This was a fascinating book about the prospects of string theory and how it may be the ultimate theory that gives us a complete picture of reality.

Mathematically speaking, the theory (or rather the hypothesis) seems to be flawless. However, it's never been experimentally proved. The reason is obvious. The strings are so tiny and hard to find if they exist. Even our most powerful atom smashers and super colliders can't produce them. Brian Green says, we need a collider the size of the entire Milky Way Galaxy to create such strings.

a more advanced version of the theory is called M-theory and it's an amalgamation of a number of different theories, five to be exact, that are brought together like the arms of a starfish.

the problem with the current standard model of particle physics is that it does not unite gravity with other forces. For instance, at the moment of the big bang or at the core of a black hole, Einstein's theory of general relativity (the theory of the large) and quantum mechanics (the theory of the small) can not come together. Each of these theories is perfectly capable of explaining the world in its own domain, however. String theory is thought to be our current hope to reconcile gravity and QM.

Strange as it may seem, the mathematics of string theory tells us that there are eleven dimensions (ten dimensions of space and one of time) instead of four. The reason you and I can't see these dimensions is because they're so tiny.

According to string theory, if we could examine particles with great precision—a precision many orders of magnitude beyond our present technological capacity—we would find that each is not pointlike, but instead consists of a tiny one-dimensional loop.

Dear God,

Will you ever allow us folks down here on Earth to come up with Einstein’s dream of a Theory of Everything (ToE)? The fact of the matter is that there are essentially two opposing theories upon which rests our knowledge of the universe: General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. That is, the world of the large and the world of the miniscule. But whenever we try to unify them, our calculations just fall short; or better, fall large!, for we bump into infinity.

Oh wait!, this book has just told me that String theorists already have! They claim that all fundamental particles are composed of tiny vibrating strings of energy whose movement gives rise to all those different particles that we know of. And in so doing, not only do these strings fit into Quantum theory, but they're also able to accurately predict the whys and wherefores of the big bulks of matter, like those of stars and galaxies! TADÃÃN!

BUT, not only are there five different versions to the theory, but also, and because we are talking about excruciatingly small objects, it is impossible to test it! Not really a theory is it? (daimn!) It shamelessly enters the realm of Philosophy… Oh those naysayers! Tell me of one thing that we take for granted today that hasn’t started as Cartesian doubt! You go get them my fairy little oscillating strings, which so happen to explain black holes!

But back to you old man, you never really cease to surprise me! So you’re telling me that the universe is this big cosmic symphony whose musical notes are the sounds exuded by the movement of strings? Oh you shrewd mayster!, I always knew you had a bend for drama!

With my heart in your stars,

J

About the best book on the subject and by a mile. As almost all the other reviewers claim, the initial parts on Newtonian, Relativistic and Quantum science are so beautifully and novelly explained that they should be made mandatory in any study books on the topic.



The approach continues as the author jumps to explaining a far more complex super-string theory. And here, the simplistic explanations make the theory look highly speculative, fantastic and without much ground/proof. This is certainly not the case and perhaps that's because far more work is needed not just in completing the theory but grasping its real meaning. This does not remotely lessen the utility or interesting style of the book as I strongly believe that there does not exist - at least so far - any simpler explanations.



For anyone interested in cosmology, an absolute must read - ideally multiple times over a few years. Hope the author comes with an update soon.

3.5/5 stars
"The Elegant Universe" is one of the most challenging books I've ever read. The first third of the book is understandable for me as I have been exposed to quantum mechanics and Einstein's special and general theory of relativity before. Therefore, this book serves as a reminder for me to review what I have learnt so far and to straighten my weak parts. But when it enters superstring theory and their related theoretical subjects, my mind went blank and I felt like the book immediately had switched to Chinese. Perhaps it's not the author that could not explain string theory well; it is I whose current understanding of modern theoretical physics is minimum compared to the contents in the book. I might as well proceed to his next book which is believed to be more comprehensible than this one.

I might not recommend "the Elegant Universe to those who are new to physics, but for those who would like to put their knowledge of physics into test, this book should be a great choice.

This book presents the latest breakdown of empirical existance with string theory- it's really well written and it sugguest how the fundimentals of all existing things come together in a very similar way as our understanding of music (little vibrations). I love this subject because, where the goal of civilization is to appreciate life in some form of organized chaos, some well spoken theorists have the ability to put things into perspective in such a way that the world seems to teem with possibility. Food for thought if you read this:

Presentism holds that neither the future nor the past exist—that the only things that exist are present things, and there are no non-present objects. Some have taken presentism to indicate that time travel is impossible for there is no future or past to travel to; however, recently some presentists have argued that although past and future objects do not exist, there can still be definite truths about past and future events, and that it is possible that a future truth about the time traveler deciding to return to the present date could explain the time traveler's actual presence in the present.[5] This view is contested by another contemporary advocate of presentism, Craig Bourne, in his recent book 'A Future for Presentism', although for substantially different (and more complex) reasons. In any case, the relativity of simultaneity in modern physics is generally understood to cast serious doubt on presentism and to favor the view known as four dimensionalism (closely related to the idea of block time) in which past, present and future events all coexist in a single spacetime.

Ho sempre provato una forte curiosità nei confronti dell'universo. Sin da piccola, mi ponevo le più disparate domande sul mondo che ci circonda, sulle stelle, sui pianeti e sullo spazio infinito e mi divertivo ad immaginare le teorie più strampalate riguardo le leggi che governano l'universo. Purtroppo, nonostante questo, non ho una mente particolarmente adatta allo studio delle materie scientifiche e quindi non sono diventata, ahimè, una scienziata, ma almeno ora so cosa voglio fare nella mia prossima vita.

L'universo elegante è un viaggio attraverso l'universo che conduce il lettore nelle regioni di spaziotempo più remote. Brian Greeene rende questo viaggio quasi una tranquilla scampagnata in compagnia di qualche amico. Attraverso l'impiego di metafore accessibili anche ai non esperti, riesce ad illustrare con semplici parole dei concetti che non avrei mai pensato di riuscire a padroneggiare. Oddio, non che ora li padroneggi perfettamente, ma almeno so quello che volevo sapere e, con mia grande sorpresa, mi sono accorta che alcuni concetti che credevo fossero pura fantascienza esistono davvero, il che per me è strabiliante.

E' un libro che apre la mente e allarga gli orizzonti e mi sento di consigliarlo ai curiosi, a chi vuole scoprire a cosa ci ha condotto la scienza dell'ultimo secolo e cosa il futuro scientifico può riservare all'umanità.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
If you’ve heard of string theory, and know it’s not about tying shoelaces, then you probably know about Newtonian and Einsteinian physics, especially that which pertains to gravity, special relativity, and general relativity. You’ve probably heard of quantum physics as well, which studies the microscopic interactions of particles. But you might not know that general relativity (which explains the behaviour of massive objects in the universe) and quantum physics (which describe particle behaviour in great detail), are two ways of explaining physical phenomena that do not mesh well and cannot explain the origin of the gravitational force, the fourth element of the Standard Model of Physics, the other three being the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and electromagnetic force. This is where string theory was born, and despite it being extremely heavy on theory and very difficult to be tested at the experimental level, there has been a great deal discovered in particle physics, including the Higg’s boson (or “God particle) that was experimentally confirmed on 4 July 2012 using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Bern, Switzerland, which was depicted in very well in the 2013 documentary Particle Fever.

String Theory is truly a mind-boggling and reality-bending collection of scientific theories attempting to bridge the gap between relativity, quantum physics, and gravitation. It’s not a single theory, and is still in its early developmental stage, and is immensely difficult to understand both conceptually and to formulate given the incredible complexity of the high-level mathematical constructs needed to model it. So if you are a layman or science enthusiast without a background in particle physics or advanced mathematics, you can be certain you will probably never really understand the underlying details, but Brian Greene, who is one of String Theory’s biggest proponents, has attempted to write a book to explain these highly speculative ideas in a book for non-scientists.

Given the inherent difficulty in explaining such impossibly bizarre concepts without any complex equations, he does his level best by providing a large number of analogies to make the conceptualizing a bit easier, but even then you are likely to finish the book thinking, “Yes, I do understand a bit more than before, but much of that still went totally over my head.” So when judging books like this, it’s not really fair to say “Hey, I still don’t get String Theory, so Brian Greene did a bad job in his book.” Far from it, I’d say he tried very hard to convey all the key concepts, so I give him props for that. I understand his mother found the book impossible to understand and gave up, which prompted him to write a second, easier-to-understand version called The Fabric of the Cosmos (2003). Too late, as I started with The Elegant Universe (1999), but it wasn’t so bad.

The book is so packed with mind-expanding concepts that it’s impossible to summarize, other than to list some of them here, borrowed from the very helpful SparkNotes website:

Antimatter - Matter with the same gravitational properties as regular matter, but with an opposite electric charge and opposite nuclear force charges.

Antiparticle - A particle of antimatter.

Big Bang - The widely accepted theory concerning the origin of the universe. The big bang theory posits that the universe evolved approximately 10 to 15 billion years ago from the explosion of an incredibly dense, hot substance that was contained at one point. The universe has been expanding since the first fraction of a second after the big bang occurred.

Big Crunch - The term referring to what some physicists believe will happen when the expanding universe stops and implodes. When the big crunch occurs, according to the theory, all space and matter will collapse together.

Black Hole - A region of space formed when a giant star collapses and all of its mass compresses to a single point, forming a gravitational field so overpowering that it traps anything that comes close to it, including light.

Boson - A pattern of string vibration with an amount of spin measurable in whole numbers. A boson is most often a messenger particle.

Bosonic String Theory - The first version of string theory. Bosonic string theory, which dealt with string’s vibrational patterns, emerged in the 1970s. This version was later revised and replaced by supersymmetrical string theory.

Calabi-Yau Shape/Space - A theoretical configuration that many physicists believe might contain the additional dimension string theory requires. Many thousands of such possible configurations exist, but string theory has yet to verify the correct one.

Electromagnetism/Electromagnetic Force - One of the four fundamental forces, along with gravity, the strong force, and the weak force. Electromagnetism determines all types of electromagnetic radiation, including light, X-rays, and radio waves.

Electroweak Theory - A relativistic quantum field theory that describes the weak force and the electromagnetic force within a single framework.

Elegance - To Greene, string theory defines elegance because it is extremely simple, but it may explain every event in the universe.

Elementary Particle - The indivisible or “uncuttable” unit found in all matter and forces. Elementary particles are now categorized by quarks and leptons, and their antimatter counterparts.

Equivalence Principle - The basic tenet of general relativity. The equivalence principle states that accelerated motion is indistinguishable from gravity. It generalizes the theory of relativity by showing that all observers, regardless of their state of motion, can say that they are at rest, provided they take the presence of a gravitational field into account.

Flop Transitions - Also called topography-changing transitions. Flop transitions are the act of Calabi-Yau space ripping and repairing itself.

Force Carrier Particle - A particle that transmits one of the four fundamental forces. The strong force is associated with gluon; electromagnetism with the photon; the weak force with W and Z; and graviton (which hasn’t yet been discovered) with gravity.

Fundamental Force - There are four fundamental forces : electromagnetism, strong force, weak force, and gravity.

General Theory Of Relativity - Albert Einstein’s formulation that gravity results from the warping of spacetime. Through this curvature, space and time communicate the gravitational force.

Graviton - Physicists believe that graviton—which has not yet been proven to exist—is the particle carrier of the gravitational force.

Gravity - The weakest and most mysterious of the four fundamental forces. Gravity acts over an infinite range, and gravitation describes the force of attraction between objects containing either mass or energy.

M-Theory - The theory under which all five previous versions of string theory fall. The most recent synthesis of string theory ideas, M-theory predicts eleven spacetime dimensions and describes “membranes” as a fundamental element in nature.

Mirror Symmetry - A precept of string theory that demonstrates how two different Calabi-Yau shapes have identical physics.

Newton’s Laws Of Motion - Laws of motion based on an absolute and unchanging notion of space and time. Newton’s laws of motion were later replaced by Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

Particle Accelerator - A machine that speeds up the movement of particles and then either shoots them out at a fixed target or makes them collide. Particle accelerators allow physicists to study the movement of particles in extreme conditions.

Perturbation Theory - A formal framework for making approximate calculations. Perturbation theory is a linchpin of string theory in its current form. The approximate solution will be refined later as more details fall into place.

Photon - The smallest bundle of light. Photons are the messenger particles of the electromagnetic force.

Photoelectric Effect - The action of electrons shooting from a metallic surface when light is shone onto that surface.

Planck Energy - The energy required to probe Planck-length-scale distances.

Planck Length - Planck length—approximately 10–33 centimeters—is the scale at which quantum fluctuations occur. Planck length is also the size of a typical string.

Planck Mass - Planck mass is roughly equal to the mass of a grain of dust, or ten billion billion times the mass of a proton.

Planck’s Constant - Planck’s constant is also known (and written) as the “h-bar.” It is a fundamental component of quantum mechanics.

Planck Tension - About 10 (to the 39th power) tons. Planck tension is equal to the tension of a typical string.

Quanta - According to the laws of quantum mechanics, the smallest physical unit that something can be broken into. Photons are the quanta of the electromagnetic field.

Quantum Field Theory - Also known as relativistic quantum field theory. Quantum field theory describes particles in terms of fields, as well as how particles can be created or annihilated, and how they scatter.

Quantum Foam - Also known as spacetime foam. Quantum foam is the violent turbulence of spatial fabric at an ultramicroscopic scale. Its existence is one of the chief reasons that quantum mechanics is incompatible with general relativity.

Quantum Mechanics - The framework of laws that describe matter on atomic and subatomic scales. The uncertainty principle is a pillar of quantum mechanics.

Quarks - A family of elementary particles (matter or antimatter) that make up protons and neutrons. There are many types of quarks: up, charm, top, down, strange, and bottom. Quarks are acted upon by the strong force. Murray Gell-Mann named quarks after he read James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.

Special Theory Of Relativity - Einstein’s description of particle motion, which hinges on the constancy of the speed of light. The theory of relativity states that even if an observer is moving, the speed of light never changes. Distance, time, and mass, however, all depend on the observer’s relative motion.

Spin - The theory that all particles have an intrinsic amount of spin in either whole- or half-integer denominations.

Standard Model - A quantum model that explains three of the fundamental forces—electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force—but does not take gravity into consideration.

String - Miniscule one-dimensional vibrating strands of energy. String theories posit that these filaments are the basis of all elementary particles. The length of a string is 10–33 cm; strings have no width.

Strong Force - So called because it is the strongest of the four fundamental forces. It holds quarks together and keeps protons and neutrons in the nuclei of atoms.

Superstring Theory - A theory that describes resonant strings as the most elementary units in nature.

Supersymmetry - A principle of symmetry relating the properties of particles with a whole-number quantity of spin (bosons) to those with half a whole number of spin (fermions). Supersymmetry posits that all elementary matter particles have corresponding superpartner force carrier particles. No one has yet observed these theoretical superpartners, which are thought to be even larger than their counterparts.

Tachyon - A particle that has a negative mass when squared. The existence of a tachyon usually indicates a problem with a theory.

Topology - The study of geometric figures’ properties that exhibit ongoing transformations and are unchanged by stretching or bending.

Uncertainty Principle - Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is the crux of quantum mechanics. It proclaims that you can never know both the position and the velocity of a particle simultaneously. To isolate one, you must somehow blur the other.

Unified Field Theory - A theory describing all four fundamental forces and all of matter within a single framework.

Weak Force - One of the four fundamental forces. Weak force operates over a short range.

First and foremost, I should mention that I originally read The Elegant Universe while I was in high school, and this book is the reason that I pursued a career in astrophysics; this book had a profound impact on me nearly a decade ago and it had another profound impact on me this year. What is the nature of the Universe? Why are the fundamental particles which make up the standard model the way that they are? How and why does spacetime exist? These are questions representing the theoretical underpinnings of modern science, and string theory is beginning to answer some of these incredibly important questions. Brian Greene begins talking about Einstein’s theories of relativity, then continues by discussing quantum mechanics, and finally introduces string theory, which are three of the most revolutionary ideas ever conceived. These ideas are presented using the narrative framework of “the hero’s journey,” where string theory is the hero of modern science; this narrative is done so well that it has inspired me to become a theoretical physicist (LOL). And I am left wondering, how can I connect my own astrophysical research with string theory? Is there an underlying connection between the large-scale structure of the Universe with string theory? Maybe one day I can make this connection and win a Nobel Prize in physics (LOL once again). I look forward to reading the 25th Anniversary Edition of this book.

“The meta-lesson of both relativity and quantum mechanics is that when we deeply probe the fundamental workings of the universe we may come upon aspects that are vastly different from our expectations. The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.”

“For three decades, Einstein sought a unified theory of physics, one that would interweave all of nature’s forces and material constituents within a single theoretical tapestry. He failed. Now, at the dawn of the new millennium, proponents of string theory claimed that the threads of this elusive unified tapestry finally have been revealed. String theory has the potential to show that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe — from the frantic dance of subatomic quarks to the stately waltz of orbiting binary stars, from the primordial fireball of the big bang to the majestic swirl of heavenly galaxies — are reflections of one grand physics principle, one master equation. Because these features of string theory require that we drastically change our understand of space, time, and matter, they will take some time to get used to, to sink in at a comfortable level. But as shall become clear, when seen in its proper context, string theory emerges as a dramatic yet natural outgrowth of the revolutionary discoveries of physics during the past hundred years.”

“This is not a question born of idle philosophizing about why certain details happen to be one way instead of another; the universe would be a vastly different place if the properties of the matter and force particles were even moderately changed. For example, the existence of the stable nuclei forming the hundred or so elements of the periodic table hinges delicately on the ratio between the strengths of the strong and electromagnetic forces. The protons crammed together in atomic nuclei all repel one another electromagnetically; the strong force acting among their constituent quarks, thankfully, overcomes this repulsion and tethers the protons tightly together. But a rather small change in the relative strengths of these two forces would easily disrupt the balance between them, and would cause most atomic nuclei to disintegrate. Furthermore, were the mass of the electron a few times greater than it is, electrons and protons would tend to combine to form neutrons, gobbling up the nuclei of hydrogen (the simplest element in the cosmos, with a nucleus containing a single proton) and, again, disrupting the productions of more complex elements. Stars rely upon fusion between stable nuclei and would not form with such alterations to fundamental physics. The strength of the gravitational force also plays a formative role. The crushing density of matter in a star’s central core powers its nuclear furnace and underlies the resulting blaze of starlight. If the strength of the gravitational force were increased, the stellar clump would bind more strongly, causing a significant increase in the rate of nuclear reactions. But just as a billion flare exhausts its fuel much faster than a slow-burning candle, an increase in the nuclear reaction rate would cause stars like the sun to burn out far more quickly, having a devastating effect on the formation of life as we know it. On the other hand, were the strength of the gravitational force significantly decreased, matter would not clump together at all, thereby preventing the formation of stars and galaxies. We could go on, but the idea is clear: the universe is the way it is because the matter and the force particles have the properties they do. But is there a scientific explanation for why they have these properties?”

“If you find this property of light hard to swallow, you are not alone. At the turn of the century physicists went to great length to refute it. They couldn’t. Einstein, to the contrary, embraced the constancy of the speed of light, for here was the answer to the conflict that had troubled him since he was a teenager. No matter how hard you chase after a light beam, it still retreats from you at light speed. You can’t make the apparent speed with which light departs one iota less than 670 million miles per hour, let alone slow it down to the point of appearing stationary. Case closed. But this triumph over paradox was no small victory. Einstein realized that the constancy of light’s speed spelled the downfall of Newtonian physics.”

“In other words, things that are simultaneous from the viewpoint of some observers will not be simultaneous from the viewpoint of others, if the two groups are in relative motion. This is a startling conclusion. It is one of the deepest insights into the nature of reality ever discovered.”

“Einstein found that precisely this idea — the sharing of motion between different dimensions — underlies all of the remarkable physics of special relativity, so long as we realize that not only can spatial dimensions share an object’s motion, but the time dimension can share this motion as well. In fact, in the majority of circumstances, most of an objects motion is through time, not space. Let’s see what this means…”

“The second example in which general relativity flexes its muscle concerns the origin and evolution of the whole universe. As we have seen, Einstein showed that space and time respond to the presence of mass and energy. This distortion of space time affects the motion of other cosmic bodies moving in the vicinity of the resulting warps. In turn, the precise way in which these bodies move, by virtue of their own mass and energy, has a further affect on the warping of spacetime, which further affects the motion of the bodies, and on and on the interconnected cosmic dance goes. Through the equations of general relativity, equations rooted in geometrical insights into curved space spearheaded by the great nineteenth-century mathematician Georg Bernhard Riemann, Einstein was able to describe the mutual evolution of space, time, and matter quantitatively. To his great surprise, when the equations are applied behind an isolated context within the universe, such as a planet or a comet orbiting a star, to the universe as a whole, a remarkable conclusion is reached: the overall size of the spatial universe must be changing in time. That is, either the fabric of the universe is stretching or it is shrinking, but it is not simply staying put. The equations of general relativity show this explicitly. This conclusion was too much even for Einstein. He had overturned the collective intuition regarding the nature of space and time built up through everyday experiences over thousands of years, but the notion of an always existing, never changing universe was too ingrained for even this radial thinker to abandon… However, 12 years later, through detailed measurements of distant galaxies, the American astronomer Edwin Hubble experimentally established that the universe is expanding… In fact, in the early 1920s — years before Hubble’s measurements — the Russian meteorologist Alexander Friedmann had used Einstein’s original equations to show, in some detail, that all galaxies would be carried along on the substrate of stretching spatial fabric, thereby speedily moving away from all others… If the fabric of space is stretching, thereby increasing the distance between galaxies that are carried along on the cosmic flow, we can imagine running the evolution backward in time to learn about the origin of the universe. In reverse, the fabric of space shrinks, bringing all galaxies closer and closer to each other. Like the contents of a pressure cooker, as the shrinking universe compresses the galaxies together, the temperature dramatically increases, stars disintegrate and a hot plasma of matter’s elementary constituents is formed. As the fabric continues to shrink, the temperature rises unabated, as does the density of the primordial plasma. As we imagine running the clock backward from the age of the presently observed universe, [about 13.7 billion years], the universe as we know it is crushed to an ever smaller size… Extrapolating all the way back to ‘the beginning,’ the universe would appear to have begun as a point in which all matter and energy is squeezed together to unimaginable density and temperature. It is believed that a cosmic fireball, the big bang, erupted from this volatile mixture spewing forth the seeds from which the universe as we know it evolved. The image of the big bang as a cosmic explosion ejecting the material contents of the universe like shrapnel from an exploding bomb is a useful one to bear in mind, but it is a little misleading… Instead, the big bang is the eruption of compressed space whose unfurling, like a tidal wave, carries along matter and energy even to this day…”

“So we see that, according to string theory, the observed properties of each elementary particle arise because its internal string undergoes a particular resonant vibrational pattern. This perspective differs sharply from that espoused by physicists before the discovery of string theory;,in the earlier perspective the differences among the fundamental particles were explained by saying that, in effect, each particle species was ‘cut from a different fabric.’ Although each particle was viewed as elementary, the kind of ‘stuff’ each embodied was thought to be different. Electron ‘stuff,’ for example, had negative electric charge, while neutrino ‘stuff’ had no electric charge. String theory alters this picture radically by declaring that the ‘stuff’ of all matter and all forces is the same. Each elementary particle is composed of a single string — that is, each particle is a single string — and all strings are absolutely identical. Differences between the particles arise because their respective strings undergo different resonant vibrational patterns. What appear to be different elementary particles are actually different ‘notes’ on a fundamental string. The universe — being composed of an enormous number of these vibrating strings — is akin to a cosmic symphony.”

“In 1925, the Dutch physicists George Uhlenbeck and Samuel Goudsmit realized that a wealth of puzzling data having to do with properties of light emitted and absorbed by atoms could be explained if electrons were assumed to have very particular magnetic properties. Some hundred years earlier, the Frenchman Andre-Marie Ampere had shown that magnetism arises from the motion of electrical charge. Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit followed this lead and found that only one specific sort of electron motion could give rise to the magnetic properties suggested by the data: rotational motion — that is, spin. Contrary to classical expectations, Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit proclaimed that, somewhat like the earth, electrons both revolve and rotate. Did Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit literally mean that the electron is spinning? Yes and no. What their work really showed is that there is a quantum-mechanic notion of spin that is somewhat akin to the usual image but inherently quantum mechanical in nature. It’s one of those properties of the microscopic world that brushes up against classical ideas but injects an experimentally verified quantum twist… According to their work and subsequent studies, every electron in the universe, always and forever, spins at one fixed and never changing rate. The spin of an electron is not a transitory state of motion as for more familiar objects that, for some reason or other, happen to be spinning. Instead, the spin of an electron is an intrinsic property, much like its mass or its electric charge. If an electron were not spinning, it would not be an electron.”

“We are all aware that the electrical attraction between two oppositely charged particles or the gravitational attraction between two massive bodies gets stronger as the distance between the objects decreases. These are simple and well-known features of classical physics. There is a surprise, though, when we study the effect that quantum physics has on force strengths. Why would quantum mechanics have any effect at all? The answer, once again, lies in quantum fluctuations. When we examine the electric force field of an electron, for example, we are actually examining it through the ‘mist’ of momentary particle-antiparticle eruptions and annihilations that are occurring all through the region of space surrounding it. Physicists some time ago realized that this seething mist of microscopic fluctuations obscures the full strength of the electron’s force field, somewhat as a thin fog partially obscured the beacon of a lighthouse. But notice that as we get closer to the electron, we will have penetrated more of the cloaking particle-antiparticle mist and hence will be less subject to its diminishing influence. This implies that the strength of an electron’s electric field will increase as we get closer to it… In fact, although we have focused on the electron, this discussion applies equally well to all electrically charged particles and is summarized by saying that quantum effects drive the strength of the electromagnetic force to get larger when examined on shorter distance scales. What about the other forces of the standard model? How do their intrinsic strengths vary with distance? In 1973, Gross and Frank Wilczek at Princeton, and, independently, David Politzer at Harvard, studied this question and found a surprising answer: The quantum cloud of particle eruptions and annihilations amplifies the strengths of the strong and weak forces. This implies that as we examine them on shorter distances, we penetrate more of this seething cloud and hence are subject to less of its amplification. And so, the strengths of these forces get weaker when they are probed on shorter distances.”

“This is such a deep and important point that we say it once again, with feeling. According to string theory, the universe is made up of tiny strings whose resonant patterns of vibration are the microscopic origin of particle masses and force charges. String theory also requires extra space dimensions that must be curled up to a very small size to be consistent with our never having seen them. But a tiny string can probe a tiny space. As a string moves about, oscillating as it travels, the geometrical form of the extra dimensions plays a critical role in determining resonant patterns of vibration. Because the patterns of string vibrations appear to us as the masses and charges of the elementary particles, we conclude that these fundamental properties of the universe are determined, in large measure, by the geometrical size and shape of the extra dimensions. That’s one of the most far-reaching insights of string theory.”

“Although our approach used tools familiar to the string theorists, Batyrev later told me that our paper seemed to him to be ‘black magic.’ This reflects the large cultural divide between the disciplines of physics and mathematics, and as string theory blurs their borders, the vast differences in language, methods, and styles of each field become increasingly apparent. Physicists are more like avant-garde composers, willing to bend traditional rules and brush the edge of acceptability in the search for solutions. Mathematicians are more like classical composers, typically working within a much tighter framework, reluctant to go to the next step until all previous ones have been established with due rigor. Each approach has its advantages as well as drawbacks; each provides a unique outlet for creative discovery. Like modern and classical music, it’s not that one approach is right and the other wrong — the methods one chooses to use are largely a matter of taste and training.”

“Undoubtedly, the cosmological implications of string/M-theory will be a major field of study well into the twenty-first century. Without accelerators capable of producing Planck-scale energies, we will increasingly have to rely on the cosmological accelerator of the big bang, and the relics it has left for us throughout the universe, for our experimental data. With luck and perseverance, we may finally be able to answer questions such as how the universe began, and why it has evolved to the form we behold in the heavens and on earth. There is, of course, much uncharted territory between where we are and where full answers to these fundamental questions lie. But the development of a quantum theory of gravity through superstring theory lends credence to the hope that we now possess theoretical tools for pushing into the vast regions of the unknown, and, no doubt after many a struggle, possibly emerging with answers to some of the deepest questions ever posed.”

“As we fix our sight on the future and anticipate all the wonders yet in store for us, we should also reflect back and marvel at the journey we have taken so far. The search for the fundamental laws of the universe is a distinctly human drama, one that has stretched the mind and enriched the spirit. Einstein’s vivid description of his own quest to understand gravity — ‘the years of anxious searching in the dark, with their intense longing, their alternations of confidence and exhaustion, and final emergence into the light’ — encompasses, surely, the whole human struggle. We are all, each in our own way, seekers of the truth and we each long for an answer to why we are here. As we collectively scale the mountain of explanation, each generation stands firmly on the shoulders of the previous, bravely reaching for the peak. Whether any of our descendants will ever take in the view from the summit and gaze out on the vast and elegant universe with a perspective of infinite clarity, we cannot predict. But as each generation climbs a little higher, we realize Jacob Bronowski’s pronouncement that ‘in every age there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world.’ And as our generation marvels at our new view of the universe — our new way of asserting the world’s coherence — we are fulfilling our part, contributing our ring to the human ladder reaching for the stars.”

Neat stuff

My local book club picked this book for our non-fiction month. I've been a part of this group- the largest-best Bay Area Book club!!!!

In the 5 years I been part of this group, I can't remember a more challenging book to fully understand. The superstring theory is 'taught' by Brian Green' for those of us with maybe a basic Physics level one course. I can't imagine understanding anything, without having had at least some High School or College physics. This book is not for everyone, yet it's Top Notch ....

If you have a strong desire to read about The fundamental laws of the universe, how they are structured, then by all means, give this book a shot. I took soooo many notes, and I've still a dozen questions, yet the author does do an excellent job in explaining the new advances of the cosmos that have come to light during this last decade. The author explained over and over... So the lay person may understand that we must merge general relativity and quantum mechanics--and make use of string theory. It's the 'teaching' of the ways string theory appears which begins to get more challenging to comprehend. I've done my best... Yet hoping others in my book club might be able to fill in some holes which went way over my head.

This is a better history book than it is a science one. And it's a mess.

The book starts with an introduction to the basics of relativity and quantum mechanics. Now, I know a fair bit about relativity, and it was clear to me that the author does not have a firm grasp of it. His hilariously mangled misunderstanding of Lorentz contraction is a testament to that.
Unfortunately this left me doubting the accuracy of all that came after, on topics that I was less familiar with. The explanations of string theory were sometimes confusing, and I could never be sure if it was me or if the author was just waffling about nonsense again. Also I felt like a lot of relevant information was left out while a lot of irrelevant remarks were randomly inserted throughout the text, making things seem even more messy and disjointed.

As a final remark I will just say that the list of references for further reading in the back of this book names many great books I would recommend reading instead of this one.

I left Christianity a few years ago and swore off religion altogether; however, after reading this book, string theory has become tantamount to religion in my life. Brian Greene writes beautifully about particles, planets, and the origins of our universe as we know it today. It is a heavy book- I don't recommend it for anyone who wants a quick, easy read. It took me almost two months to get through, but I learned a tremendous amount and came away in complete awe of the world and the forces at work in it today. Since Green wrote his book string theory has come under intense scrutiny; despite this, I would still support this book on the basis that it is gorgeously written, based in fact (many of the experiments and proofs were done by Greene himself), and incredibly informative. A vertible Bible of where we came from, where we're going and the incredibly complex way things function in this glorious universe of ours.