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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
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Searching... | 30000010163484 | Q175 B37 2007 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Will we ever discover a single scientific theory that tells us everything that has happened, and everything that will happen, on every level in the Universe? The quest for the theory of everything - a single key that unlocks all the secrets of the Universe - is no longer a pipe-dream, but the focus of some of our most exciting research about the structure of the cosmos. But what might such a theory look like? What would it mean? And how close are we to getting there?In New Theories of Everything, John D. Barrow describes the ideas and controversies surrounding the ultimate explanation. Updating his earlier work iTheories of Everything/i with the very latest theories and predictions, he tells of the M-theory of superstrings and multiverses, of speculations about the world as a computer program, and of new ideas of computation and complexity. But this is not solely a book about modern ideas in physics -- Barrow also considers and reflects on the philosophical and cultural consequences of those ideas, and their implications for our own existence in the world.Far from there being a single theory uniquely specifying the constants and forces of nature, the picture today is of a vast landscape of different logically possible laws and constants in many dimensions, of which our own world is but a shadow: a tiny facet of a higher dimensional reality. But this is not to say we should give up in bewilderment: Barrow shows how many rich and illuminating theories and questions arise, and what this may mean for our understanding of our own place in the cosmos.
Author Notes
John D. Barrow is a scientist who writes accessibly about astrophysics and cosmology for both the general reader and the expert. Born in 1952, in London, England, Barrow earned a B.S. degree with first-class honors from the University of Durham in 1974. Three years later he received his doctorate from Magdalen College, Oxford. He was a junior research lecturer in astrophysics at Oxford University from 1977 to 1980 and became a lecturer in astronomy at the University of Sussex in Brighton in 1981.
With coauthor Joseph Silk, Barrow published The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe in 1983. The book, which explains particle physics and its application to the creation and evolution of the universe, quickly won praise for its lucid style.
Barrow delved further into this topic in 1994 with The Origin of the Universe. In this work he explored such questions as the possibility of extra dimensions to space, the beginning of time, and how human existence is part and parcel of the origin and composition of the universe.
Barrow's other books include Pi and the Sky; Theories of Everything; and The World Within the World. He has also contributed many articles to such professional journals as New Scientist, Scientific American, and Nature.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews 2
Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1991, mathematician and astronomer Barrow released Theories of Everything, a look at science?s search for a single model that explains the mechanics of the entire universe. Even though science is not much closer to attaining its Holy Grail, the intervening 16 years have seen enough developments to warrant a thorough revision. Dubious that one formula can ever "deliver all truth"-or that such a theory would even be desirable-Barrow demonstrates that the quest itself is what?s important, providing a framework for probing the deepest questions of science, including the role of mankind in the universe; each of these questions is looked at in turn under broad chapters on "Laws," "Initial conditions," "Constants of nature," "Broken symmetries" and others. Each topic yields surprises; for instance, Barrow executes a startling reversal of Copernicus?s fundamental principle, that the Earth is not the center of the universe, by pointing out that the physical laws governing our universe are necessarily bound to the conditions that account "for the living observers within it." Though Barrow succeeds in making the scope and wealth of his knowledge accessible and relevant, his book proves more demanding than other "popular" science titles; fortunately, this one is worth the effort. 25 line illustrations. (Aug.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Choice Review
Barrow offers an updated version of his original Theories of Everything: The Quest for Ultimate Explanation (CH, Nov'91, 29-1566). It includes most of the developments that have occurred in the area since 1991. Among them are recent developments in string theory and the formulation of M theory; in fact, Barrow has a relatively long section on M theory. Strangely, the long section on wormholes and baby universes has been deleted in this revision. As the title implies, the book centers on what a "Theory of Everything" would look like--what it would entail, its limitations, and what it would say about the universe. Barrow points out that our understanding of the universe is strongly dependent on eight essential ingredients. In his earlier book he was more optimistic about the development of a theory of everything. In this book he stresses that things have become more complicated. In fact, he states such a theory is "no longer sufficient for a complete understanding of the universe." This work is strongly recommended, but some background in the area is needed to thoroughly understand it. Detailed bibliography; many line diagrams. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty. B. R. Parker emeritus, Idaho State University
Table of Contents
| 1 Ultimate explanation | p. 1 |
| An eightfold way | p. 1 |
| Myths | p. 4 |
| Creation myths | p. 8 |
| Algorithmic compressibility | p. 10 |
| 2 Laws | p. 14 |
| The legacy of law | p. 14 |
| The quest for unity | p. 17 |
| Roger Boscovich | p. 19 |
| Symmetries | p. 22 |
| Infinities-to be or not to be? | p. 26 |
| From strings to 'M' | p. 32 |
| A flight of rationalistic fancy | p. 36 |
| Goodbye to all that | p. 43 |
| 3 Initial conditions | p. 44 |
| At the edge of things | p. 44 |
| Axioms | p. 45 |
| Mathematical Jujitsu | p. 51 |
| Initial conditions and time symmetry | p. 61 |
| Time without time | p. 62 |
| Cosmological time | p. 66 |
| The problem of time | p. 76 |
| Absolute space and time | p. 78 |
| How far is far enough? | p. 83 |
| The quantum mystery of time | p. 85 |
| Quantum initial conditions | p. 88 |
| The great divide | p. 90 |
| 4 Forces and particles | p. 93 |
| The stuff of the Universe | p. 93 |
| The copy-cat principle | p. 95 |
| Elementarity | p. 100 |
| The atom and the vortex | p. 102 |
| A world beside itself | p. 104 |
| 5 Constants of Nature | p. 110 |
| The importance of being constant | p. 110 |
| Fundamentalism | p. 112 |
| What do constants tell us? | p. 117 |
| Varying constants | p. 124 |
| The cosmological constant | p. 128 |
| 6 Broken symmetries | p. 136 |
| The never-ending story | p. 136 |
| Broken symmetry | p. 138 |
| Natural theology: A tale of two tales | p. 140 |
| The flaws of nature | p. 143 |
| Chaos | p. 145 |
| Chance | p. 148 |
| The unpredictability of sex | p. 152 |
| Symmetry-breaking in the Universe | p. 154 |
| 7 Organizing principles | p. 160 |
| Where the wild things are | p. 160 |
| Big AL | p. 169 |
| Time | p. 173 |
| Being and becoming organized | p. 176 |
| The arrow of time | p. 180 |
| Far from equilibrium | p. 182 |
| The sands of time | p. 185 |
| The way of the world | p. 188 |
| 8 Selection effects | p. 192 |
| Ubiquitous bias | p. 192 |
| 9 Is 'pi' really in the sky? | p. 202 |
| In the centre of immensities | p. 202 |
| The number of the rose | p. 204 |
| Philosophies of mathematics | p. 206 |
| What is mathematics? | p. 212 |
| Mathematics and physics: An eternal golden braid | p. 219 |
| The intelligibility of the world | p. 224 |
| Algorithmic compressibility rides again | p. 231 |
| Continuity-a bridge too far? | p. 233 |
| The secret of the Universe | p. 236 |
| Is the Universe a computer? | p. 238 |
| The unknowable | p. 242 |
| Select Bibliography | p. 247 |
| Index | p. 256 |
