The New Ambidextrous Universe: Symmetry and Asymmetry from Mirror Reflections to Superstrings: Third Revised Edition

Book Description

This newly updated edition of a well-known work explores a pair of modern science's most fundamental discoveries: the asymmetric DNA helix and the overthrow of parity (left-right symmetry) in particle physics. Absorbing and thought-provoking, The New Ambidextrous Universe was written by Martin Gardner, one of Dover's most popular authors,.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, but somewhat out-of-date (only at the end)........2002-01-16

I think that THE NEW AMBIDEXTROUS UNIVERSE (1990) is a wonderful book on symmetry and asymmetry in the worlds of everyday life, chemistry, physics, and unification theories. Everything in this book is noteworthy, and also up-to-date except for the last few chapters.
It is a very good updating of the previous (1978) edition, which concluded with many open questions in elementary particle physics that were resolved (and new questions raised) in 1978 - 1989.
It is high time for this book to be updated if Mr. Gardner can manage it (he is rather elderly; born in 1914), and a publisher will take a new edition. Books like this are gueling to revise and update.

Review from a non-scientific perspective.......2002-01-14

I'm not going to say that I understand all of this. Most of it is way over my head, but after reading it, I can say that I understand more now than I did before. I'm planning on attacking it again in a couple years. Overall, however, Gardner does a good job of bring complicated scientific theory down to a plain English level by using diagrams and analogies.

Frames superstrings and twistors.......2000-04-29

Every decade Gardner updates this book. The five new chapters in the 1990 edition, including material on twistors and superstrings, are well worth the price. What Gardner does best is frame the new theories within a historical perspective. For example, he says it is impossible not to compare string theory with Lord Kelvin's (W. Thompson) 1958 theory of vortex strings. Vortex string theory was fashionable for at least fifty years. Gardner shows the vortex string theory and the superstring theory to be kissing cousins: Lord Kelvin used perfect fluid to refer to the superstring quantum vacuum -- both referring to the same sub-space area. String theory speaks of vibrating frequencies of energy while vortex rings were also vibrating frequencies that gave the atoms different properties. Instead of quantum foam with jittering virtual particles, vortex theory had vortex sponges with billions of vortex motions whirling in all directions.

IS SUPERSTRING THEORY A RECREATIONAL MATHEMATICAL THEOLOGY?.......2000-03-30

Book Description

Although gravity is the dominant force of nature at large distances (from intermediate scales to the Hubble length), it is the weakest of forces in particle physics, though it is believed to become important again at very short scales (the Planck length). The conditions created in particle accelerators are similar to those at the time of the early universe. While particle physics offers insight to early universe physics, there is a need to understand gravity at extremes of large and short distances to further understand cosmology and the development of the universe. Gravitation: From the Hubble Length to the Planck Length fulfills this need by providing an overview of relativistic astrophysics, early universe physics, cosmology, and their interface with particle physics. Written by international experts, this reference presents up-to-date information on classical relativity, astrophysics, and theoretical and experimental particle physics. The introduction sets the scene and provides a context for the remaining chapters. Chapters cover an extensive array of topics, from refined experimental techniques in gravitational physics to cosmology and the quantum frontier. The book concludes with a discussion of the connection among particles, fields, strings, and branes. This compilation shows how gravity plays a fundamental role in astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology by exploring domains from the microscopic, such as black holes, to superclusters of galaxies that form the large-scale texture of the present-day cosmos. Moreover, with its theoretical and experimental focus on the foundations of gravity, Gravitation proves to be an invaluable resource for current and future research.

Understanding the Universe: From Quarks to the Cosmos

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A fascinating and informative introduction

Understanding the Universe: From Quarks to the Cosmos
Don Lincoln
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9812387056

Book Description

The Big Bang, the birth of the universe, was a singular event. All of the matter of the universe was concentrated at a single point, with temperatures so high that even the familiar protons and neutrons of atoms did not yet exist, but rather were replaced by a swirling maelstrom of energy, matter and antimatter. Exotic quarks and leptons flickered briefly into existence, before merging back into the energy sea.

This book explains the fascinating world of quarks and leptons and the forces that govern their behavior. Told from an experimental physicist's perspective, it forgoes mathematical complexity, using instead particularly accessible figures and apt analogies. In addition to the story of quarks and leptons, which are regarded as well-accepted fact, the author who is a leading researcher at the world's highest energy particle physics laboratory also discusses mysteries on both the experimental and theoretical frontier, before tying it all together with the exciting field of cosmology and indeed the birth of the universe itself.

The text spans the tiny world of the quark to the depths of the universe with exceptional clarity. The casual student of science will appreciate the careful distinction between what is known (quarks, leptons and antimatter), what is suspected (Higgs bosons, neutrino oscillations and the reason why the universe has so little antimatter) and what is merely dreamed (supersymmetry, superstrings and extra dimensions). Included is an unprecedented chapter explaining the accelerators and detectors of modern particle physics experiments. The chapter discussing the hunt for the Higgs boson, currently consuming the efforts of nearly 1000 physicists, lends drama that only big-stakes science can give. Understanding the Universe leaves the reader with a deep appreciation of the fascinating particle realm and just how much it determines the rich beauty of our universe.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating and informative introduction.......2004-12-13

Knowledgably written Don Lincoln (an experimental physicist and staff member of the world's premier particle physics laboratory), Understanding The Universe From Quarks To The Cosmos provides the nonspecialist general reader with a fascinating and informative introduction to the complex world of quarks, leptons, and the forces that govern particle physics. Written especially to introduce lay readers to subatomic mysteries, Understanding The Universe From Quarks To The Cosmos discusses the Big Bang, known and proven theories, suspected hypothesese that have yet to be firmly established, cutting-edge discussions of modern particle physics experiments, and much more. Black-and-white diagrams help illustrate the amazing ideas presented with a minimum of mathematics and a maximum of awe.

A Thin Cosmic Rain: Particles From Outer Space

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Thought provoking and readable
Fascinating Introduction to Cosmic Radiation

A Thin Cosmic Rain: Particles From Outer Space
Michael W. Friedlander
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Enigmatic for many years, cosmic rays are now known to be not rays at all, but particles, the nuclei of atoms, raining down continually on the earth, where they can be detected throughout the atmosphere and sometimes even thousands of feet underground. This book tells the long-running detective story behind the discovery and study of cosmic rays, a story that stretches from the early days of subatomic particle physics in the 1890s to the frontiers of high-energy astrophysics today.

Writing for the amateur scientist and the educated general reader, Michael Friedlander, a cosmic ray researcher, relates the history of cosmic ray science from its accidental discovery to its present status. He explains how cosmic rays are identified and how their energies are measured, then surveys current knowledge and theories of thin cosmic rain. The most thorough, up-to-date, and readable account of these intriguing phenomena, his book makes us party to the search into the nature, behavior, and origins of cosmic rays—and into the sources of their enormous energy, sometimes hundreds of millions times greater than the energy achievable in the most powerful earthbound particle accelerators. As this search led unexpectedly to the discovery of new particles such as the muon, pion, kaon, and hyperon, and as it reveals scenes of awesome violence in the cosmos and offers clues about black holes, supernovas, neutron stars, quasars, and neutrinos, we see clearly why cosmic rays remain central to an astonishingly diverse range of research studies on scales infinitesimally small and large.

Attractively illustrated, engagingly written, this is a fascinating inside look at a science at the center of our understanding of our universe.

Customer Reviews:

Thought provoking and readable.......2006-10-13

This book is (was) a real page turner. After less than a week it took its well deserved place among the really great books that I have read through this year. My physics background is rather meager personally, a single university class back in 2004. But nothing other than an interest in gaining a new insight into the cosmos is required to embark with this excellent read.
The insights into and the motivations of the early work in CR research was especially useful, and provided not only a fascinating historical perspective but the footing required to continue the journey through the book's short 225 pages. And all along the way the writing and development of ideas and concepts from the beginning are smooth, logical, and eminently readable. And inspiring! I have ordered more such books concerning physics.
Highest recommendations.

Fascinating Introduction to Cosmic Radiation.......2006-05-12

Michael Friedlander begins by quoting the introductory sentence from Cecil Powell's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1950: "Coming out of space and incident on the high atmosphere, there is a thin rain of charged particles known as primary cosmic radiation."

A Thin Cosmic Rain - Particles from Outer Space is a well-written, intriguing introduction to cosmic rays (CR) that will appeal to readers with a moderate technical background. The later chapters were especially fascinating.

Friedlander's text involves relatively little mathematics, but is packed with helpful technical graphs and charts, particle track photos, instrumentation diagrams, and astronomical photographs.

The early chapters provide a historical context that may be largely familiar to many readers: the discovery of cathode rays (electrons), x-rays, and radioactive decay; the high altitude balloon flights by Victor Hess that resulted in the discovery of cosmic rays, "an extra-terrestrial source of penetrating radiation"; the advances in particle tracking technology in the twentieth century; and the impact of satellite borne instrumentation on CR research, including the discovery of the Van Allen belts.

The middle chapters - Particles from the Sun, Cosmic Rays in the Galaxy, The Energy Spectrum, and Ultra-High Energies - are a little more technical and may require some study as they lay the foundation for the final chapters. These chapters immediately engaged my interest and I found myself reading late into the evening. I would finish one chapter and immediately begin another.

The remaining chapters, especially Nuclear Clues, The Origin of Cosmic Rays, Cosmic Electrons and Gamma Rays, and Cosmic Neutrinos, are also quite good. Professor Friedlander addressed such topics as the nucleosynthesis model, the galactic leaky box model, calculations of CR travel paths, the CR budget for our galaxy, the spectral shape of supernova emissions, and synchrotron radiation.

My hardcover copy of A Thin Cosmic Rain was published by Harvard University Press, 2000. An earlier version, Cosmic Rays, was published in 1989.

The Building Blocks of Creation - from Microfermis to Megaparsecs

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The Building Blocks of Creation - from Microfermis to Megaparsecs

Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astrophysics & Space Science | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

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DEEP TIME: The Journey of a Single Sub-Atomic Particle from the Moment of Creation to the Death of the Universe - and Beyond

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DEEP TIME: The Journey of a Single Sub-Atomic Particle from the Moment of Creation to the Death of the Universe - and Beyond
David Darling
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000VHZGSS

Average customer rating:

The most beautiful book I've ever read
One of my most favorite books!
deep time
Life story of a particle from "Big Bang" to End of Universe

Deep Time: The Journey of a Single Subatomic Particle from the Moment of Creation to the Death of the Universe - and Beyond
David Darling
Manufacturer: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0593018680

Customer Reviews:

The most beautiful book I've ever read.......2003-07-03

It's not very often that I would describe a book as beautiful, it's even more rare that I would use this word to describe a science book, yet it really is the only word that describes this book. The auther obviousely views the universe and all it contains with much admiration and this pours from every page of the book. He paints a picture with words that leaves the reader with a lump in the throat and tear in your eye, and genuinely convinces you that the universe is not just amazing but is a thing, a living thing, of great beauty.

I really would recommend this book to everybody - it's probably my favourite book of all time.

One of my most favorite books!.......2002-02-06

I loved this book. It paints a very clear picture of very BIG and VERY small. It is written in a clear easy to read format that I found more novel like than your typical 'cosmology' book. Find a used copy somewhere and read this.

deep time.......2000-02-06

a most facinating look at all of time and space in a realy easy to read format

Life story of a particle from "Big Bang" to End of Universe.......1997-11-27

To be able to make the unknown and the infinite into the knowable and measurable seems impossible. Deep Time does the impossible in a readable look at physics and cosmology. Darling traces the events that were likely to have occurred during the Big Bang through the long stretches of the time that is our past, our present and our future into entrophy and the end.

Book Description

This book presents a series of delightful interviews in which natural objects such as an electron, a black hole, a galaxy, and even the vacuum itself, reveal their innermost secrets - not only what they are but also how they feel. A hydrogen atom tells us about quantum mechanics and why we live in a non-deterministic world; a black hole explains curved space and naked singularities; and a uranium atom talks of its life on a meteor, its tremendous collision with Earth, and properties of radioactivity - all while grappling with its own mortality. A neutron star gives a personal account of its creation and goes on to discuss quasars and other extraordinary astronomical objects, while an iron atom describes its birth in a remote supernova explosion and its series of adventures on Earth, from its early use in wrought iron processes to its time in a human body, and then to its latest misadventures.

The book discusses many fundamental issues in physics and, at times, examines the philosophical and moral issues of society. For example, the interview with the quark reveals the nature of color gauge symmetry, which is interwoven with a discussion on truth and beauty, and shows how these concepts play an integral part in physics and nature, while the uranium atom expresses its horror of the development and use of the atomic bomb.

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From the Planck Scale to the Weak Scale: Toward a Theory of the Universe

Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
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General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
Particle Physics | Nuclear Physics | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9971502364

Customer Reviews:

A great Southern novel.......2003-12-05

I loved this book. The cast of characters can't be beat and the description of life in Mobile at the time made me think how different it is now, but how it hasn't changed at the same time. Anyone who read "Milking the Moon" should read this as well - I'd recommend reading it afterwards so you can appreciate Walter's view of the world.

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The Untidy Pilgrim
Eugene Walter
Manufacturer: J.B. Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M2504M

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The Untidy Pilgrim
Eugene Walter
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LA90O6

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Untidy Pilgrim
Eugene Walter
Manufacturer: Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PT48ZY

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