- Hardcover: 292 pages
- Publisher: Allen Lane (4 Jun 2009)
- Language Unknown
- ISBN-10: 1846142458
- ISBN-13: 978-1846142451
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
597,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in Books > Science & Nature > Physics > Gravity
The Lightness of Being: Big Questions, Real Answers
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A thrilling read ... a glimpse of physics at its quirkiest and most illuminating' The Economist 'The Lightness of Being is an apt description of Wilczek's writing style ... at once profound and light, filled with humour, wordplay and original explanations' New Scientist 'Read Wilczek's book ! to share some of the excitement and enlightenment ... as the Large Hadron Collider goes into operation in Switzerland' Natural History 'Wilczek possesses a compelling writing style ... The beauty of the intellectual leaps, the grandness of the discovery, are palpable' St Petersburg Times
Product Description
What's the meaning of it all? Or rather: what exactly is 'it'? Here Frank Wilczek, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and legend, examines the very nature of reality itself, showing how almost everything we think we know about 'it' is wrong.
The Lightness of Being is an engaging tour de force, revealing a universe where matter is the hum of strange music, mass doesn't weigh, and empty space is a multilayered, multicoloured superconductor. Physicists' understanding of the essential nature of reality changed radically over the past quarter century. And Frank Wilczek has played a lead role in establishing the new paradigms. Transcending the clash and mismatch of older ideas about what matter and space is, Wilczek presents some brilliant and clear syntheses. Extraordinarily readable and authoritative, The Lightness of Being is the first book to unwrap these exciting new ideas for the general public. It explores their implications for basic questions about space, mass, energy, and the longed-for possibility of a fully unified theory of Nature.
Pointing to new directions where great discoveries in fundamental physics are likely, and providing a visionary context for the experiments in CERN, he envisions a new Golden Age in physics.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wilczek is a high priest of the temple and we have to thank him for trying to explain to mere mortals what the runes are saying. This book will give you some understanding of how divorced from common human perception the quantum (real) world is. If that's the what you're looking for then the book worth a read. If you really want to understand then a degree course in nuclear physics is you're only option.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a great read. There is a good mix of technical info and humour. His wit shines thru and makes what could be a dull subject fascinating. Ever wondered about quark and gluons? Why have giant colliders? Higgs what particles? This is the book for you. He writes in a style similar to a theologion or philosopher and keeps pushing at the boundaries of spiritual mysticism. Sublimely written, inspiring, makes you go wow. Sometimes I have to put the book down and just say bloody brilliant!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an amazing book, see the reviews from the other edition. Not understandable by a Physics graduate? When and where did you graduate?The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Light Reading for Nuclear Physicists
Although written in a "clear and concise" manner it still didn't make much sense to me.Its probably fine if your IQ is 150+ but to my average IQ it was easy to read but hard to... Read more
Published 15 months ago by nicholas hargreaves
Incomprehensible
Another book about fundamental particles by a prize-winning physicist that is incomprehensible to a physics graduate. Read more
Published on 2 July 2009 by M. O'SULLIVAN
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