The matter myth : dramatic discoveries that challenge our understanding of physical reality
(Book)

Modern science invokes a natural world as strange as the landscape of any ancient myth. In a work of remarkable clarity, two astrophysicists translate the arcane formulas of their profession into imaginative metaphors for the conception of the cosmos emerging from recent studies. New discoveries--wiggling cosmic strings, an energized quantum vacuum, space-time "wormholes," heat-radiating black holes--have shattered the traditional scientific image of the world as a matter-motion machine. Breakthroughs in observation and theory permit scientists to perceive a richer, more complex order than their predecessors understood. The authors acknowledge that the latest research defies both common sense and visual thinking. But mind-stretching illustrations and analogies convey the excitement of a profound shift in intellectual outlook. Specialists may deplore the lack of rigor, the reliance on popularizers' tricks. General readers, though, will relish the chance to glimpse the far horizons of mental exploration. Those wanting to investigate further will find a helpful bibliography. ~--Bryce Christensen

Wormholes, cosmic strings, quarks, relativity, quantum mechanics--Davis and Gribbin explain all the basic elements of the universe in a comprehensive summary of modern physics written on the layperson's level. Beginning with Isaac Newton's conception of the universe as a great cosmic clock, they follow the growth of materialistic determinism, where all events were assumed to result from absolutely determinable interactions of inert particles. This idea of matter turned out to be a myth, shattered early in this century by the uncertainties of relativity and quantum physics. The authors unseat materialism from its exalted position and along the way discuss chaos, the origin of the universe, multidimensional spacetime, evolution, the Gaia hypothesis, and extraterrestrial life. Very readable, with mathematics kept to a minimum. An essential volume for anyone wanting to understand today's physics. Recommended for all libraries.--Doug Kranch, Ambassador Coll. Lib., Big Sandy, Tex. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.