Universe on a T-Shirt: The Quest for the Theory of Everything

by Dan Falk

Overview

No scientific quest is as compelling as the search for the key to understand the universe—the elusive unified “Theory of Everything”—a theory so concise it could fit on a T-shirt. Lively and thought-provoking, Universe on a T-Shirt tells the fascinating story of the search for the Holy Grail of physics.

Dan Falk places this intriguing story in its historical context, tracing the quest from ancient Greece to the breakthroughs of Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, to the excitement over string theory and today’s efforts to merge quantum theory with general relativity. With as much emphasis on history as on science, Falk’s accessible approach is ideal for anyone intrigued by the advances in modern physics but still wondering what theoretical physicists are searching for, and why. Today’s physicists use sophisticated methods, but their goal—the search for simplicity—has not changed since the time of the ancient Greeks. Universe on a T-Shirt is filled with quirky personalities, brilliant minds, and bold ideas—high science and high drama.

"An admirably concise and comprehensive overview of cosmology . . . [that] offers intriguing insights into the philosophic and personal outlooks motivating the scientists involved, from the ancient Greeks through Newton and Einstein . . . [and] Stephen Hawking and Ed Witten.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611457933
Publisher:	Arcade
Publication date:	05/09/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Dan Falk is an award-winning science writer and broadcaster who has received the prestigious Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers and the Science Writing Award in Physics and Astronomy from the American Institute of Physics for his documentary work. He is also the author of In Search of Time: The History, Physics, and Philosophy of Time. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Note to the Reader x

Introduction 1

Shadows and Light: The Greek World and the Beginning of Science 7

A New Vision: The Copernican Revolution 25

Heaven and Earth: Galileo, Newton, and the Birth of Modern Science 48

Flashes of Insight: Electricity, Magnetism, and Light 71

Relativity, Space, and Time: Einstein's Revolution 88

Quantum Theory and Modern Physics: Things Get Even Weirder 117

Tying Up Loose Ends: String Theory to the Rescue? 149

What Does It All Mean?: Science, God, and the Limits of Understanding 183

Epilogue 209

Afterword 216

Recommended Reading 225

Endnotes 229

Credits 247

Index 250

Editorial Reviews

This volume begins with a quote from physicist Leon Lederman: "My ambition is to live to see all of physics reduced to a formula so elegant and simple that it will fit easily on the front of a T-shirt." Such a "Theory of Everything" is the holy grail of contemporary physics, and Falk, a widely published science writer and broadcaster, spends most of his book recounting the various stabs in that direction made by scientists over the past millennia. Beginning with Aristotelian physics, Falk races through the scientific revolution, general relativity and quantum mechanics, winding up with an exploration of the current best hope for unification, string theory. Falk's prose is familiar and clear, and the book hangs together well, with the exception of an unexpected detour into the philosophy of science in the last chapter. In particular, the author has a knack for popularizing modern physics-though the narrative reaches back to the ancient Greeks, it's strongest once Falk attains the 20th century. The book as a whole offers an accessible, if cursory, overview of the history of physics (it's the kind of book that refers to atoms as "nature's LegoR set" and has an occasional topical one-panel comic embedded in the text) and is a reasonable introduction to physics past and present for readers with little science background. B&w illus. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Adult/High School-In this entertaining account, Falk makes the history of Western science seem fresh and new, and the mysteries of modern physics remarkably accessible. With humor, brevity, and clarity, and including the occasional black-and-white illustration or cartoon, the author brings history and personalities to life. As he delineates science's many revelations-from the ancient Greek search for logos through discoveries of gravity, electromagnetism, and the rest, and on to modern physics-he tells the story of an unbroken quest to understand the workings and origins of our universe, and, sometimes, of the price exacted for pursuing knowledge beyond accepted paradigms and dogma. Reminding readers that the most elegant solution to any problem is usually the correct one, with each new development he envisions the way that concept might be expressed on a T-shirt. Arriving at the particle physics, cosmology, and string theory of today, he explains how a "theory of everything," now under construction, promises to reconcile the several seemingly unconnected directions taken by physics in the past century. In the final section, he asks where religion fits in; though here he has fewer answers, he provides many useful points for consideration. Among the recent books attempting to translate, for nonmathematicians, the leading edge of a science whose concepts can only truly be accessed mathematically, this may well be the most successful.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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