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Summary: Advanced Physics for Dummies?
Review: I do not know how good a physicist Brian Greene is, but he is a great teacher. Anyone who enjoyed taking science classes in school should read this book. The book is very readable (period, not just for a hard science book), and you will learn a lot. Now, if there was only a book that made sense of calculus.
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Summary: A "Must Read" for those who are interested.
Review: This book opens the doors to reality for those who cannot do the abstract math of higher physics. It offers a synopsis of superstring theory and how it unifies Relativity and Quantum theory. The new look at reality is not for the faint of heart, but it does reveal God's elegant desigh of the Universe without direct appeal to religion. Anyone who wants to get an understanding of the basic reality of the world about us can read this book and come away more informed without the pain of trying to wade through the mathematical physics it is founded upon. Excellent from start to finish!
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Summary: Great Information for the non physicist
Review: This book is the first Superstring Book I have read. I have read lots about Relativity and many popular books about Quantum Theory. Superstring Theory attempts to tie the two together explaining that the expected conflicts do not occur. I only understood about 85% on my first read, but that was enough to expand my concepts and expectations for physics in the comming decades (or centuries). The subject matter is very abstract but the author is very good at bringing it into focus. Much of the theory is still being debated and specific experimental verification appears to be a long way off. Great Book!
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Summary: Great for the Laymen or the enthusiast
Review: Ever since I read of the theories that there are more then 4 dimensions (length, width, height, and time) and the superstring theories, I have been fascinated with them. Though I have taken a good deal of Physics in college, much of what has been written on Superstring Theory is above my level, going WAY too much into the mathematics of it. This book on the other hand, gives a great explanation of the theories, and makes the overwhelming ideas discussed understandable. This book is at a good level for those with or without a Physics background - If only I had Physics professors like Brian Greene, I would have learned a whole lot more!
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Summary: Wow!!!
Review: Excellent treatment of physics, including relativity, quantum physics and superstring theory. A stimulating look at our universe.
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Summary: Is string theory a social construction?
Review: Physicist and mathematician Brian Greene's ambitious project here is to make intelligible to the lay reader just what string theory is all about. He begins by explaining the ideas of relativity and quantum mechanics and why a new theory is needed. This part of the book, 131 pages worth, is intelligible and makes for an engaging read while providing the necessary background for the reader to appreciate the bulk of the book, which is about string theory. Greene explains that when general relativity is applied to the very large, it works fine, and when quantum mechanics is applied to the very small, it also works wonderfully well. However, "where things are very massive AND very small...we require both" theories (p. 117). Unfortunately, "when we try to combine quantum mechanics and general relativity" we get "nonsensical answers," sometimes resulting in a "quantum-mechanical probability" of not zero to one, but of "infinity" (p. 118). It has long been the rule in physics that when infinities pop up in the equations that means there's something wrong somewhere. I wasn't able to understand a lot of the material on string theory, but one of things I did understand was that string theory, by doing away with the particle point of zero dimension (where there would be infinite mass, say at the singularity that spawned the big bang) and giving strings a finite size, the annoying infinities are dissipated. However I am troubled by Richard Feynman's observation (quoted by Greene on page 213) that there is more than "one way to get rid of the infinities. The fact that a theory gets rid of infinities is to me not a sufficient reason to believe its uniqueness." I am further troubled by those seven extra invisible and undetectable dimensions that string theory requires. What is more troubling, infinities or curled up dimensions that we can neither visualize nor confirm by any kind of experiment? I am even bothered by the very idea that there might be a "Theory of Everything." Is this not a pipe dream, a Quixotic quest of unimaginable hubris? Don't get me wrong. I am all for the effort and the dream and what we might learn from it; but I am also not surprised that Congress stopped funding for the collider. After all, as Greene notes himself on page 215, "using today's technology we would need an accelerator the size of the GALAXY to see individual strings." And speaking of "seeing" strings, Greene writes on page 224 that "strings that are more energetic can grow substantially larger [than the Planck length]." He speculates, in looking for some way to confirm string theory that "a string of this sort might sweep across the night sky" and leave "an unmistakable and measurable imprint on data collected by astronomers." However I was a little taken back when further down the page he quotes Edward Witten as saying, "Although somewhat fanciful...nothing would settle the issue quite as dramatically as seeing a string in a telescope." Wow. Since a string is a one-dimensional entity, I don't see how it can ever be seen with a telescope or seen at all. Wouldn't a one-dimensional object of whatever size be invisible? I was also made a little uneasy by Greene's "reassurance" on page 383 that "every step of the way, string theorists have sought and will continue to seek experimentally observable consequences of the theory." Is somebody accusing string theorists of NOT seeking experimental proof? On the next page Greene writes, recalling the dream of a T.O.E., "Explaining everything...is one of the greatest challenges science has ever faced." Not to disparage the point, but is that not actually an understatement? To be blunt, it is going on nearly twenty years since the advent of string theory and we have not an iota of confirmation that it is anything other than a beautiful mathematical cum physics exercise. Will young people studying physics today be turned off by the prospect of going through their entire careers without proving anything? Will physics suffer the same fate that philosophy has suffered, namely that of becoming less and less significant in our universities and colleges when once it was one of the most important departments? Is there a danger of physics losing the great prestige that it has enjoyed thanks to the monumental work of the architects of relativity and quantum mechanics because the only physics being done is without much hope of experimental confirmation? Could our young physicists, lead by the now graying lions of string theory be led away from "the happy thought" (p. 375) kind of epiphany that Einstein enjoyed because they are involved in a beautiful idea that is not likely to ever meet an ugly fact? Will the continued emphasis on string theory in physics lend support to the postmodernist argument that science is a social construction? I am just playing the devil's advocate. I have no idea whether my questions are even relevant. However, if nothing else, it would seem that a public relations problem may be creeping up on the citadel of "stringy physics" (Greene's phrase, page 236). Bottom line: this is formidable read, not for channel surfers. Although Professor Greene keeps all the math in the footnotes, and writes in an engaging and readable style, it is not clear to me just how string theory is going to supplant quantum mechanics and general relativity. In other words, I came away from the book not with the message that Greene designed for his readers, namely that string theory gives every indication of unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity, but with the very disconcerting feeling that we may be on the wrong track, or that even if we are on the right track, we may never know it.
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Summary: Great reading
Review: Having 2 degrees in mathematics, I was already somewhat familiar with some of the most basic (if you could call them basic) concepts discussed here. This book significantly expaned my knowledge of relativity, quantum mechanics, and superstring theory. Just as important, it brought questions to my mind. I just wish the author has responded to me email questions. . . This is an excellent book!
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Summary: Very well written
Review: This book was written at a level easily understood by anyone with interest in the string theory. This is not a book of mathematical equations and proofs but instead allows the reader to understand the underlying concepts of the theories. This book heightened my interest in the String Theory and made me think of the world in a whole new aspect. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding the string theory without the boredom of most other books you would find on this subject. The author does a really good job at holding your interest and freeing your imagination.
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Summary: Doesn't get much better...
Review: Where else can you find a (relatively) concise explanation of relativity, quantum mechanics, and recent superstring theory sans math in a (relatively) easily understood format with humorous, delightful examples? I can't say enough about this book. After having read some material by an English author on the same subject, I can definitely say that while that author is just as knowledgeable, the American, Brian Greene, definitely has him in style.
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Summary: This book is a must read
Review: I am a chemist, and really do not believe the many of the quantum mechanical explanations proposed in physics and chemistry. String theory in my opinion is what is really needed to overthrow the traditional theories of today. This book is a very easy read even for the non-scientist, and I'm sure everyone would take a great deal away from this book. In my opinion this book should be required reading for any chemist, physicist, and mathematician.
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