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Out Of This World: Colliding Universes, Branes, Strings, And Other Wild Ideas Of Modern Physics

Stephen Webb, author of WHERE IS EVERYBODY?, takes the interested amateur on a thrilling and enlightening tour of the amazing, even bizarre, new ideas of modern physics, including alternatives to the Big Bang, parallel universes, and an imaginary trip to the other side of the black hole.

Hardcover: 308 pages

Publisher: Copernicus; 2004 edition (May 25, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0387029303

ISBN-13: 978-0387029306

Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,097,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #124 in Books > Science & Math > Physics > Gravity #171 in Books > Science & Math > Physics > Applied #978 in Books > Science & Math > Physics > Quantum Theory

Out of this World - Colliding Universes, Branes and other Wild Ideas of Modern Physics by Stephen Webb is a humble exercise in reminding one not to judge a book by its cover.I was surprised by the difference between my initial judgment (by its title & cartoonish cover) and my evolving sense of appreciation for the depth & thoroughness this author brings to a general lay-audience. Stephen Webb provides a clear & accessible introduction to the most important subjects in fundamental physics while bridging the gulf between "gee wiz" popular science books (e.g. "Fabric of the Cosmos") and the deeper, more technical treatments that top out at the Undergraduate and Graduate level. Keep in mind this book is, strictly speaking, categorically qualitative (i.e. non-mathematical). The 11 chapters are subdivided into succinct & digestible sections with generous figures, tables and photographs (145 total) illustrating concepts of physical processes and the key physicists involved. A 14 page Glossary, 2 page Bibliography, and a fairly thorough 6 page index close out the book. The scope of this book is grand in its broad range of subjects is covered in a concise no-nonsense, no-holds barred language. Group Theory & Gauge Symmetries, Special & General Relativity, Quantum Theory, the Standard Model of particle physics, Quantum Field Theories (Electroweak (QED) & Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), Big Bang cosmology, and a fairly comprehensive coverage of Grand Unified Theories (GUTS), Supersymmetry (SUSY), Superstrings and M-Theory. All these subjects are put into proper historical context placing appropriate credit to the key physicists.

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