April 1, 2022
As he ranges over the edgy-exciting concepts of physics, from the theory of general relativity to black holes, award-winning Caltech theoretical physicist Carroll (The Big Picture) reveals them to be as gorgeous--and graspable--as art or literature. From one of my favorite scientists, who explained the Higgs-Boson particle to us all.
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June 27, 2022
Carroll (Something Deeply Hidden), a physics professor at Cal Tech, doesn’t quite deliver on his insistence that “it is possible to learn about modern physics for real, equations and all, even if you are more amateur than professional and have every intention of staying that way.” He first digs into physics’s concept of conservation (“staying constant over time”) before covering “the Laplacian paradigm for describing change,” Newton’s second law of motion, Riemannian geometry (“which allows spaces to be arbitrarily curved and studied from the inside, rather than requiring them to be embedded in some higher-dimensional space”), and matrix algebra (which consists of “an array of quantities”). Though Carroll suggests that equations “are not that scary,” they are certainly overwhelming here, with more than 120 appearing, often accompanied by difficult to follow explanations. There are instances where Carroll manages to parse knotty concepts in a lay-reader friendly way, as when he explains the “no-hair theorem of black holes” or why calculus “is so central to how physics is done.” But his use of calculus in practice is confusing, and those with a budding interest in physics will have a tough time wading through the complex and often uncaptioned graphs and figures. For nonspecialists, this doesn’t add up to much.
July 15, 2022
Fundamental physics for the nonphysicist. Popular books on the physical sciences regularly boast that they contain no equations, which Carroll, a professor of natural philosophy and author of multiple books on cosmology, admits is an acceptable approach. Ultimately, however, "you're not getting the real stuff. What you get are images and metaphors, rough translations of the underlying mathematical essence into ordinary language. You can go an impressive distance down this route, but something vital will always been missing." Words can describe a concept, he notes, but mathematics tells you what's really going on. The good news is that equations shouldn't deter too many potential readers of this book, "meant for people who have no more mathematical experience than high school algebra, but are willing to look at an equation and think about what it means." A central tool of physics, calculus can be explained clearly in the hands of a skilled pedagogue like Silvanus P. Thompson, whose 1910 classic, Calculus Made Easy, is still in print. For those with some familiarity with calculus, Carroll's concision will be appreciated. The author is at his best with familiar concepts such as space. Once considered an empty container for the universe, it turns out to be a turbulent phenomenon with "a life of its own." Time is similar to space; it's part of how we locate ourselves, and we can measure it. But it's different because it seems to flow, invariably from the past to the future--although no law forbids the opposite. Gravity, energy, relativity, and the life of stars receive Carroll's enthusiastic attention, much as they did in such previous books as From Eternity to Here and Something Deeply Hidden. Despite the author's claims, however, some of the math will flummox readers. No-nonsense, not-dumbed-down explanations of basic laws of the universe that reward close attention.
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September 1, 2022
Many readers are curious about gravity, space-time, the Big Bang, relativity, black holes, and the forces that design the cosmos we live in. Amateurs and non-physicists can easily read about the wonder, power, and structure of the universe; however, to truly and deeply grasp modern physics, a rudimentary understanding of mathematics and equations is required. Yet most lay enthusiasts may not have the time or inclination to study mathematics. That's where theoretical physicist and philosopher Carroll (Something Deeply Hidden, 2019) steps in. In this one-of-a-kind book, Carroll reinforces the idea that equations "are not that scary." Throughout, he clearly explains theories and the underlying mathematical equations that support them, providing a more holistic understanding of our universe. Carroll covers all the forces physics entails, along with conservation and much more. In each chapter, he explains the concepts and the mechanics and properties of the universe, and then moves into the equations. Although this may seem daunting to some, Carroll flips the script and illuminates the form and beauty underlying a discipline that helps us understand all that exists.
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