No comments about Renormalization Methods: A Guide For Beginners.

3 comments about The Quantum Quark.

1. The Quantum Quark by Andrew Watson
   
   In the preface, Watson explains his book "...focuses on quantum chromodynamics, the essentials of how it works and how it came into being." He goes on to say "At the modest cost of a complete story...The Quantum Quark explores QCD in more detail than all other books on particle physics intended for a wider readership." And finally assures the reader, "...this is a pleasant stroll through great ideas, and not a textbook." I agree on all accounts.
   
   Let me qualify to whom I think this book will attract.
   Some of us are deeply curious, intelligent & interested folks - actively seeking answers and doggedly pursuing the richness of fundamental physics at a readership that spans a range well past the "golly-gee!" pop-physics level (e.g. Hawking/Green) but striving, reaching, stretching on tip-toes below the University academic level with its rigorous mathematical quantification proofs and rules. While it is meant for a serious lay-reader and undeniably non-mathematical in its presentation, this is definitely not light reading. People who aren't afraid of becoming a little lost while navigating the figurative `forest through the trees' can have courage this book will guide them if they're patient and willing to be led. To be sure, the dedicated reader will aquire a nodding acquaintance with concepts of conservation laws, symmetries, gauge theory, and U(1) X SU(2) & SU(3) group theories (which ultimately account for and lie at the root of the most fundamental physical laws) and last, but not least, a good conceptual grip of QCD. A willingness to do some re-reading will bode you well. The trip can be somewhat heavy going with its deep, abstract and technical description of a fundamentally mathematical subject - but it is well worth the wear & tear on the intellectual soles of your mind. Ultimately, this is an account of humanity's pinnacle intellectual achievement.
   
   OK, so what have we got here?
   
   TABLE OF CONTENTS
   1 Introduction 1
   2 Symmetry 9
   3 The quantum world 19
   4 Toward QCD 110
   5 The one number of QCD 269
   6 The gregarious gluon 288
   7 Quarks and hadrons 305
   8 Quarks under the microscope 328
   9 Much ado about nothing 370
   10 Checkerboard QCD 391
   Appendix 1 A QCD chronology 413
   Appendix 2 Greek alphabet & SI prefixes 426
   
   The introduction does its job setting the scope of subjects: Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), the Electro-Weak force, and last, but principally, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) a.k.a. the theory of the Strong Force. It brushes on experiments in high-energy physics that bring the constituents of the Standard Model to light.
   
   After the introduction, we're treated to a little history of the mathematicians and physicists who brought us Group Theory and a sketch of the properties of groups (i.e. identity element, closure, associativity & the inverse element). Descriptions and brief examples are given for O(2) orthogonal and SO(2) special orthogonal (abelian) transformations plus mention of associated dimensional 2x2 matrices; non-abelian SO(3) groups are discussed and the U(1)XSU(2) and SU(3) groups are revealed to be the fundamental abstract spaces of particle physics in a nutshell. Lie groups are briefly mentioned as well.
   
   The next major section, "The Quantum World", is my favorite material in this book. It starts with the fact that the measured magnetic moment anomaly of QED demonstrates its superior standing as the crown achievement of theoretical & experimental physics. Basic quantum mechanics topics are effectively covered:
   Energy quanta (Planck's constant h), wave phase & interference, Uncertainty Principle, Schrodinger, the principle of least action and Feynman's sum over paths.
   
   The elements quickly evolve in relative complexity and abstraction - ultimately leading towards a clearly developed connection between QED to QCD. The progression takes us through:
   mass-energy relations in Relativity, matter-antimatter pair production, Fermion and Boson spin & statistics and Pauli's Exclusion principle, quantum fields, the four-momentum, virtual particles, vacuum polarization, Green's functions, Feynman diagrams, vertex interactions, self-energy, infinite divergences, perturbation and renormalization program (dimensional regularization), effective low-energy field theory, Fermi's theory of weak interactions to Weinberg/Glashow/Salam and Veltman/t'Hooft Nobel prize winning contributions in the electroweak realm, and finally the all important gauge principle including the example of changes in potentials and changes in global vs. local phase.
   
   I'm now going to do the author a grave disservice by reviewing the remainder of the book in an all too brief summarization. The majority of the book plumbs the depths of QCD. Andrew brings us by the experimental facilities for a thorough inspection of the accelerators & detectors (BNL RHIC, Fermilab CDF, CERN-LEP, DESY, KEK-BELLE & SLAC). He gives complete coverage of the physicists responsible for its development and associated milestones. To name just a few of the many discussed in great detail: Yukawa - Isospin, mesons; Yang-Mills - CP violation, Gell-Man - the Eightfold Way; `the particle zoo', families, Quark-Gluon, flavordynamics, inelastic scattering, color charges; Nambu - spontaneous symmetry breaking; the Higgs mechanism & weak neutral currents; Gross, Wilczek & Politzer - Asymptotic Freedom.
   
   Watson judiciously included countless diagrams to illustrate important concepts and fundamental interactions plus many photographic pictures of physicists, experimental devices and facilities. The back of the book includes a good glossary and a nice annotated "Further reading" section that breaks suggested titles in easy reading, not-so-easy reading, and `hard core' sections.
   
   That's it. Altogether a serious undertaking - I hope you are challenged by it and thoroughly enjoy it as much as I have!
   
   p.s. I recommend these complementary books: "Deep Down Things" by Schumm; "The Force of Symmetry" by Icke; "Fearful Symmetry" by Zee; "Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe" by Lederman; and "Out of This World" by Webb. N.B. check out the reviews on these books, also browse the "So You'd Like To..." and "Listmania!" lists below to help decide which ones you might want to consider.



2. The Quantum Quark is a close look at quantum chromodynamics that does not require an extensive mathematics or physics background of the reader. Freelance science journalist and regular contributor to "Science" magazine Andrew Watson explores such topics as the quantum world, "the gregarious gluon", quarks and hadrons, the true significance of the vacuum state, and much more. A handful of black-and-white diagrams and photographs illustrate this fascinating tour of scientific theory, recommended for anyone with even the most casual interest in understanding the fundamental particles composing the Universe.



3. Not a casual read but for a person like myself, a graduate in Physics in 1969, it represents the most concise, complete and readable history of particle Physics as it stands today. It is an incredible piece of work. The appendix alone is a work of art.

5 comments about MATLAB Simulations for Radar Systems Design.

1. I have used both of Dr. Mahafza's previous radar books (1. Introduction to Radar Analysis and 2. Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using MATLAB) as reference guides and study aids on a regular basis and realize this third book (that I have added to my Radar Book Reference collection) will get a lot of mileage. I had been looking for a book that provided a start to finish tutorial on radars. This book is right on the money. This book is truly an engineering reference for radar engineers. I have found the MATLAB code easy to understand and have used some of the examples in this book to assist me with my radar tasks. This book discusses topics that are important to all radar engineers such as Clutter Mitigation, Signal Processing, and Target Tracking. I recommend this book to anyone interested in radar and look forward to more quality radar related books by Dr. Mahafza and his associates.



2. Through the semester I was struggling with "Radar Principles by Peyton Z. Peebles" and it was only towards the end of my semester, I got to know about this book by Mahafza. I ordered this book via Inter-Library Loan (ILL) not expecting all that much from it. Boy!!! was I in for a surprise... I wouldn't be doing justice if I simply said this book is awesome. This book became such a hot property, that I had to be forceful at times to get it from the never ending circulation of it amongst my classmates.
   
   The reasons I liked the book very much for are as follows:-
   1. It has an amazingly beautiful description of the concepts by delving into the basics and then building slowly and steadily upon it.
   2. In the first chapter itself, after the immediate basics, the author introduces the criteria for the Radar that has to be designed. At the end of each chapter, the author refines the Radar design by incorporating the newly learned concepts, thus solidifying concepts newly learned in that chapter.
   3. Almost every new concept introduced within a chapter, is followed by at least one solved example that is absolutely important to thoroughly understanding the topic.
   4. Apart from the actual equations, the book gives the most accurate approximation method, so that the equation can be simulated in Matlab. You would otherwise be spending humongous amount of time threading through numerous IEEE papers and other resources to get the very same approximations.
   5. Matlab code is included for all the figures generated in the book. Trust me; plotting some of the equations otherwise would easily take you more than a day or two.
   
   I am a graduate student now and Radars is not going to be my principle area of research and work. But still, I have purchased this book with reverence to the author's awesome work done in writing this book.
   
   Would be helpful if you are in the business of Radar design and a must if you are taking Radars as a part of your curriculum.



3. A must have for any engineer working with wanting to get into the industry. The quick references to MATLAB make creating simulations simple and useful to a very big project.



4. Very good analytic and predictive material throughout, covering a wide range of radar science. There is excellant simulation of tracking techniques, but tracking is the only topic with true simulation.
   Much of this book covers the same material as the authors' "Radar Systems Analysys and Design Using Matalb". I would recommend this book instead of (but not in addition to) that one.
   The Matlab code is freely available from the publisher's web site. It contains a few calls to functions that are not in the basic Matlab package. It would be helpful to have those replaced by equivalent, custom functions using the Matlab base package.
   Overall I am very pleased with the book as a technical reference.



5. I found this book to be a great reference. The mfiles associated with this text are indeed helpful. It parallels the author's other text, Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using MATLAB. I would recommend that you not buy both textbooks. As they are about 95% the same, just the ordering of the chatpers differs.

2 comments about Quantum Many-particle Systems (Advanced Book Classics).

1. A very good introduction to the many particle systems, includes all from the basics of coherent states to very complex parts of theory.



2. A great physics book for field theory applied to condensed
   matter and sometimes nuclear physics problems. The authors
   are EXTREMELY careful mathematically and really don't skip
   any steps or shove stuff under the rug; in fact, the first
   chapter is just all math about how to do integrals and path
   integrals and field integrals and deal with Grassman numbers.
   A bit unusual for a physics book, but that's their style.

   The rest of the book deals with the usual and other material:

   zero-temperature Green's functions and perturbation theory
   (for energy, Green's function, etc.) The treatment is detailed
   and relatively exhaustive. Then there is the same for finite-
   temperature. The earlier sections on linear response are
   concise and one of the best treatments of the subject I have
   seen leading directly to the fluctuation dissipation expression
   (after this book I realized this vaunted "fluctuation-dissipation" that no one can explain is just
   a straightforward thing about commutators and pert. theory).

   The book also has other good stuff: a chapter on mean field theory, Landau-Ginzburg theory, order parameters, and a nice
   discussion about spontaneous symmetry breaking that helps
   clarify a bunch of stuff. Then there is a whole chapter on
   further aspects of one-particle Green's functions (Dyson
   equation, solving for poles, quasiparticles, satellites, etc.)
   that is pretty good and gets the physical point across. There
   is also a chapter on statistical (monte carlo, numerical, etc.)
   methods for doing quantum many body problems. While some of
   the methods are not the most up to date or modern, the basics
   are all there (Monte Carlo, Hubbard-Strataonvich (spelling?),
   inverting matrices via Monte Carlo, some stuff about lattice
   systems, Langevin equation simulation for Monte Carlo, updating
   problems, etc.) There is also a chapter on more advanced
   functional integration stuff. Also there is a nice description
   of the loop expansion and whatnot.

   The book is very well written, has no errors as far as I can
   tell, and is exhaustive on what it treats. The problems at
   the end of the first few chapters deal with physics problems
   and help build intuition whereas the texts in these chapters
   are more formal. The book could use some more physical insights
   sprinkled throughout, but that is not too much of a drawback.

   The book is based on functional integration (Feynman integral)
   methods for field theory: this is the modern way folks do it
   and it is a powerful way of doing field theory both to
   derive results, connect results, do expansions and what not,
   and also for certain kinds of monte carl computations. So
   having read this, the reader is up to date on a pretty modern
   view of field theory in condensed matter (and somewhat on
   nuclear physics).

   Highly recommended unless you can't stand precise and long
   mathematical treatments. My only misgiving is that sometimes
   I wish the authors provided more physical insights for certain
   concepts and gave some examples rather than "just the math";
   but they do this in other parts of the book, so perhaps
   my complaint, which is not that serious, is more about the
   uneven way this is done. Nevertheless, this is 5/5 and a book
   you will read many times and learn from many times.

4 comments about Supersymmetry and String Theory: Beyond the Standard Model.

1. This volume will serve as a Rosetta Stone for future historians trying to make sense of the pre-LHC era of speculative physics literature. The author has accomplished a heroic task, preserving these elegant yet soon to be forgotten theories for future generations.



2. Dine is that kind of guy who can explain complicated thing super clear.
   If you are not a physicist, this book also has something for you: the introduction covers history not familiar with everyone, and I am sure some detail you can find nowhere in other textbook.
   A wonderful book, beautiful stoies.



3. The book by Dine attempts to cover a huge assortment of topics. As a result, the detail needed to learn the subject is sorely lacking. If you don't know it already, it will be extremely difficult to learn the subject here for the first time.
   In a lot of sections, the author writes down the relevant equations, but it would take a page or two of detail to explain how they arise, and that sort of detail is lacking, so you pretty much have to accept things on faith.
   Further, the author switches metric half way through the book,
   so the first half is not consistent with the second half. And as to the cover, there is no explanation of what that is in the text, except in the most remote terms. He mentions LHC in the first paragraph of Preface, and then the first paragraph of the epilogue, so to my mind the cover is mis-leading. He should have probably used some sort of string diagram.



4. I have been trying to learn some string phenomenology, but this was not easy because I did not know any phenomenology. Thats how I ended up looking at Dine's book, which seems to be the only book around that comes close to being an "Introduction to Phenomenology".
   
   I was suspicious at first because the book is not that fat and the back-cover claimed to cover pretty much everything that one calls high-energy theory. But there is a method that Dine adopts to do this, which is to focus on techniques and derivations only when they are useful for the general line of ideas that he pursues. When they are tangential he just quotes the results (the pradigmatic example is the presentation of N=1, D=4 supergravity). This does NOT mean that the book is a compendium of formulas, far from that. What he focuses on is precisely what is needed to get you up to speed with the current state of the art in "phenomenology" and the physical motivations are clear throughout. I had always thought of phenomenology as a jungle of arbitrary and detailed quick-fixes which was one reason why I always avoided it. After reading the book... ummm... I still think that impression has truth in it, but now I also know that there is a lot of method behind the madness and some of it is in fact quite beautiful.
   
   Prerequisites: you need to know QFT, but things like anomalies, instantons, monopoles etc. are covered in the book.
   
   Flux compactifications are not discussed, but I guess that is a lot of extra material and deserves a separate review. To anyone interested in
   that, I recommend Denef's Les Houches lctures which are up on the arXiv.

5 comments about Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl.

1. There is a popular song in Ukrainian Folk culture, "Two Colors". Black, that is sadness and Red that is joy. These two colors often are used in the famous Ukrainian Embroidered shirts and blouses. My reading of Mary Mycio's fabulous book, "Wormwood Forest" reminded me of this song. There is so much pain in this book, yet there is joy at coming to know some truths about a modern day cover-up. Mycio writes about complicated technical things regarding nuclear energy and the horrible accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine in such away that you don't need to have a scientific background to understand the picture. Yet, those with a scientific background will find this book informative. Want to find out what happened at Chernobyl, and what's happening now - then read this book!



2. Displaying remarkable courage, Mary Mycio set out to examine what has become of that forbidden, virtually unpeopled realm around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, one of the greatest ecological catastrophes of modern times. Her findings are surprising and intriguing, and will keep readers turning pages at night. A fascinating tale!



3. The author's lackluster story-telling left me dizzy. There was no glue to hold together what should have been a phenomenal story---especially considering her background. And the attempt at explaining the math, physics, chemistry, and nuclear science was inept at best.
   
   A shame.



4. This book works on several levels. The initial premise is that the Chenobyl disaster did not create a barren wasteland, as we might have anticipated. Rather, the "Zone of Alienation", from which nearly all humans have been removed, has become a flourishing nature preserve. Working from that point, the author explores the disaster and its consequences from a number of perspectives. There is a discussion of the accident itself, of the initial efforts to deal with it, and then with the long term effects, not only upon the plants and animals of the Zone, but also upon people - who continue to work and even live inside the Zone.
   The writing is clear, perhaps due to Ms. Mycio's journalistic background. It is also very engaging, because she is intensely interested in the subject, and shares the reasons for her interest with the reader. For those of us who will never have the opportunity to visit the Zone, this book is really the next best thing.
   The author has a website which makes a terrific supplement to the book, with generous photo galleries organized according in parallel to the book: www.chernobyl.in.ua



5. I came across this book when I made friends with someone from the Ukraine... the book grew and grew on me as I read it; I did not realize until towards the end that the author had deftly taken us through the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, and then through a gestalt of the land and people. (I like the casual way she would check her radiation meter to see how much radiation she was getting at a given pond, bog or town). So we kind of weave our way through the history, then the air, plants, ground, water,animals, people, and towns affected by Chernobyl. There's a lot of science but Mary Mycio makes you feel like, hey, you too understand all the bits and pieces about leftover radiation. So two things happen as you read the book; you feel like are in the car with her and her guides. And then to you see how nature has come back in an awesome way and taken over what is still a nuclear wasteland.(The wildlife has thrived and rebounded since people are gone from their radioactive world). Amazing book; all science majors should read this!

5 comments about Edward Teller: The Real Dr. Strangelove.

1. I will be brief as others have written very good reviews. The authors start off well connecting with those interested in Edward Teller or the "Atomic Era coming of Age". The book does justice and provides insight until the later third, begining with the Oppenheimer security issues. From there it declines into an obsession with political correctness....conservatives are right-wing and liberals have no slur attached to them. The book ends with less and less of Teller as the object but more as a useful tool for the authors spin on history.



2. Whether or not Edward Teller was the model for Dr. Strangelove in the movie of the same name [my pick for #1 movie ever], he was still one of the most controversial and enigmatic scientists of the 20th Century. Peter Goodchild does an excellent job laying out Dr. Teller's life in the book Edward Teller, The Real Dr. Strangelove. Having read Goodchild's J. Robert Oppenheimer: Shatterer Of Worlds while still in college [and having watched the BBC show by Goodchild on PBS with my Dad - a favorite memory], I trusted that Goodchild would write a book that was neither hagiography nor hatchet job, and Edward Teller did not disappoint. Goodchild gives us Teller's life as a witty and brilliant scientist [which I have personal experience with - I had the good fortune of hearing Dr. Teller speak] and as a troubled and extremely political human being. Being a fan of Oppenheimer and a partisan against the Star Wars nuclear defense, I expected that the book would support, and perhaps intensify, my negative feelings towards Teller, but reading the book has made me more sympathetic towards Teller the human being [while still vehemently disagreeing with his treatment of Oppenheimer and his support of the scientifically ridiculous Star Wars plan]. Their may be some people that are purely heroic or villainous, but most people are like J. Robert Oppenheimer or Edward Teller, flawed human beings. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in science and scientists, the ethical conflicts of certain kinds of scientific research, biography, the bomb, and the history of the 20th Century. An endnote: when I was in the 1st and 2nd grades in Berkeley, California, I lived on Scenic Avenue and went to Hillside Elementary School. One of my routes to or from school took me along Hawthorne Terrace past Dr. Teller's house. I was a precocious kid and knew the "Father of the H-Bomb" lived in my neighborhood. He drove a beat-up old car, which confirms Teller's frugality as reported by Goodchild.



3. In terms of pure cognitive exuberance, Teller is a hard act to follow. Reading this book on the heels of Teller's "Memoirs," I sometimes felt as if I were reading a condensed version of "Memoirs" (Goodchild quotes from it so heavily) into which someone had inserted occasional prosaic objections or asides--Rose Bethe remembers blah, blah, etc.
   
   Which is another way of saying I found the first 300 pages redundant. At that point, with the discussion of testing in Amchitka, Goodchild's version of events differs so greatly from Teller's that I was appreciative of the divergent and perhaps corrective account.
   
   The thematic heart of the book, the tragic hero's hubris, is interesting and deserved tighter focus. I found quotes like this one by George Cowan provacative: "People do betray themselves...potentially Edward was a great man in the highest sense, but he was betrayed by his obsession for power. Early on he was ambitious, which led to frustration, and then with success came the hubris and the power. And then he was lost. He made a mistake. He knows." But I never saw this adequately substantiated in what followed. Ultimately, I felt Goodchild presented the paradox of Teller but did not understand it.
   
   Am I the only one who finds the title a bit cheap, a bit of a marketing ploy?



4. After reading about Oppenheimer, I became interested in Teller and his role in the development of nuclear weapons and the Oppenheimer/Los Alamos saga. Though billed as a biography, this tome offers little in the way of insight into who Teller was. Instead, it is a very matter-of-fact depiction of events in his life and the development of nuclear and weapons science during the cold war. His scientific explanations are excellent and clear; his insight into his subject is sadly lacking.



5. Peter Goodchild, otherwise a documentary maker for the BBC, has written a biography of Edward Teller that I found to be disappointing.
   
   As someone very interested by the era and its scientists, I was surprised that he omits John von Neuman from his "suspects list" of possible inspirations for Dr. Strangelove. There is a strong case for this: like Dr. Strangelove, von Neuman was wheelchair-bound, consulted for the Rand Corporation, spoke German as a native speaker, was very knowledgeable about game theory (he co-invented it), and at times advocated a preemptive war against the Soviet Union.
   
   In reading this book, I did not feel that I came to know Edward Teller, who was a very interesting, if controversial, man. I learned a little about his origins, his studies, his projects, and the controversies that he was embroiled in. But only in a few events did I feel that Goodchild got to the bottom of what happened. This book reads more like a Life magazine article, or a description of a new wondersoap than like a work of history.
   
   I disliked that Goodchild makes interesting points, but then doesn't provide sources to support them. An example: Goodchild quotes an American soldier to the effect that the US military knew and tolerated that top secret information about the work at Los Alamos was being flown to the Soviet Union by the planeload, and names the air field where this is said to have happened. This is a spectacular allegation, if true. Unfortunately the sources he offers to substantiate this claim were a Soviet code clerk who worked at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, and an American soldier who sold his story at the height of the Red Scare. Both wrote books that needed spectacular stories to sell well. Neither the Venona decrypts nor the Mitrokhin archive, both of which have provided us with a good understanding of how the Soviets exported technology from Los Alamos allude even remotely to these clandestine flights. This is not to claim with certainty that these flights never happened, but rather to say that by not credibly substantiating his claims, Goodchild makes it clear that his work is not serious. Was there no FOIA or other source to substantiate this spectacular claim?
   
   Teller was involved in Operation Chariot, a project to use H-bombs to dig a harbor that nobody wanted on Alaska's ice-bound northern coast. In the end the opposition of the indigenous population led to the operation being cancelled. This entire episode, which I think should have led to a lot of soul-searching, and led an insightful biographer to ask and answer many probing questions, is more or less described in the sterile prose otherwise used to describe a fender-bender. I was also quite disappointed by his treatment of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Goodchild makes so many subtle and sometimes unfair digs that his book seems to be more a political tract than a serious and factual biography.
   
   A further annoyance is that Goodchild doesn't include footnotes, but rather has quotes for some sources at the back of the book. This is infuriating, as some of his ideas are interesting, and it is only when you flip to the back of the book that you learn whether this is or isn't one of the ideas for which he provides corroboration. This is one of the few books I have ever read that doesn't have a single positive review of itself on its back cover. To end this review on a positive note, it is one of the few biographies of Dr. Teller, so you may have to read it for what information it offers, and perhaps to use it as a doorstop. I anxiously await a book that does justice to Edward Teller's genius, life, and times.

2 comments about Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell).

1. Bertulani's book has the virtue of clear writing, and a focus on explaining the most important points of nuclear physics. At the level of a 3rd or 4th year undergraduate text. It presupposes at least one earlier course in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Plus, having an introductory course in nuclear physics would also help, though it is not necessary.
   
   The modelling of the nucleus is extensive. So too is the explanation of radioactivity and why some nuclei are unstable. The 3 main modes of decay- alpha, beta, and gamma - each gets its own chapter. The mechanisms are rather different, as the reader will note.
   
   The exercises in each chapter are moderately challenging, and probably suitable as assignment problems.



2. A rather advanced text on nuclear physics; would suggest one or two background courses prior to its review. Adam Koenigsberg MD

1 comments about Laser Cooling and Trapping (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics).

1. Laser cooling and trapping techniques have given researchers new tools to explore the atom's dynamics and control. The book gives a good introduction to the forces that arise when an atom interacts with a light (laser) field, and puts a lot of emphasis on giving the reader an excellent idea of what's going on when atoms and photons interact.

   Rather than giving all the details of the mathematical and quantum mechanics background that is needed to understand the subject the authors concentrate on giving a clearer picture of the real physics involved.

   The book starts with a review of the quantum mechanics principles used to understand laser cooling and trapping, which serves as a good remainder for a person who already has a basic grasp of it.

   Although all the mathematical analysis that shows how the formulas and mathematical expressions are derived is not done in the book, the presentation is sufficient to guide the readers interested in it do the work by themselves.

   The book also has an excellent reference guide that an interested person can use to get all the mathematical and experimental details on the field.

5 comments about The End Of Physics: The Myth Of A Unified Theory.

1. This book was well written, and explains the chronolgy of physics. Although when David Lindley describes a certain topic he extends the information too much. A one paragraph summary of a topic gets extended at times to many pages. A difficult read if you are under 14



2. Lindley's fine summary of the current state of physics mentions organized religion a few times. He says that "simplicity is the religion of cosmology."

   After living the life of an orthodox Mormon for forty years until leaving the fold permanently five years ago I am now comparing my old religion to just another "theory of everything."

   At least Lindley is free to question and scrutinize his fellow scientists. But in religion there is no check and balance system for reality.

   For instance Mormonism teaches that the planet named Kolob is the center of universe and domicile of God. This absurd claim is treated with religious fervor in the same as many scientific theories are held sacred and special.

   From Lindley I learned that skepticism is healthy and that we have a long long way to go before we really start understanding the universe and ourselves in it. Fascinating read.

   One things seems for sure. We don't know.




3. Are the cosomologists correct, or is it the particle physicists? Does quantum theory really invalidate Einstein's deterministic universe? Is the concept of a 26-dimensional universe credible, or are we as enamored with numerology as those in times of yore? Can science provide us with more than a myth about the creation of the universe? Each new discovery seems to beg more questions.

   The essence of this book is the tension that Lindley so magically captures--the tension between ideas, between scientists, and between philosophies. Lindley enthusiastically relates the drama; he catches the spirit and the excitement of discovery, as well as anxiety over some difficult unknowns.

   This book is a thrilling ride through some of the most captivating intellectual territory of the 20th century. Do not be put off by the complex nature of the subject matter; this is one of the most accessible science books that I have read. The energy of the ideas certainly outweighs the challenges presented by the difficult subject matter.

   This book is a great read for passionate learners.




4. My opinion of this book is quite different from some of the other reviewers. This book is neither a skeptical anti-science nor bizarre anti-Mormon rant. Rather, by considering the history of particle physics and cosmology Lindley shows again and again that scientific theories are only myths at best, unless they are backed up with solid emperical evidence. This evidence comes via experiments.

   Lindley does not say a "Theory of Everything" is impossible, he simply states that if a "Theory of Everthing" is going to have any meaning, it must be testable through emperical experiments, just like any other theory which science accepts as the best explaination of a given phenomena.

   In other words, hard work and imagination have gotten science this far and it needs to be applied again in this particular endeavor. There are no shortcuts. Though the book is probably a little dated now, it still provides an excellent format for one to recieve an introduction to particle physics and cosmology. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.




5. David Lindley's The End of Physics is yet another excellent addition to the growing list of outstanding physics books. Lindley is a long time editor of Science magazine and accomplished author.
   
   The book is a lucid and well-written text that provides an overview of recent developments in theoretical physics as well as an examination of what these developments mean. I found the author's discussion of general relativity and inflation to be particularly well handled - better than is often the case in these types of works. Lindley's exception strength, however, is his discussion of contemporary theoretical developments.
   
   The quest for a comprehensive "Theory of Everything" has become the Holy Grail of modern physics. The meaning of any such theory, however, has not been the subjected of much popular discussion. Cutting-edge theoretical physics are complex and inundated with esoteric mathematical constructs. These formulations appear to be driven in large part by mathematical expediency rather than empirical evidence; resulting in models seem excessively contrived and ad hoc in nature. Variables appear to be arbitrarily adjusted to account for unwanted variance - leaving something that looks like a modern version of Ptolemy's universal model (a complex intellectual constructs that bare little resemblance to reality).
   
   The only shortcoming of the book is its lack of a more direct discussion of philosophical issues pertaining to science. For instance, do mathematical and scientific theories represent reality in some "real" way or are they largely just useful metaphorical constructs. It has been my experience that scientific realism and an associated narrow verificationist view of truth are often unchallenged assumptions of philosophical modernism. Lindley talks around this question; however, a more direct discussion would be instructive. Is science the sole means of acquiring and testing knowledge? Upon examination it appears that we possess a range of logical and moral truths that are not obtained through scientific induction. Regardless of one's view this is an important, and often overlooked, question to ponder.
   
   Overall, The End of Physics is an excellent book. It provides a good overview and discussion of modern developments in theoretical physics. I would recommend it to a general audience; however, it may be a bit dense of a starting point for someone with no exposure to quantum theory or cosmology.