The Fabric of the Cosmos
 Softcover edition | |
| Author | Brian Greene |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Theoretical physics, cosmology, string theory |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 569 |
| ISBN | 0-375-41288-3 |
| OCLC | 52854030 |
| 523.1 22 | |
| LC Class | QB982 .G74 2004 |
| Preceded by | The Elegant Universe |
| Followed by | Icarus at the Edge of Time |
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (2004)[1] is the second book on theoretical physics by Brian Greene, professor and co-director of Columbia's Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics (ISCAP).[2]
Introduction
[edit]Greene begins with the key question: "what is reality?", or more specifically, "what is spacetime?" He sets out to describe the features he finds both exciting and essential to forming a full picture of the reality painted by modern science. In almost every chapter, Greene introduces basic concepts and then slowly builds to a climax, usually a scientific breakthrough. Greene then attempts to connect with his reader by posing simple analogies to help explain the meaning of a scientific concept without oversimplifying the theory behind it.
In the preface, Greene acknowledges that some parts of the book are controversial among scientists. He discusses the leading viewpoints in the main text and points of contention in the endnotes. The endnotes contain more complete explanations of points that are simplified in the main text.
Summary
[edit]Part I: Reality's Arena
[edit]Part I focuses on space and time.
Chapter 1, "Roads to Reality" poses questions about the nature of space and time that are explored in the rest of the book. Greene recalls his youthful encounter with Albert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus, which made him realize the importance of knowledge.
Chapter 2, "The Universe and the Bucket" asks: "Is space a human abstraction or a physical entity?" The key thought experiment is a spinning bucket of water, designed to make one think about what creates the force felt inside the bucket when it is spinning. The ideas of Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz and Ernst Mach are discussed. Newton said that the water in the bucket moves relative to absolute space; Leibniz and Mach disagreed.
Chapter 3, "Relativity and the Absolute" introduces Albert Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. The question becomes: "Is spacetime an Einsteinian abstraction or a physical entity?"
Chapter 4, "Entangling Space" introduces quantum mechanics, and asks what it means for objects to be separate in a quantum universe. Greene introduces probability waves, spin, the double slit experiment and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. He describes a paradox posed by Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, John Stewart Bell's theorem, and tests of it by Alain Aspect and others.
Part II: Time and Experience
[edit]Part II begins by stating that time is one of humanity's most familiar concepts, and one of the most mysterious.
Chapter 5, "The Frozen River" asks "Does time flow?" Greene returns to special relativity. Observers moving relative to each other have different conceptions of what exists at a given moment, and hence they have different conceptions of reality. The conclusion is that time does not flow, as all things simultaneously exist at the same time.
Chapter 6, "Chance and the Arrow" asks "Does time have an arrow?" Greene introduces time-reversal symmetry, the fact that the laws of physics apply moving both forward in time and backward in time. One of the major themes of this chapter is entropy as described by Ludwig Boltzmann and the second law of thermodynamics.
Chapter 7, "Time and the Quantum" returns to quantum mechanics. Probability is a major theme of this chapter as it is an inescapable part of quantum mechanics. The double slit experiment is revisited. Many other experiments are presented, such as John Archibald Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment and Marlan Scully's quantum eraser experiment. Greene introduces the measurement problem and concludes by discussing decoherence.
Part III: Spacetime and Cosmology
[edit]Part III deals with cosmology.
Chapter 8, "Of Snowflakes and Spacetime" states that the history of the universe is in fact the history of symmetry. Greene returns to general relativity and discusses Edwin Hubble's discovery of an expanding universe. Greene argues that the Big Bang must be the state of minimum entropy.
Chapter 9, "Vaporizing the Vacuum" introduces the Higgs boson. Greene focuses on the critical first fraction of a second after the Big Bang, when the amount of symmetry in the universe was thought to have changed abruptly by a process known as symmetry breaking. This chapter also brings into play the theory of grand unification and entropy is also revisited.
Chapter 10, "Deconstructing the Bang" returns to the Big Bang, and asks "What banged?" An answer is provided by Alan Guth's inflationary cosmology, which also answers the horizon and flatness problems Greene discusses the cosmological constant, introduced to general relativity by Einstein to stave of an expanding universe. The cosmological constant has made a comeback with the discovery of dark energy. Another unsolved mystery is the nature of dark matter.
Chapter 11, "Quanta in the Sky with Diamonds" develops the themes of inflation and the arrow of time. Greene addresses three main developments: the formation of structures such as galaxies, the amount of energy required to spawn the universe we now see, and the origin of the arrow of time.
Part IV: Origins and Unification
[edit]Part IV introduces the conflict between general relativity and quantum mechanics, and how it might be resolved.
Chapter 12, "The World on a String" introduces Greene's field, string theory. Ideas from The Elegant Universe are revisited. The reader learns how string theory could fill the gaps between general relativity and quantum mechanics.
Chapter 13, "The Universe on a Brane" introduces M-theory and its implications for space and time. The focus of the chapter becomes gravity and its involvement with extra dimensions. Near the end of the chapter, a brief section is devoted to the cyclic model.
Part V: Reality and Imagination
[edit]Part V discusses efforts to test the theories described, and the speculative applications of those theories..
Chapter 14, "Up in the Heavens and Down on the Earth" introduces efforts to test predictions of general relativity, like frame-dragging and gravitational waves. Greene returns to themes from previous chapters, such as Higgs theory, supersymmetry and string theory and how they might be tested experimentally.
Chapter 15, "Teleporters and Time Machines" addresses travel through space and time through speculative methods. Quantum mechanics is reintroduced when Greene discusses quantum teleportation which, thanks to the work of Anton Zeilinger and others, is not science fiction. General relativity is returned to address the possibility of time travel through wormholes.
Chapter 16, "The Future of an Allusion" discusses black holes and their relationship to entropy. The theme of this chapter is that spacetime may not be the fundamental makeup of the universe's fabric. Greene introduces loop quantum gravity and the possibility that it and string theory are pointing towards a single theory of quantum gravity.
Reception
[edit]Josie Glausiusz of Discover named it one of the best science books of 2004, writing: "Greene delves into and illuminates some of the most perplexing questions of contemporary cosmology in a reader-friendly chronicle of brilliant clarity."[3]
Janet Maslin wrote "his excitement for science on the threshold of vital breakthroughs is supremely contagious. The Fabric of the Cosmos is as dazzling as it is tough, and it beautifully reflects this theoretician's ardor for his work. In interviews he is sometimes asked where the next generation of physicists will come from. One clear answer: from the brain-teasing, exhilarating study of books like this."[4]
Adaptation
[edit]NOVA made a documentary sequel to the popular Elegant Universe adaptation based on this book The Fabric of the Cosmos and with the same name. The series is hosted by Greene and includes commentary by numerous other renowned physicists, such as Max Tegmark and others.
This documentary series is composed of 4 episodes (5–8 of season 39, 2011–2012) of the Nova television series:[5]
- The Fabric of the Cosmos: What is Space?
- The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time
- The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap
- The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse?[6]
Lynn Elber of Associated Press called it, "Mind-blowing TV."[7]
Publication data
[edit]- The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (2004). Alfred A. Knopf division, Random House, ISBN 0-375-41288-3
See also
[edit]- A Brief History of Time (1988)
- The Fabric of Reality (1997)
- The Elegant Universe (1999)
- The Universe in a Nutshell (2001)
- The Road to Reality (2004)
Notes
[edit]- ^ http://lccn.loc.gov/2003058918 Library of Congress catalog record.
- ^ ISCAP member list URL accessed August 14, 2006
- ^ Glausiusz, Josie (December 12, 2004). "Reviews: Top Science Books of 2004". Discover.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (February 26, 2004). "The Almost Inconceivable, But Don't Be Intimidated". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Fabric of the Cosmos". NOVA. 2 November 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ^ Nova, retrieved 2016-07-04
- ^ Elber, Lynn (2011-11-01). "'Fabric of the Cosmos' takes viewers on wild ride". Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
External links
[edit]- PBS-TV/NOVA: The Fabric Of The Cosmos (Updated: November 2011).
- TV series on IMDb
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