The universe speaks in numbers : how modern math reveals nature's deepest secrets / Graham Farmelo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farmelo, Graham, author.

Contributor:

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics--Methodology.

Mathematics.

Physics--Philosophy.

Physics.

Mathematical physics.

Physical Description:

321 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, 2019.

Summary:

"One of the great insights of science is that the universe has an underlying order. The supreme goal of physicists is to understand this order through laws that describe the behavior of the most basic particles and the forces between them. For centuries, we have searched for these laws by studying the results of experiments. Since the 1970s, however, experiments at the world's most powerful atom-smashers have offered few new clues. So some of the world's leading physicists have looked to a different source of insight: modern mathematics. These physicists are sometimes accused of doing "fairy-tale physics", unrelated to the real world. But in The Universe Speaks in Numbers, award-winning science writer and biographer Farmelo argues that the physics they are doing is based squarely on the well-established principles of quantum theory and relativity, and part of a tradition dating back to Isaac Newton. With unprecedented access to some of the world's greatest scientific minds, Farmelo offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of the blossoming relationship between mathematics and physics and the research that could revolutionize our understanding of reality. A masterful account of the some of the most groundbreaking ideas in physics in the past four decades. The Universe Speaks in Numbers is essential reading for anyone interested in the quest to discover the fundamental laws of nature." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue: listening to the universe

Mathematics drives away the cloud

Shining the torch on electricity and magnetism

Shining the torch on gravity again

Quantum mathematics

The long divorce

Revolution

Bad company?

Jokes and magic lead to the string

Strung together

Thinking their way to the Millenium

Diamonds in the rough

The best possible times.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-275) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Farmelo, Graham. Universe speaks in numbers.

ISBN:

9780465056651

0465056652

OCLC:

1051138085

Publisher Number:

99981006816