Time, not as the river flowing or the unidirectional arrow, is the theme of astrophysicist Gribbin's heady ventures into other universes, other lives. Is this a trend? Of a sudden it appears that physicists are becoming metaphysicists, seeking a marriage of East and West, discoursing on reincarnation, the paranormal, telepathy. Gribbin, no stranger to the more bizarre phenomena of contemporary astronomy and a good expositor of them (as in White Holes, 1977), is also a confirmed believer in precognition, the I Ching, Bridey Murphy, and the like. All could be explained by time travel—and not just travel in the future or in the past but sideways. Yes, reader, there is a wide-open universe next door—millions of them, in fact. What happens to you now in this universe may, in the next moment, find you in a lookalike but different universe parallel with this one. Thus, there is born an idea of branching universes in time and the potential that some minds may resonate with other minds in the past, present, or future. Perhaps in the train of Fred Hoyle's sci-fi classic The Black Cloud, we are all part of one vast Supermind or Superconsciousness. That would make the leap to telepathy or precognition less a quantum jump and more a simple Tuning into the Whole. All this heavy speculation is laced with allusions to contemporary astrophysics, the uncertainty principle, other quantum phenomena, and the work of sci-fi writers who, according to Gribbin, may have hit upon the seminal ideas that make time travel a plausibility if not a possibility. Anyway, it's all Down with Causality and up with the many-branched collective unconscious space-time multi-directional time flow. Fun to read if you suspend reason easily.
Pub Date: April 26, 1979
ISBN: 0385290780
Page Count: -
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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