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A good companion to "The History of Time." The book covers much of the same material he does in his course but explains it somewhat different. I am a Teaching Company student of his DVD course. Two explanations of the same thing helps me to understand some rather counter intuitive events. Great book recommended to me by Prof. Mark Whittle, professor of astrophysics at the University of Virginia. Apparently much of this material is rather difficult to explain.
But Frank really plunges pretty deep, including quite a few equations expressing quark variants and other esoteric matters. His chapters explaining the source of proton mass were totally fascinating. The equations begin in a simple way, and I seem to follow. When it was time to go, I was quite intrigued. I'm a bit beyond those. Why do I rate the book positively.
Wilczek has a Nobel Prize, and seems to be an expert on various esoteric aspects of quantum mechanics, especially quantum chromodynamics. Moveover, the book has just appeared, and so has the freshest information. This book is not an easy read. The greatest challenge -- for me -- may be figuring out how to pronounce Dr. How can the gluons and quarks in a proton, all of very minimal mass, combine to provide the proton's total mass, which is hundreds or thousands of times greater. He seems to have had personal experience in experiment and professional collaborations with many of the quantum phenomena that he discusses in his book.
A week or two later, once again I was marking time in the bookstore. Dr. While I have seen this stated over the years, I never understood the nature of the force. In some of these cutting edge fields, a five-year old book may be outdated. Wilczek did an amazing job of explaining the sourcing of particle mass. I also found great enlightenment in Wilczek's discussion of what he calls the "Matrix," which is his term for the "vacuum" of empty space that figures so importantly in quantum mechanics. But there have been times when I'm not sure if he is having fun with us, or strictly on the level. This lightens the book and adds a refreshing human touch.
I put up a good fight -- and have read several of the chapters more than once. His books are very worthwhile. He writes very well, is a respected scientist, and is very clear. How can a force increase in intensity as particles draw FARTHER APART. These science books for laymen can be scaled at different levels. Frank Wilczek's present effort goes over my head at times. Frank Wilczek's writing style is both a blessing and a curse.
Then there's a very challenging level of science book, such as the current volume. I took the book down again, and continued to read it. But this book is very provocative and genuinely interesting. This was a guided tour par excellance, and explains the virtual pair generation, various "condensates," and the infrequent, spontaneous generation of rather massive particles.Dr.
Wilczek's last name. He is refreshing, with a good sense of humor and a whimsical streak. Dr. You may very possibly find sections that seem to go over your head.
The title was intriguing, and so I took the book down and began to read it. Moreover, there are so many various particles, to include quarks of nine varieties, gluons, mesons, and more, that a certain "overkill" creeps into my noodle. On my third visit to the bookstore, I bought the book. Some are a plodding refresher scaled at the level of a high-school freshman.
Then they become quite complex and sprawling, with a dozen or more variables, and I just give up. This is well explained, and totally opened some doors to me. I have read a couple of layman's science books by Michio Kaku recently. When I first chanced across this book, I was waiting for a friend in a large bookstore.
Then others are more challenging. Wilczek also explains the peculiar attractive force that keeps quarks inside of protons.
Einstein, Irwin Schroedinger and Milo Wolff disagree that discreet particles exist. This concept is popular nonsense; a charming scientific circus. i.e QCD and quantum-duality are both wrong but useful if you want to publish popular papers and keep your $$$ research contract.
Even though some parts are a little mathmatical, it didn't take away from the overall story. 5 Stars hands down. Right now i am just getting into physics and this book kept me interested the entire time. I'd say this is a very good read for someone thats interested in getting a alternative perspective on how you think of space and the demension we live in.
His presentation is not speculative norhigh brow to the point of being incomprehensible. That indeed it is an ocean of"dark substance" that continually foams energy. SUSI is tested and works well in particle physics experiments in the accelerators.From the Physics Professor who coined the term "STRING THEORY" in 1972 to describe matter. Nobel prize winner (2004)Wilczek is refreshing and noteworthy in this confusing age of String Theory. He gives an outstanding picture of current physics using Supersymmetry and reviving the notion that "empty space" is NEVER empty. String theory is good mathematics, butit is NOT physics that can be emperically tested and never will be.
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