The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene [1]
I also hope that The Elegant Universe will be of interest to readers who do have some scientific background. For science students and teachers, I hope this book will crystallize some of the foundational material of modern physics, such as special relativity, general relativity, and quantum mechanics, while conveying the contagious excitement of researchers closing in on the long-sought unified theory. For the avid reader of popular science, I have tried to explain many of the exhilarating advances in our understanding of the cosmos that have come to light during the last decade. And for my colleagues in other scientific disciplines, I hope this book will give an honest and balanced sense of why string theorists are so enthusiastic about the progress being made in the search for the ultimate theory of nature.
Superstring theory casts a wide net. It is a broad and deep subject that draws on many of the central discoveries in physics. Since the theory unifies the laws of the large and of the small, laws that govern physics out to the farthest reaches of the cosmos and down to the smallest speck of matter, there are many avenues by which one can approach the subject. I have chosen to focus on our evolving understanding of space and time. I find this to be an especially gripping developmental path, one that cuts a rich and fascinating swath through the essential new insights. Einstein showed the world that space and time behave in astoundingly unfamiliar ways. Now, cutting-edge research has integrated his discoveries into a quantum universe with numerous hidden dimensions coiled into the fabric of the cosmos—dimensions whose lavishly entwined geometry may well hold the key to some of the most profound questions ever posed. Although some of these concepts are subtle, we will see that they can be grasped through down-to-earth analogies. And when these ideas are understood, they provide a startling and revolutionary perspective on the universe.
Throughout this book, I have tried to stay close to the science while giving the reader an intuitive understanding—often through analogy and metaphor—of how scientists have reached the current conception of the cosmos. Although I avoid technical language and equations, because of the radically new concepts involved the reader may need to pause now and then, to mull over a section here or ponder an explanation there, in order to follow the progression of ideas fully. A few sections of Part IV (focusing on the most recent developments) are a bit more abstract than the rest; I have taken care to forewarn the reader about these sections and to structure the text so that they can be skimmed or skipped with minimal impact on the book's logical flow. I have included a glossary of scientific terms for an easy and accessible reminder of ideas introduced in the main text. Although the more casual reader may wish to skip the endnotes completely, the more diligent reader will find in the notes amplifications of points made in the text, clarifications of ideas that have been simplified in the text, as well as a few technical excursions for those with mathematical training.
I owe thanks to many people for their help during the writing of this book. David Steinhardt read the manuscript with great care and generously provided sharp editorial insights and invaluable encouragement. David Morrison, Ken Vineberg, Raphael Kasper, Nicholas Boles, Steven Carlip, Arthur Greenspoon, David Mermin, Michael Popowits, and Shani Offen read the manuscript closely and offered detailed reactions and suggestions that greatly enhanced the presentation. Others who read all or part of the manuscript and offered advice and encouragement are Paul Aspinwall, Persis Drell, Michael Duff, Kurt Gottfried, Joshua Greene, Teddy Jefferson, Marc Kamionkowski, Yakov Kanter, Andras