speed of light. So with his office-mate Michele Besso as a sounding board, he was primed to make the leap to special relativity.
Amazon.com: That time in the patent office makes him sound far more like a practical scientist and tinkerer than the usual image of the wild-haired professor, and more like your previous biographical subject, the multitalented but eminently earthly Benjamin Franklin. Did you see connections between them?
Isaacson: I like writing about creativity, and that's what Franklin and Einstein shared. They also had great curiosity and imagination. But Franklin was a more practical man who was not very theoretical, and Einstein was the opposite in that regard.
Amazon.com: Of the many legends that have accumulated around Einstein, what did you find to be least true? Most true?
Isaacson: The least true legend is that he failed math as a schoolboy. He was actually great in math, because he could visualize equations. He knew they were nature's brushstrokes for painting her wonders. For example, he could look at Maxwell's equations and marvel at what it would be like to ride alongside a light wave, and he could look at Max Planck's equations about radiation and realize that Planck's constant meant that light was a particle as well as a wave. The most true legend is how rebellious and defiant of authority he was. You see it in his politics, his personal life, and his science.
Amazon.com: At Time and CNN and the Aspen Institute, you've worked with many of the leading thinkers and leaders of the day. Now that you've had the chance to get to know Einstein so well, did he remind you of anyone from our day who shares at least some of his remarkable qualities?
Isaacson: There are many creative scientists, most notably Stephen Hawking, who wrote the essay on Einstein as "Person of the Century" when I was editor of Time. In the world of technology, Steve Jobs has the same creative imagination and ability to think differently that distinguished Einstein, and Bill Gates has the same intellectual intensity. I wish I knew politicians who had the creativity and human instincts of Einstein, or for that matter the wise feel for our common values of Benjamin Franklin.
More to Explore
Book Description
By the author of the acclaimed bestseller Benjamin Franklin, this is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available.
How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.
These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2007-10-07
A wonderful book which gives full and equal weight to both the man and the ideas which made him great, as well as the lasting place of those ideas in the history of scientific thought, if not of human thought itself. And on that latter point, the reader's debt to Isaacson is undoubtedly primarily for his continuing emphasis on Einstein's modus operandi: thought experiments, by which through the exercise merely of pure thought and a perspective unhampered by received wisdoms, a man was able to change millennia-old views of how we viewed the universe, and by extension, changed the universe itself. Whose thinking could remain uninfluenced by such a display of the power of thought?
Absolutely Fantastic.......2007-10-03
This biography reads like a story, creating suspense and other emotions that you experince while reading fiction. Einstein provides great insight into Einstein's mind and life. Highly recommended.
Greatest Book Ever on Einstein.......2007-10-03
I am 75 years old and have read over a dozen books on Einstein and his work, including his own. This is the best book ever on the personal life and tribulations of a great scientist as he trys to get his work done. With all the flaws and worts of a human the scientist struggles on.
Good, comprehensive look at the man..........2007-10-03
This is a good, comprehensive look at the life and career of Einstein. It is a bit long winded. But, the details are enlightening and well researched and documented. And, I learned a lot I didn't know about his life, times, and mentality.
I recommend the book to fans and those who want to understand what made this genius tick.
good but too long.......2007-10-01
This is really a good book. Mostly becuase Einstein was a great man and did amazing work. But it is not a great book becuase it gets too bogged down in his personal life. When the author is describing his miracle year of 1905 and then ten years later his theory of general relativitiy there is a sense of excitement and wonder. Unfortanately after that the book wanders around aimlessly. I really did not want to hear every tedious detail of his divorce or his (at times) acrimonious relationship with his first wife. It all feels like filler and a distraction from the amazing work that this man did. I'm sad to say but Einstein's personal life is not anywhere near as exciting as his great discoveries and to devote almost the entire book to his personal life seems like a waste of time.
Book Description
It is a widely known but insufficiently appreciated fact that Albert Einstein and Kurt Goedel were best friends for the last decade and a half of Einstein's life. They walked home together from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study every day; they shared ideas about physics, philosophy, politics, and the lost world of German-Austrian science in which they had grown up. What is not widely known is that in 1949 Goedel made a remarkable discovery: there exist possible worlds described by the theory of relativity in which time, as we ordinarily understand it, does not exist. He added a philosophical argument that demonstrates, by Goedel's lights, that as a consequence, time does not exist in our world either. If Goedel is right, Einstein has not just explained time; he has explained it away.
Without committing himself to Goedel's philosophical interpretation of his discovery, Einstein acknowledged that his friend had made an important contribution to the theory of relativity, a contribution that he admitted raised new and disturbing questions about what remains of time in his own theory. Physicists since Einstein have tried without success to find an error in Goedel's physics or a missing element in relativity itself that would rule out the applicability of Goedel's results. Philosophers, for the most part, have been silent.
_A World Without Time_, addressed to experts and non experts alike, brings to life the sheer intellectual drama of the companionship of Goedel and Einstein, and places their discoveries -- which can only be measured on a millennial scale -- in the context of the great and disturbing intellectual movements of the twentieth century -- in physics, mathematics, logic, philosophy, and the arts. It contains, as well, a poignant and intimate account of the friendship between these two thinkers, each put on the shelf by the scientific fashions of their day -- and ours -- and attempts to rescue from undeserved obscurity the work Goedel did, inspired by Einstein, which made clear for the first time the truly revolutionary nature of the theory of relativity, which to this day is hardly recognized.
Customer Reviews:
more about philosophy than about physics or math.......2007-02-27
A World Without Time is a book about the friendship between Einstein and Godel that occurred toward the end of their lives. The friendship was fruitful in that Godel used Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to prove the existence of what are now called Godel Universes. Godel Universes are universes where time loops back on itself so, if you go sufficiently fast, you would end up back where you started in time. This is interesting but perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book for me was it's philosophical aspect. The author mentions the Vienna Circle and some concepts of philosophy such as positivism and ontology and epistemology which I found very interesting. I found the explanations of Godel's theories hard to follow but got the basic idea. I recommend this book for it's philosophical content. If you want to learn about Godel's Incompleteness theorem I recommend reading Godel, Escher Bach, An Eternal Golden Braid.
Should we dispense with clocks ?.......2007-02-12
The title of the book suggests time does not exist. The justification is a certain solution to Einstein cosmological equation, where the universe is rotating and time travel is possible. A path could reach into the past going around the universe.It is the Godel solution.
Modern cosmology is based on the Robertson Walker metric , or model,where there is a universal time. It fits the obseved universal expansion.The universe was born in a big bang fifteen billions years ago.
Goodel gave too much importance to his solution. After all any equation can allow many mathematical solutions which bear no relation to physical reality or fact.
The book is good reading with old and rare photos.It compelled me to reread "The Godel Solution" in Adler ,Bazin and Schiffer General Relativity.
Early in the century,Kurt Godel had laid a golden egg with his incompleteness theorem, pertaining to pure mathematics, causing some stir among Hilbert and Russell.But his attempt to abolish time, much later in 1949, felt in deaf ears among physicists and cosmologists.This is not about to change any time soon.
Yourgrau does an elegant work in rescuing an old story.It takes us through Europe and the beginnings of the Princeton Advanced Study Institute.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-23
Great book about Godel & Einstein. It tells much about their human side & their friendship. Does good job explaining some of their work.
Very bad book: a waste of your money.......2007-01-17
It is a heap op philosophy, not science. No formula, math, explanation, working examples whatsoever. Just small-talk to fill up the pages. This is NOT a physics book. I was lured into buying it thinking to get a complete textbook on Gödel's explanation of time. Forget it, this book is not worth your money. Go check the internet for PDF's or webpages containing the original publications of Gödel, they are there allright.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-04
I bought this book because I loved the cover. Everyone knows Einstein but it is amazing how few know the equally revolutionary Godel and still fewer know of their freindship. This is an invaluable book for those that (somehow) don't know about Godel's work. I didn't expect much from this book because I know of Godel's revolving universe time paradox. However, I found this book to be extremely interesting. The author's minimalist definition of Godel's theorm (syntax does not equal semantics) was worth the price alone. Unfortunatley the last chapter of the book is muddled in philosophic musings, since I am a Physicist I am less appreciative of pure philosophy.
Average customer rating:
- Intellectualizing ADD-style
- the cosmos summed up
- This book could be a drug itself
- A tapas bar for the mind
- Expand your mind
|
Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence
Clifford A. Pickover
Manufacturer: Smart Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mathematical Physics
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Commentary
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mathematical Physics
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
A Passion for Mathematics: Numbers, Puzzles, Madness, Religion, and the Quest for Reality
-
A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People, Alien Brains, and Quantum Resurrection
-
The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience
-
Time: A Traveler's Guide
-
The Mobius Strip: Dr. August Mobius's Marvelous Band in Mathematics, Games, Literature, Art, Technology, and Cosmology
ASIN: 1890572179 |
Book Description
A smorgasbord of subjects designed to bend reality and stretch the reader's mind.
Customer Reviews:
Intellectualizing ADD-style.......2007-08-16
This book is not a drug in itself. Any serious thought it generates will not be due to Pickover's examination of the topic in question, but by its mere mention. For example, he mentions that a general formula exists from which one can generate a modern best-selling novel. He even gives you several permutations of that formula and tips on using language in a way that will engage the reader. Fascinating stuff, right? Not really. Pulp novels are described as "formulaic" on a regular basis, thus implying that the existence of an underlying formula behind them is common knowledge. A true analysis of this concept would involve asking various permutations of the question: "what does this all mean?" Is it a good thing that most of what passes as literature these days can be reduced to a simple formula based on psychological smoke and mirrors? What does this say about the human condition? What does this say about literature in general... particularly the institution of a "modern novel? These are the sorts of questions that a truly great book would ask, given that subject.
Reading this feels like an immersion in Pickover's thought process. He jumps around all over the place (sometimes in mid-paragraph), covering all sorts of intellectual ground. The title really is no lie; there isn't much that ISN'T mentioned in this book. That said, it's completely useless to jump around like this if it does not result in any in-depth analysis. It's almost as if the auther is a kid in a mental candystore, jumping around and screaming "Oh, that looks yummy!" "Oh wow, that will be really delicious to eat!" However, he never truly eats and digests anything, instead going around and exicitedly nibbling on a lot of things. This book may well be useful to someone looking for interesting questions related to modern life, but it certainly doesn't say anything profound in itself. Although Pickover is certainly of above-average intelligence, this alone does not make him a "deep thinker" in any way, shape, or form. I recommend skipping this book and looking at something that might be a bit more narrow in its scope, but deeper. "Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves" reeks of dillitantism.
the cosmos summed up.......2007-07-14
In Pickover's recent novel, he takes us for a journey to the farthest reaches of the cosmos all within our own consciousness. In a manner of prose that is insightful and humanistic, he flows seamlessly through subjects such as Language dynamics, Psychic exploration of altered states, quantum physics and the continued resonance felt by infamous physicists and literary giants. What is most compelling about Pickover's work is his sincere desire to fully unveil the many shrouds of reality using an incredible sense of curiosity and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He approaches each subject with the academic intensity of a scholar, yet he relates to the reader as an amateur (albeit, genius) autodidact.
One would do well to read Pickover's books if you are ready for a complete remake of your psychological and intellectual framework.
This book could be a drug itself.......2007-07-09
Just simply a fascinating read. I had my copy on the coffee table during a party, and one guest picked it up casually, and never put it down throughout the whole event.
This book is just a wildly ecclectic assortment of essays, but taken as a whole it is much more than that. I think it changed my view of the world.
A tapas bar for the mind.......2007-06-21
DO NOT MISS! There are more things pointed out in SDE&E than are dreamt of in ANYBODY's philosophy. SDE&E is the intellectual and imaginative equivalent of an evening at the world's most wonderful tapas bar, where everything on the menu is free (once you've cleared the cover charge by buying the book). If you like Rudy "Karl Tucker" Rucker, Vernor "Powers" Vinge, Gregory "Cosm" Benford, James "Connections" Burke, Douglas "Strange Loop" Hofstadter and/or Terry "SHRDLU" Winograd (not to mentions Proust and Joyce), then Clifford Pickover's the sentient entity for you! He'll be your spirit guide and trip-sitter through 3+1d (or is it 10+1d?) spacetime, the mind, infinity and beyond! This is your brain. This is your brain on Pickover. Any questions?
Expand your mind.......2007-03-22
As the title suggests, Sex, Drugs, Einstein, & Elves presents the reader with a seemingly endless variety of topics that stimulate and expand the mind. Although it may seem overwhelming at first, the transitions between topics such as DMT, Proust, religion, reality, perception, and countless others are smooth and surprisingly relevant. It's brain candy.
Book Description
Beyond Einstein takes readers on an exciting excursion into the discoveries that have led scientists to the brightest new prospect in theoretical physics today -- superstring theory. What is superstring theory and why is it important? This revolutionary breakthrough may well be the
fulfillment of Albert Einstein's lifelong dream of a Theory of Everything, uniting the laws of physics into a single description explaining all the known forces in the universe. Co-authored by one of the leading pioneers in superstrings, Michio Kaku, and completely revised and updated with the newest groundbreaking research, the book approaches scientific questions with the excitement of a detective story, offering a fascinating look at the new science that may make the impossible possible.
Customer Reviews:
Very interesting and within reach of ordinary folks like me..........2006-07-28
I really liked this book. It found it easier to understand (and less gee-whiz) than Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe (paperback and CD). Kaku and his co-writer presented a very clear description of what hyperspace would look like to four-dimensional creatures such as ourselves. (This was the first clear layman's description I have read.) I only wish I understood better the quantum mechanics that "vanquished" Newton's and Einstein's propositions about gravity in very small spaces; perhaps some drawings would have helped. In addition, perhaps a chart or diagram of basic sub-atomic particles would have helped.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the book. Thompson's co-writing makes it intelligible to lay persons such as myself. The one element that Kaku leaves out is whether string or superstring theory is "testable." In dimensions of the size of 10^-18 cm, perhaps we cannot really make testable predictions, as Greene asserts in his book and CD.
A Magnificent Books That Will Make You Think.......2006-04-18
This fascinating book will take you through the realm of cosmology, physics, and the world of mathematics. However, the book at times can be hard to understand because it uses very hard language and refers to several theories and scientist. It is necessary to have small background knowledge in physics and in many of the scientists and theories the book mentions. It mentions scientist such as Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, Hawkins, Newton, Maxwell, Feynman, Glashow, Nambu, and many more. The book mainly talks about the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics; however, it does mention several other theories too. It talks about Quantum Mechanics and Einstein's theories in detail; therefore, those theories are easy to follow. Nevertheless, once the book starts talking about all the theories that came in response to Quantum Mechanics and the Grand Unifying Theory the book becomes hard to follow. This book tells the history of how several theories have evolved and are being developed to create one theory that unites the four fundamental forces of the world. The four fundamental forces are electromagnetism, gravity, weak nuclear force, and strong nuclear force. All these forces are very different, however, with the Superstring Theory; all these forces will be unified. I recommend this book because it will change you perception of the universe all everything that is around us. It will baffle your mind with new ideas that seem to be science fiction, yet are somewhat true. This book is also a great book to learn the basis of the theory of Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and many more astonishing theories that have shaped the way we view space, time, and the world.
Fascinating book.......2006-02-07
This isn't Kaku's best book-its one of his earlier efforts and his writing skills have gotten quite a bit better since then. However I still recommend this book. At the time I read it, I was studying electrical engineering in college and one day I ran into a friend in the student union. He started talking about all this physics stuff he was reading and how it was blowing his mind. It was like he had been through a religious conversion. He promised to let me borrow the book and it was Kaku's Beyond Einstein. A very easy read, Kaku got me hooked on physics right away, exposing me to ideas like extra dimensions and grand unified theories of particle physics I had never heard of in my engineering studies. He follows the standard historical treatment, talking about Maxwell, Einstein and the development of quantum mechanics. While it is a bit "breezy", its thoroughly enjoyable reading filled with historical antecdotes and nice descriptions of Einsteins spacetime warps. Then after the big bang he heads into his favorite topic, talking about extra dimensions and string theory. I was so hooked by this I began buying up every pop physics book I could find and soon changed my major from electrical engineering to math/physics. After reading Kaku engineering actually seemed mundane. Anyway, like I said this isn't Kaku's best book because his writing style has matured and he writes a lot better now. But the book is a gem that I recommend to those interested in science.
A thought-provoking book.......2005-04-03
This was the first of Kaku's books that I read, and I enjoyed it a great deal. He has not written as many books as my other two favorite science writers, Gribbin and Davies, but Kaku is always very clear and produces fun reads.
Fuzzy!.......2004-01-14
This book reads well and it is easy to grasp, however there is little focusing on the various subjects especially string theory in general. Overall for the beginner and casual reader this is a good book.
Book Description
In this fascinating book, the renowned astrophysicist J. Richard Gott leads time travel out of the world of H. G. Wells and into the realm of scientific possibility. Building on theories posited by Einstein and advanced by scientists such as Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne, Gott explains how time travel can actually occur. He describes, with boundless enthusiasm and humor, how travel to the future is not only possible but has already happened, and he contemplates whether travel to the past is also conceivable. Notable not only for its extraordinary subject matter and scientific brilliance, Time Travel in Einstein's Universe is a delightful and captivating exploration of the surprising facts behind the science fiction of time travel.
Customer Reviews:
The story behind the hand of the moving finger that writes.......2007-01-22
"The moving finger writes and then moves on, nor all your piety can lure it back to retrace a line nor your tears wash out a word of it."
John Donne
Perhaps if Donne had written his immortal words AFTER having read this book, he MAY HAVE SAID "...unless of course, you have your Richard Gott time machine handy."
And like many other serviceable entries in the time machine genre of scientific speculation (like Paul Davies "How to Build a Time Machine"), Gott uses plain simple English with great illustrations to explain the three traditional theories of how time travel could be accomplished as well using the idea of time travel itself to speculate on the origins of the universe.
As to the three potential theories, Gott makes some good points:
1) Kurt Godel's suggestion that IF this were a rotating static universe, then time travel would be possible simply by going far enough into the future. Significantly, Godel was friends with Einstein over the course of the last fifteen years of Einstein's life. So, while Godel knew both Einstein and Einstein's physics, unfortunately his theory doesn't comport with physical observations that our universe is not rotating is expanding and not static as his theory would require. However, his theory does show that Einstein's physics do allow time travel, just not in the way Godel suggested.
2) The Tipler rotating cylinder...Proposed by Frank Tipler, if you could create and infinitely long cylinder in space and rotate it, one could travel along the access of rotation to move forward or backward in time. Unfortunately, to put it mildly, Tipler's cylinder is a tad bit beyond our current financial resources. (Just over a "few" billion, Congress nixed the Supercolliding Superconductor back in 1993 so they probably would be less excited about this project!).
3) Wormholes. The specialty of Star Trek lore wormholes were discussed at length in the Kip Thorne book "Black Holes and Time Warps." And although Thorne was the idea man beyond how Carl Sagan got Jody Foster to the middle of our galaxy in the movie "Contact," for his part Thorne is not optimistic that Black Holes could stay open to actually transport materials beyond a Planck length. In other words, modern string theory talks about basic building blocks of reality -- strings -- that are in size to a neutron as a neutron would be to our solar system. Even on weight watchers, the astronauts ("chrononauts") would have tough going.
Still the same, Gott noted that even though available for only subatomic transmissions, time travel could still explain how our universe was created.
SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU WANT TO HEAR THE GUY WHO INVENTED IT TO EXPLAIN STOP READING NOW.
But if you're willing to let me do it, here goes:
As noted, time travel -- even backwards -- can work at subatomic levels. The technical jargon is cosmic foam and apparently it happens all the time. To create the universe all that would need to happen is for a sufficiently compacted amount of matter to travel back in time so that it could become the Big Bang.
So in other words, depending on how you denominate it, time may be going now, about to begin somewhere or already be thirteen point seven billion years old.
Even if you read my explanation, read Gott's. He's a great accessible writer who has written perhaps the very best book on this issue.
A thrilling journey deep into the strangeness of cutting-edge physics.......2006-07-05
Richard Gott's Time Travel in Einstein's Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time is a thrilling journey deep into the strangeness of cutting-edge physics - a place where beautiful, baffling ideas are sometimes indistinguishable from the utterly crazy. On this journey, we meet a time-travelling brilliant mathematician. The journey ends with a strange and dark conclusion - one which calls into question our very existence. Ever since Einstein showed it was theoretically possible, the quest to travel through time has drawn eccentric amateurs and brilliant scientists in almost equal numbers. The amateurs include Aage Nost, who demonstrates his time machine in front of the cameras. The professionals include the likes of Professor Frank Tipler of Tulane University. His time machine sounds good - but it would weigh half the mass of the galaxy.There is, however, one way that time travel to the past could be possible. And it would be much more convenient. Future civilisations could use computers to create exact replicas of the past. Unfortunately that idea has physics trembling in its socks. Because if you can generate a perfect virtual reality version of the past, who's to say we are not one of the replicas? If your looking for a book that outline's all that latest theories this is about as close as you'll get.
Good for this type of content.......2006-06-26
I searched extensively for a book that would explain current theories of time and the implications thereof that could be understood by a non-mathematical mind and one not trained in physics, and it was extraordinarily difficult. I ended up choosing this book, which is probably as close as one will get to what I was hoping for. The first and last chapters are actually the most accessible and interesting, the first being an overview of many fictional accounts of time travel (both movies and books) and the last a treatise on future prediction and probability, which I found most interesting and consoling. The chapters inbetween were the denser material in which the author discusses whether or not time travel to the past or the future could work and, inevitably, it deals with the theory of relativity, wormholes, black holes, etc. and how all that would function, all of which is confusing for a layperson like me. Nevertheless, this is, as I mentioned, the closest thing to a non-scientific explanation of what are at base purely mathematical constructs. It does get one thinking philosophically about what "time" is and about time travel in general. For example, if one can travel to the future, doesn't that imply that the future already "exists" as a "place" which one can visit? Mindbending reading and worth it for that reason alone.
Science Fiction and Real Quantum Time.......2006-02-08
Gott explores the current possibilities for actual time travel in light of current physics and quantum mechanics. He summarizes the history of quantum physics, as providing insights into the concepts of time, and possibility of wormholes and other perturbations of Spacetime that might allow time travel. He reports on various experiments and lines of enquiry by various physicists, like Kip Thorne, who have investigated time and practical factors in time relationships and travel into the future or past. The concepts of relativity and war speed (speed of light) come into view here. Gott correlates various areas of current enquiry, including a rich survey of contributions science fiction has made to actually enquiry in quantum physics.)
Stick to time travel and lose the statistics next book.......2006-01-18
Summary: Interesting read but when Gott left time travel physics to discuss statistics and probability theory the book became bland like author was padding his essential [time travel, nature of the universe, beginnings, etc & TOE-chasing] published papers with his other non-essential statistical theory work.
Book Description
From H.G. Wells to Star Trek, audiences have been captivated by the notions of time travel, time warps, space warps, and wornholes. But science fiction is not the only realm where these concepts thrive. An active group of general relativists and quantum field theorists has produced a considerable body of serious (thought admittedly speculative) mathematical and physical analyses of the wormhole system. Now, with this fascinating book, readers can explore in depth the science behind the science fiction. Drawing on pivotal work by Einstein, Wheeler, Morris, Thorne, Hawking, and others, Matt Visser charts the development and current state of Lorentzian wormhole physics. Dr. Visser shows that by pushing established physical theories to their limits, it is possible to deduce the physical properties of such exotica as wormholes and time travel. The physical framework he uses is derived from one of the major research frontiers of modern theoretical physics: quantum gravity-the intersection of classical Einstein gravity and quantum field theory. Physicists, students of general relativity, cosmology, quantum physics, or any interested reader with a background in physics wil find this a provocative introduction to an exciting and active topic of ongoing research.
Customer Reviews:
Buy a used copy.......2002-01-22
Some of the words in this book have appeared in movies and science fiction stories, but in this book they take on a mathematical/scientific meaning, thanks to the efforts of the author. Although the concepts in the book are still far-removed from experimental verification, one must credit the author with writing of a book that may be standard reading in centuries to come. When reading the book, one can only hope that its ideas, or some similar to them, will eventually allow humans to traverse time and space routinely. The reader will need a strong background in general relativity and quantum field theory to really appreciate the book, but after reading it will obtain a solid understanding of what might be calle, in the words of the author, "non-boring" physics.
After a brief overview of general relativity and quantum field theory, the author devotes the first part of the book to the history of wormhole physics. I was surprised to learn that the study of wormholes goes as far back as 1916 in paper by the physicist L.Flamm. But it was the desire of A. Einstein and N. Rosen to build a geometrical model of an elementary particle that is finite and singularity-free that set the tone for the research that continues to this day. Their ideas are reviewed in detail, and the author shows that viewing elementary particles as they did predicts they have internal structure, contrary to experiment. The contributions of J.A. Wheeler, namely his interest in topological issues in general relativity, and his geon/spacetime foam ideas are discussed also. The role of wormhole physics in developing a quantum theory of gravity, via the quantization of weak field gravity and the subsequent appearance of gravitons is treated also. The author lists the things that be done with quantized linearized gravity and gives references for research that counters the idea of spacetime foam. "Back-of-the-envelope" calculations are given for the importance of quantum fluctuations in the gravitational field at Planckian scales. A very interesting, and critical discussion is given of topology changes of spacetime via quantum fluctuations. The author states (but does not prove) various theorems regarding the topology of spacetime if a Lorentz metric is put on it. These results are pretty restrictive in limiting the existence of certain topology changes, but as the author remarks, one can abandon the idea of spacetime being everywhere-Lorentzian if one gives up the strong equivalence principle, an idea he clearly is not comfortable with. Given his remarks, it is interesting to ask whether quantum fluctuations could force a violation of the strong equivalence principle. The author does consider the role of quantum tunneling in changing spacetime topology, but concludes that it is not a meaningful question. However, he does devote a brief paragraph to the consideration of an energy-dependent effective topology which is the one of relevance to physics. Based on the "quantum claustrophobia" effect arising from the tendency of a particle to avoid small regions (i.e Heisenberg uncertainty), some regions of spacetime may thus not be visible from a quantum point of view. The author gives one example of this, but this idea has far-reaching consequences: not just for physics but for mathematics. If viewed from a quantum perspective, many of the usual mathematical structures in topology and other areas of mathematics are changed considerably. One can then perform a kind of interpolation between "quantum" and "classical" mathematical constructions.
The author switches to more modern developments in part 3, with the idea of a traversable wormhole due to M. S. Morris and K.S. Thorne leading off the discussion. These wormholes are shown to violate the weak, strong, and dominant energy conditions, implying the existence of negative energy density near the throat of the wormhole. The existence of this energy will remind the reader of the Casimir effect, and the author does discuss this effect in detail. In addition, the thin shell formalism is discussed as a tool to analyze traversable wormholes without spherical geometry. Global techniques and the topological censorship are used to give a mathematically precise definition of a traversable wormhole, although the censorship theorem is not proven.
Part 4 attempts to remove the idea of time travel from pure fantasy science fiction and give it more of a scientific foundation. The author is convincing in his efforts, via his thorough analysis of causality conditions in spacetime, and the explicit constructions of simple time machines, which in the author's words are a consequence of general relativity being "infested" with geometries that produce them. The van Stockum, Godel, Kerr, and Gott tiem machines are discussed in detail, and the author shows explicitly how to construct time machines via wormholes. He also addresses the problems that arise in the actual construction of these time machines, such as the possibility of a non-Hausdorff topology, the problem of unique histories (Novikov conjecture), the breakdown of unitarity in the quantum realm, and the Hawking chronology protection conjecture.
Section 5 is an overview of the quantum field theory needed for a study of wormhole physics. The author shows that time- and space-orientable spacetimes are incompatible with the Standard model. He discusses in detail the result that the ANEC condition can be violated by scale anomalies. Readers will have to have a very detailed knowledge of quantum field theory in curved spacetime to follow the discussion. The calculation of van Vleck determinants, familiar as Green function techniques, are done also. The stress-energy tensor is calculated explictly for traversable wormhole spacetimes. The Wheeler-DeWitt minisuperspace formalism is used to shed light on the quantum aspects of Lorentzian wormholes, and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for Einstein gravity on minisuperspace is solved exactly.
The last part of the book is more of a send off to the reader and an encouragement for further reading on the issues in the book A list of research problems in given for the ambitious and curious reader.
Book Description
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five scientific articles that fundamentally changed the world-view of physics: The Special Theory of Reativity revolutionized our concept of space and time, E=mc² became the best-known equation in physics.
On the occasion of the 100th aniversary of Einstein's "annus mirabilis" 1905, the UNESCO declared the year 2005 the "World Year of Physics", in order to draw attention to the impact of physics. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science dedicates an exhibition to the easily most important scientist of the 20th century.
The exhibition is accompanied by a two-volume catalogue . The elaborate, four-colour first volume (Albert Einstein - Chief Engineer of the Universe: Einstein's Life and Work in Context) mirrors the structure of the exhibition, containing detailed, easy-to-understand information on the three large exhibition areas
- World-view and discovery
- Einstein - his life
- Einstein's world today.
On the basis of Einstein's innovative theoretical work, the text explains changing historical world-views as well as the conditions under which science develops, shedding light on the bumpy path of Einstein's life and the political and social revolutions which formed its background. This bridge between scientific and cultural history opens up a perspective on Einstein's biography which goes far beyond the traditional picture of this exceptional science genius.
The book concludes with a depiction of the effects of Einstein's work on today's science and culture. A DVD with animations and film sequences from the exhibition is enclosed.
The second volume is a bilingual collection of source material (Documents of a Life's Pathway/Dokumente eines Lebensweges). Letters and manuscripts by Einstein as well as photographs of people and objects are reproduced in high quality and invite the reader to study the exhibition's sources more intensively.
Book Description
This book tackles the fundamental question: why we and the universe exist.
A Simple Theory: Despite the explosion of knowledge in the last few decades, much of physics still remains a mystery. We know little of how the universe really works, or how it came into existence. Fundamentals escape us - such as the actual cause of gravity. Even the behavior of light leaves us perplexed. For example, why does light maintain a constant speed? What regulates it? Why does it slow down as it passes through a crystal and then speed up on the other side? What energizes it? These are only a few of the exciting mysteries which Roy Masters brilliantly tackles in "Finding God In Physics: Einstein's Missing Relative."
Einstein's Remarkable Journey: Einstein himself struggled to understand light, gravity, and time, profoundly questioning the physics of his day. Yes, he startled the world with his Theory of Relativity, but even Einstein failed in his most passionate quest - to find God in physics. Throughout his life he sought a "unified field theory" because he refused to believe in a chaotic, meaningless universe. Einstein was convinced there existed a unifying principle - a single theory containing the cosmic operating system. He believed this system would be both "simple and beautiful," and that it would profoundly reveal the hand of the Master Craftsman, the Unifier of all physics.
This little book is an adventure in understanding Einstein's missing Relative - the truth about the unified field that eluded Einstein but in which he still passionately believed. Roy Masters seeks here to give answer, both simple and beautiful, to those many questions that occupy the searching imaginations of cosmologists and physicists all over the world. Can a simple theory provide the keys to a new understanding of physics? Stay tuned.
With Masters' unified theory, the mysterious phenomena of gravity, light, and time suddenly become organic parts of a holistic system. Coherence takes the place of isolated scientific theory and, happily, we find ourselves at home in a very personal universe containing a time force that creates gravity, regulates light, and much, much more.
All those who meditate on the meaning of life cannot help but be touched in the deepest possible way by this book. Here science and religion combine as we gain faith in the Creator by witnessing His spectacular creation as it unfolds out of nothing.
Customer Reviews:
The Only Book To Have On A Desert Island.......2004-08-28
This is one of the most profound books written in modern times. If I were shipwrecked on a desert island, this is the only book I would want to bring along.
The violent emotional outburst attacks this book causes in some people is an ego reaction similar to the reaction when the man realized and stated that the Earth wasn't flat, but was actually a ball orbiting around the Sun. The history of science is filled to the brim with these sorts of stupid reactions to revolutionary ideas that end up being true.
All that is comes from one simple Cause, creating a Divine Symphony of spinning effects we know as the Universe around us. The beauty of understanding the basic theory in this book is that it ultimately has profound implications for our own awareness and existence.
This book does nothing less than absolutely prove the existence of God. I understand this is scary stuff for those who are in denial.
You will either love this book, or you will absolutely hate it with a violent passion.
More Examples.......2003-11-19
Chapter 16. How Light Does the Impossible
pages 150-151
Roy Masters mentions that the speed of light in vacuum is constant at 186,000 miles per second.
He then continues:
"light does not need its emitting source for power."
Of course it does. This is commonly known, observed, measured and engineered.
"Light slows down through the denser media of air, water, or glass, but upon emerging from the other side of any of those media, light instantly accelerates back to its precise former velocity."
Again, it does not decelerate and does not accelerate. When the photon is not condensed into the mass of an electron, it moves incessantly at constant speed.
"Where does light get its power, and how does light know how fast to go?"
The energy of a photon is usually derived from the collapse of the energy state of an electron.
"What energizes light?"
Usually, the difference in energy states (higher to lower) that an electron experiences, which liberates a photon.
Radiation is emitted from a source when a sudden change in energy occurs and when the photon emission is the favored partition of energy. In particular, this happens in the collapse of electron energy levels.
"If I throw a baseball through a plate glass window, will it emerge from the other side at the same velocity? Of course not. Then how on earth do photons do it?? From what source do they derive the power to regain their velocity?"
The loss of energy from light is indicated in the lowering of its frequency and not in "slowing down". Blue light has more quantum energy per photon than red light. When light passes through a "clear" solid, it can experience lowering of its frequency and/or a drop in its intensity.
"light is either pushed by an ether "wind", or "light has some kind of infinite, self-regulating, internal propulsion. Obviously, the first is the only plausible line of inquiry".
Light exists as an electric wave interchanging into a magnetic wave and back again. It does not draw on internal propulsion because its energy isn't spent by pure motion.
"The problem presented by this heretofore unexplained behavior of light is possibly too scary for most scientists to contemplate."
The reader should be able to see the depth of Roy Masters' delusion. He believes that he sees this error in scientific reasoning (based on his own ignorance) through his divinely derived insight.
Even one of the book's editors, Robert Just, writes in the book's Preface, "-ponder the behavior of light as it slows down to pass through a prism and then, inexplicably - in fact, impossibly- regains its original speed."
So we know that Mr. Just has no background in physics, either.
pg. 113
Alignment of Atoms Causes Planets to Rotate
"When a sufficient portion of the core of any mass becomes solid due to the pressure of gravity, atoms align, producing the almost perfect magnetic field. Collectively, en masse, the aligned atoms tend to spin all in the same direction, causing the whole body to rotate."
Not only has he borrowed this from Joe Newman, but this is completely baseless.
Same page, further down:
"Contrary to the traditional view of lightning, I believe that wherever a column of moist air possesses sufficient density and reaches high enough into the atmosphere, the everpresent electric charge surrounding our planet is conducted to ground as lightning bolts."
Lightning, as can be blatantly observed and measured, is brought about by the triboelectric effect. When a cloud moves through the air, it can pick up a heavy electric charge. When its voltage exceeds the dielectric strength of the air, it discharges to the ground as lightning.
In Response.......2003-11-10
Having written the review that JL refers to, I will respond, for the benefit of the reader. I gave the exact example of Masters believing that light slows down in a solid and speeds up on the other end. It does nothing of the kind. Roy Masters' preoccupation with Joe Newman illustrates the problem with such books. Like Newman, Roy Masters will write confidently about something he knows nothing about. He and the reader develop a love relationship. He feels like he is tuning into God and the reader feels that he is chosen to hear this message.
The ugliness is at its heaviest when both launch their attacks on people who work in the field for decades, who read hundreds of thousands of pages of technical literature throughout their careers and who reduce their ideas to practical products. Like Joe Newman's book, "The Energy Machine of Joseph Newman", you will never see any idea from Roy Masters' book reduced to practice. It's chatter that comes from a narcissistic mind. On the surface it appears logical. But ultimately, it only appears logical once the uneducated reader buys into the idea that, "You too can understand the cosmos like an expert!" As for general comments on ether theory, not one word of it is original.
As for the skeptic who hears a lot of sense in what Roy Masters says, but also sees something nutty in it, you are fortunate. Be advised that the avid endorsements of his book are always from uneducated people who want to endear themselves to Masters.
Excellent book!!!.......2002-12-24
This book presents the reader with a totally different view of creation, our material world, and how it came into existence. First of all, Masters states that although space is thought of as being a vacuum, the opposite may be true, because nature abhors a vacuum. Instead, space is filled with `ether', a theory that has been stated in the past, but has been rejected in favour of the current view of the universe. However, we should not forget that our current view of the universe is subject to the knowledge we have today, which is VERY limited, to say the least. Just look at how drastically views/theories can change, thanks to new discoveries, how often scientist proclaim that they were completely dumbfounded by a new discovery because they had expected something totally different.
Roy Masters presents in this book his unique vision on how the universe came into being, and much of what he says makes a lot of sense. In his days, Einstein was criticized for his 'idiosyncratic' theories by other scientists, I suppose that every original thinker has to endure gall being spewed in his direction. What I see here is a beautiful theory, and I would love to see the scientific community do research on it.
What surprises me most is the very `un-scientific' emotional outbursts against Roy Masters for writing this book, calling him `an unwitting egomaniac'. If I were a physicist I definitely would take this theory very seriously and begin to investigate it instead of launching unfounded emotional attacks, because if his theory is right, it will have far reaching consequences.
I cannot attest if all the statements made by Masters are 100% correct, I only have a basic knowledge of physics. But I love his theory, it makes sense, and I definitely take it seriously. To do otherwise would be very foolish and unscientific, after all, isn't the truth of a statement tested by trying to prove it wrong? So, instead of coming up with unfounded, dumb emotional attacks on Roy Master's persona, try to come up with proof that he is wrong. Test his ideas, nature does not lie, people do.
This book testifies to a bold and original thinker, you do not have to be a student of physics to be able to read and understand this book, the author explains everything as clear as possible, and he does not try to confuse the reader with his words, as many other scholars attempt to do. Using words as a means of intimidation and self-aggrandisement, ah well, this is an entirely different subject. So, do yourself a favour and get this book, it definitely is worth a 5 star rating.
Excellent book!!!.......2002-12-24
This book presents the reader with a totally different view of creation, our material world, and how it came into existence. First of all, Masters states that although space is thought of as being a vacuum, the opposite may be true, because nature abhors a vacuum. Instead, space is filled with `ether', a theory that has been stated in the past, but has been rejected in favour of the current view of the universe. However, we should not forget that our current view of the universe is subject to the knowledge we have today, which is VERY limited, to say the least. Just look at how drastically views/theories can change, thanks to new discoveries, how often scientist proclaim that they were completely dumbfounded by a new discovery because they had expected something totally different.
Roy Masters presents in this book his unique vision on how the universe came into being, and much of what he says makes a lot of sense. In his days, Einstein was criticized for his 'idiosyncratic' theories by other scientists, I suppose that every original thinker has to endure gall being spewed in his direction. What I see here is a beautiful theory, and I would love to see the scientific community do research on it.
What surprises me most is the very `un-scientific' emotional outbursts against Roy Masters for writing this book, calling him `an unwitting egomaniac'. If I were a physicist I definitely would take this theory very seriously and begin to investigate it instead of launching unfounded emotional attacks, because if his theory is right, it will have far reaching consequences.
I cannot attest if all the statements made by Masters are 100% correct, I only have a basic knowledge of physics. But I love his theory, it makes sense, and I definitely take it seriously. To do otherwise would be very foolish and unscientific, after all, isn't the truth of a statement tested by trying to prove it wrong? So, instead of coming up with unfounded, dumb emotional attacks on Roy Master's persona, try to come up with proof that he is wrong. Test his ideas, nature does not lie, people do.
This book testifies to a bold and original thinker, you do not have to be a student of physics to be able to read and understand this book, the author explains everything as clear as possible, and he does not try to confuse the reader with his words, as many other scholars attempt to do. Using words as a means of intimidation and self-aggrandisement, ah well, this is an entirely different subject. So, do yourself a favour and get this book, it definitely is worth a 5 star rating.
Book Description
What happens when the country's greatest logician meets the century's greatest physicist? In the case of Kurt Godel and Albert Einstein the result in Godel's revolutioinary new model of the cosmos. In the 'Godel Universe' the philosophical fantasy of time travel becomes a scientific reality. For Godel,however, the reality of time travel signals the unreality of time. If Godel is right, the real meaning of the Einstein revolution had remained, for half a century, a secret. Now, half-century after Godel met Einstein, the real meaning of time travel in the Godel universe can be revealed.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing but a hard read.......2002-10-02
Although ostensibly this book is about Godel's solutions to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and his consequent view of time, it is in fact broader than that. This could be instead considered a book on the philosophy of time with consideration of the GTR and using Godel's views on time and the GTR as a common thread.
As such, it is a difficult read. It will require of someone a fairly strong comprehension of philosophy and metaphysics, as well as (at least) a conceptual grasp of GTR, formal logic and Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, and some understanding of Cantor's transfinite numbers.
The philosophical references run from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and McTaggart. It is wide-ranging in it's coverage of differing views and how they relate to Godel's own views on time. Topics such as "The Epistemology of Potential Infinity" and "Frege and the Decontextualization of Thought" are representative of the depth of this book. Discussions of potential vs. actual infinities, truth in relation to time, the ontology of space-time diagrams, and so on, can leave one reeling.
In addition, comparisons between Godel's Incompleteness Theorem and his approach to his solutions to GTR are made, in hopes of elucidating Godel's ingenuity in finding unexpected solutions to various formalisms.
So, this book really attempts to go far beyond it's title. I think it generally succeeds, however, I find some of the organization of the book annoying, and I wish it were layed out differently. (However, in fairness, if it were my task I have no idea how I would go about reorganizing such complex material - it just seems that it could be done). The book is very heavily referenced (sometimes excessively it seems), and practically every page has at least two or three quotes. I think this tends to make the overall flow of writing less than natural, but it is a matter of style.
Finally, the appendix on Zeno's paradoxes is, to me, very well done and worth half the price of the book right there. Yourgrau clarifies in particular the issue of limits vs infinite sums, and all-in-all provides compelling reasons for claiming that Zeno's paradoxes remain unsolved despite some claims to the contrary.
Underground classic?.......2000-04-14
This absolutely riveting book delivers at two levels: first, it can serve for any intelligent reader as an exhilirating introduction to most of the central questions of philosophy--questions concerning time, truth, death, thought, free will, and infinity, to mention just some of the ground covered. Second (and this is what makes it such an astonishing book) it offers, in the context of its luminously clear and helpful discussions of these issues, a series of original and profound philosophical results. Many of these insights in effect open a new chapter in the domains they deal with (see, for example, Yourgrau's powerfully argued rejection of the standard way of understanding both existence (represented in logic these days by the 'existential quantifer') and infinity (esp., the sum of an infinite convergent series). In reading the book you are given a front row seat onto all of this--some of the newest, most surprising, and most fundamental work in philosophy. Those coming to the book from physics (i.e. the 'Einstein' end of things) will, I suspect, be refreshed by the idea of a harmonious and fruitful relationship between philosophy and science that infuses the book (after all, Einstein and Godel talked philosophy AND physics). In short, an extraordinary book not to be missed.
challenging but rewarding.......2000-03-25
This is a difficult philosophy book, but there are a number of interesting ideas worth thinking about for those who are interested in the philosophy of time, specifically in what physics seems to tell us about the nature of time. This book is actually an expanded edition of Yourgrau's (1991) book, The Disappearance of Time. I think it's a bit disingenuous to issue what is pretty much the same book under a new title. Godel Meets Einstein has one new chapter (definitely worth reading) and two new appendicies.
Books:
- Emmanuel's Book: A Manual for Living Comfortably in the Cosmos
- For King and Country: British Airborne Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment in World War II (Schiffer Military History Book)
- Foundations of Modern Cosmology
- Galaxies and How to Observe Them (Astronomers' Observing Guides)
- Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction
- Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Vol. 1: Adaptation and Learning
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Best Places Destinations Olympic Peninsula
- The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World
- Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds
- The Sweet Smell of Psychosis: A Novella
- The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the Habits of Nature
- The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
- The Tender Land: A Family Love Story
- History: Fiction or Science
- The Persistence of Patriarchy: Class, Gender, and Ideology in Twentieth Century Algeria
- The fertilisation of flowers
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel
The Assault on Reason
