Product Description

Einstein's gravity theory—his general theory of relativity—has served as the basis for a series of astonishing cosmological discoveries. But what if, nonetheless, Einstein got it wrong?

Since the 1930s, physicists have noticed an alarming discrepancy between the universe as we see it and the universe that Einstein's theory of relativity predicts. There just doesn't seem to be enough stuff out there for everything to hang together. Galaxies spin so fast that, based on the amount of visible matter in them, they ought to be flung to pieces, the same way a spinning yo-yo can break its string. Cosmologists tried to solve the problem by positing dark matter—a mysterious, invisible substance that surrounds galaxies, holding the visible matter in place—and particle physicists, attempting to identify the nature of the stuff, have undertaken a slew of experiments to detect it. So far, none have.

Now, John W. Moffat, a physicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, offers a different solution to the problem. The cap­stone to a storybook career—one that began with a correspondence with Einstein and a conversation with Niels Bohr—Moffat's modified gravity theory, or MOG, can model the movements of the universe without recourse to dark matter, and his work chal­lenging the constancy of the speed of light raises a stark challenge to the usual models of the first half-million years of the universe's existence.

This bold new work, presenting the entirety of Moffat's hypothesis to a general readership for the first time, promises to overturn everything we thought we knew about the origins and evolution of the universe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #293075 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-01
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061170881
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Gravity has long been the problem child of physics, creating difficulties in finding a Theory of Everything. To complicate matters, most scientists believe that there is a mysterious, unidentified dark matter that makes up most of the universe, and that an equally baffling dark energy is pushing the universe apart. Moffat, an affiliate member of the cutting-edge Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, has developed a new theory that he calls Modified Gravity (MOG). Moffat says that both Newton and Einstein were wrong, and that Newton's gravitational constant is not constant across distances as large as galaxies and galaxy clusters. Scientists haven't been able to find dark matter because it doesn't exist: MOG values help account for rates of galaxy rotation. Perhaps more revolutionary is Moffat's claim that black holes don't exist either. His theory predicts a grey star, a massive object with many but not all of the properties of a black hole. Moffat's theory thus far has withstood many objections. If MOG stands the test of time, Moffat will have created a paradigm shift not seen since Newton. Illus. (Oct.)
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Review
"At last John Moffat's book is out! The voice of dissent in a sad world where every young scientist is sucking up to the dusty establishment. If you don't want to hear the same old things repeated yet again this is just the book for you. A mind-boggling foray into the odd world of gravity, straight from the mouth of the master heresiarch." (Jooao Magueijo, Professor of Physics, London, UK )

About the Author

John W. Moffat is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Toronto and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo, as well as a resident affiliate member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada. He earned a doctorate in physics at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge.

Customer Reviews

nice!
This is a very well written book on some pressing issues in cosmology/astronomy
and gravity.

The author presents a complete historical view starting from Aristotle's physics
(including also the pioneering contributions of Aristarchos) and ending to his own contributions of asymmetric gravity theory. These are some major points:

(a) this book could easily be considered a layman's book on astronomy and cosmology,
since it has a nice introduction of structure formation, cosmic microwave background, as well quite lucid discussions of dark matter and energy

(b) the author is a down-to-earth scientist paying the due respect to data and
experience; his discussions on string theory and scientific method should be read by all young scientists, since they present the tradition that made science the central focus of our societies from the time of ancient greeks to present (as nicely depicted in the book)

(c) the various alternatives to general relativity are honestly presented with
nicely structured arguments and with a progressing degree of difficulty

(d) I did not like the complete absence of mathematics as well as the fact that
some of the discussions despite their honesty and insight did not treat some
important concepts with adequate detail and depth.

Overall, this is a book that everybody with interest in modern cosmology/gravity
could read with interest. I particularly recommend it for young people that
are thinking of following careers in science.

Do not buy the Kindle edition!
The kindle edition of this book, like all the other science books with math or other symbols offered in the kindle format, leaves much to be desired. There is no indication for superscripts, so that "ten to the power of forty" is presented as 1040, obscuring the context.
It is surprising to me that nobody checks this and the other science books when they are offered in kindle edition. No quality control whatsoever.
In terms of content, the book is wonderful (see other reviews). I also bought the paper version, because of the errors in the kindle version.

A Fabulous Review of Modern Cosmology
For amateurs interested in modern cosmology, this book is a fabulous treat. It poses all the problems and offers solutions that are empirically testable. No more dark matter. No more big bang. Wow!

Moffat's solutions derive from "MOG," or Modified Gravity theory. MOG, as Moffat explains, is similar to MOND, a modification of Newton's theory to accommodate observational data, such as the rapid rotation of galaxies. However, where as MOG has background independence as required by Einstein's theory of relativity, MOND does not. String theory does not have background independence either. So in this respect MOG is superior to both of these theories.

MOG eliminates the singularity at the centre of black holes. Hence, there is no event horizon surrounding the final state of a collapsed start, and no singularity at its centre. This nicely solves the black hole information-loss problem treated extensively in a recent book by Leonard Susskind.

MOG neatly handles the miracle of creation problem. No need to posit a big bang that defies the second law of thermodynamics. At the beginning of the MOG universe, both negative and positive time evolve with increasing entropy and cancel out.

MOG does not have dark matter, but instead posits a stronger gravity at the beginning of time than the standard model. The CMB does not need to arise from a big bang at all. In addition, the flatness and uniformity problem is solved by suggesting that the speed of light is not constant, but rather the ratio of G to c is. Hence, if G is stronger, c is faster, allowing all parts of the early universe to communicate.

I found that Moffat's book was best read in conjunction with Lee Smolin's recent book, "The Trouble with Physics." In his book, Smolin praises Moffat as a friend whom he respects for his boldness and originality. Perhaps they will write their next book together.