Front cover image for Explaining the universe : the new age of physics

Explaining the universe : the new age of physics

Presents various findings from particle physics, astrophysics, chaos theory, and cosmology. This book tries to find the universe's missing matter and to account for the first moments after the big bang. It explains how superstring theory may finally unite quantum mechanics with general relativity to produce a consistent quantum theory of gravity.
Print Book, English, cop. 2002
Princeton University Press, Princeton, cop. 2002
XII, 226 p. : il. color y n. ; 24 cm
9780691006635, 0691006636
912463300
Preface vii A Note on Numbers xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. PHYSICS 1900 13 3. HEAVENS ABOVE 24 4. CHANCE AND CERTAINTY 43 5. ORDER OUT OF CHAOS 64 6. YOUR PLACE OR MINE 77 7. MANY HISTORIES, MANY FUTURES 86 8. MICROCOSM 100 9. WEIGHTY MATTERS 119 10. STRINGS 136 11. IN THE BEGINNING 151 12. DOWN TO EARTH 172 13. EPILOGUE 188 Notes 195 Glossary 209 Suggestions for Further Reading 215 Index of Names 219 General Index 223