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Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces
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Product Description
Extraordinarily readable and authoritative, The Lightness of Being is the first book to unwrap these exciting new ideas for the general public. It explores their implications for basic questions about space, mass, energy, and the longed-for possibility of a fully unified theory of Nature. Along the way, Wilczek presents new perspectives on many strange aspects of our fantastic universe. Pointing toward new directions where the great discoveries in fundamental physics are likely to come, he envisions a new Golden Age in physics.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #17607 in Books
- Published on: 2008-08-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 292 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Grand unification theories have long been a holy grail in science. Nobel Prize–winning physicist Wilczek, who has himself made notable contributions in this field, offers a survey of everything in the universe from quarks to black holes, elucidating the current scientific thinking on how matter and energy interact. The two main concepts are the Grid and the Core. Wilczek says the grid is a conceptual descendant of ether, that mysterious substance scientists once believed filled empty space. Now some physicists theorize that space is highly structured by the grid, which is the primary ingredient of physical reality and the substance from which all physical matter is formed. Core theory, on the other hand, provides a theory of everything, reconciling gravity with electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Wilczek reports a couple of problems with core theory: it's not very elegant (scientists love elegance in their equations), and it hasn't been reconciled with string theory. This book is not for most general readers, but will be a hit with hard-core science buffs. Photos, illus. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
In this excursion to the outer limits of particle physics, Wilczek explores what quarks and gluons, which compose protons and neutrons, reveal about the manifestation of mass and gravity. A corecipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, Wilczek knows what he’s writing about; the question is, will general science readers? Happily, they know what the strong interaction is (the forces that bind the nucleus), and in Wilczek, they have a jovial guide who adheres to trade publishing’s belief that a successful physics title will not include too many equations. Despite this injunction (against which he lightly protests), Wilczek delivers an approachable verbal picture of what quarks and gluons are doing inside a proton that gives rise to mass and, hence, gravity. Casting the light-speed lives of quarks against “the Grid,” Wilczek’s term for the vacuum that theoretically seethes with quantum activity, Wilczek exudes a contagious excitement for discovery. A near-obligatory acquisition for circulating physics collections. --Gilbert Taylor
Review
"For a safari-like adventure into the world of physics, follow Wilczek's lead. Quirky but knowledgeable, he explores the essence of the matter that makes up the universe — combining the enthusiasm of someone like Jeff Corwin with the thoughtfulness of a David Attenborough."
“The Lightness of Being does a superb job of introducing the reader…to our current understanding of the nature of matter and the forces that govern the universe…. [A] wonderful program guide to what we can expect from the LHC in the coming years. Stay tuned.”
“Frank Wilczek is one of the most brilliant practitioners of particle physics…. It is too soon to tell whether Wilczek will be the new Darwin. His book is not the new Origin of Species. It is more like Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, a popular account of a voyage of exploration, describing the landscape and the newly discovered creatures that still have to be explained…. He writes as he thinks, with a lightness of touch that can come only to one who is absolute master of his subject.”
“Wilczek can write with wit, grace, and an uncanny facility for using lightweight language to express heavy-duty ideas. [Readers] will find much of that kind of writing in The Lightness of Being…. Wilczek’s best writing – some of it in this book – is lucid, lively, and illuminating.”
Customer Reviews
A must read for physics buffs
Anyone with more than just a passive interest in physics and the nature of the universe will enjoy this book. The title caught my attention, and the first chapter drew me in. Before I realized an afternoon had passed, I had finished the book in a single sitting and found myself eagerly flipping back to previous chapters!
Frank Wilczek may be a Nobel Prize winner (2004), but you don't have to be a physicist to read his book. He writes clearly (and occasionally humorously), with only minimal use of numbers and equations, allowing the text to have a smooth flow so the reader can absorb the complexity of it all. (He even provides a glossary for clearer understanding of the topics discussed.)
Almost from the first page, this is fascinating read, offering insights that literally contradict past theories that were once thought to be irrefutable. For example, perfectly "empty" space is unstable and can actually spawn tiny particles, so we really can get something from nothing!
And then there's what Wilczek calls the Grid, a sort of upgrade over the old ether idea, although it's really something entirely different. The Grid offers an explanation for, among many other things, the spontaneous activity in what appears to be empty space.
The Lightness of Being is about more than just particle physics. It's about connecting theories old and new, from particle physics to cosmology, to bring us many steps closer not only to understanding how the forces of nature work together to form a life-sustaining universe, but also to understanding what "nature" really is.
Mass and QCD explained
This book continues the themes of "Fantastic Realities" (which was more a collection of articles than a real book), but it is much more intelligible. The title corresponds to the fact that a human being is 95% pure energy. The reason: proton's and neutron's masses are very much larger than the rest masses of their constituent quarks, i.e. most of these baryons' mass is pure (m= E/c*c) energy.
If you are not familiar with Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interaction, you will get a good grasp of it by reading this book and you will understand quark confinement. QCD is an exceptionally rigid theory depending only on three parameters. The author won a Nobel Prize for the development of QCD based on asymptotic freedom together with David Gross, although this work, as graduate student, was not recognized until 20 years later.
By reading the book you will also discover why gravity is so weak compared to other forces (a magnet lifts a clip against Earth gravitational pull) and you will learn about the theoretical framework to extend the Standard Model group of symmetries to Supersymmetry, a theory that suggests a unification of all interactions, including gravity, at high energies. Predicted superpartners of the standard particles may be discovered at the LHC in Geneva. On the way you will also come to accept that empty space is a most complex structure: a multilayered, multicolored superconductor.
The author questions Popper's falsifiability dogma to which all scientific theories must obey. Part 3 is titled: Is Beauty Truth? It reminds me of Sir Michael Atiyah's presentation at Cosmocaixa in Barcelona with a similar argument and the author presents historical evidence (Dirac's prediction of the positron, for example). Wilczek argues that a good beautiful theory (SUSY) is worth keeping even if some things do not really fit in. He adopts the Jesuit credo: "It is more blessed to ask forgiveness than permission". Nature is, of course, the last judge.
I will quote a beautiful description he makes of the LHC: "In sheer size, the LHC is our civilization's answer to the pyramids of ancient Egypt. But it is a nobler monument in many ways. It is born out of curiosity, not of superstition. It is a product of cooperation, not command". Blessed are we to live in such exciting times in science!
Making Advanced Nuclear Particle Physics Fun and Accessible
I am not a physicist but I have been fascinated by cosmology, general relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, multi-dimensional theories, black holes, grand unified theory (GUT), etc. since my college days in the mid-to-late seventies. I have read many books on these topics and many are very difficult reads given that I am not grounded in the advanced mathematical models and approaches that underpin the theories. Having said that, this book is a very easy read for the layman (as easy as a book on this topic can be) and is written in a highly entertaining way. Frank Wilczek has a wonderful sense of humor. I find that I don't have to read any sentence twice to understand the concept. I get it the first time around. It takes true brilliance to convey very complicated concepts simply and with great clarity. I sat down and read this book from cover to cover without putting it down. It covers the evolution of thinking on matter and space from the earliest thinking to today's speculation and theories. The concept of space as a dynamic grid is fascinating. Dr. Wilczek even includes a glossary of terms in the back of the book in case you don't understand the meaning of a particular word or phrase. I highly recommend this book to people who want to keep abreast of the latest thinking on this area of physics. It is an informative and engaging read.
