Books with author Graham Farmelo

How math helps us solve the universe's deepest mysteries One of the great insights of science is that the universe has an underlying order. The supreme goal of physicists is to understand this order through laws that describe the behavior of the most basic particles and the forces between them. For centuries, we have searched for these laws by studying the results of experiments. Since the 1970s, however, experiments at the world's most powerful atom-smashers have offered few new clues. So some of the world's leading physicists have looked to a different source of insight: modern mathematics. These physicists are sometimes accused of doing 'fairy-tale physics', unrelated to the real world. But in The Universe Speaks in Numbers, award-winning science writer and biographer Farmelo argues that the physics they are doing is based squarely on the well-established principles of quantum theory and relativity, and part of a tradition dating back to Isaac Newton. With unprecedented access to some of the world's greatest scientific minds, Farmelo offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of the blossoming relationship between mathematics and physics and the research that could revolutionize our understanding of reality. A masterful account of the some of the most groundbreaking ideas in physics in the past four decades. The Universe Speaks in Numbers is essential reading for anyone interested in the quest to discover the fundamental laws of nature.

A groundbreaking exploration of how the interplay of physics and mathematics has enriched our understanding of the universe - essential reading for anyone who wants to grasp how physicists are attempting, in Stephen Hawking's words, to 'know the mind of God'.One of the great mysteries of science is that underlying all the complexities of the universe is a harmonious order, whose existence Einstein described as 'a miracle'. No less miraculous, the fundamental laws of the universe can be written in the language of advanced mathematics.Searching for these laws, physicists have found themselves developing ambitious mathematical ideas without experiment as their guide. In The Universe Speaks in Numbers, Graham Farmelo demonstrates how today's greatest scientific minds are working in a tradition that dates back to Newton. He takes us on an adventure from the Enlightenment, through the breakthroughs of Einstein and Dirac, to the contemporary physicists and mathematicians who are shedding fascinating light on each other's disciplines. As Farmelo shows, this blossoming relationship between mathematics and physics is responsible for huge, redefining advances in our understanding of reality, space and time.Always lively, vivid and authoritative, Farmelo guides the reader through the most thrilling and controversial developments in contemporary thought. LISTEN TO THE ACCOMPANYING PODCAST featuring interviews with leading scientists at www.grahamfarmelo.com'A superbly written, riveting book. In elegant prose, and using virtually no equations, Farmelo describes the ongoing quest of great thinkers to understand the bedrock nature of reality' Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge'I am overcome with admiration for this book's range and profundity ... An amazing achievement' Michael Frayn, award-winning writer of Copenhagen 'Masterful ... a riveting account of one of the greatest stories of our time' Nima Arkani-Hamed, Professor at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton

Many of the world's leading physicists are confident that they are on track to discover a new understanding of the universe which will entail a complete rethink of gravity, space and time.What is extraordinary is that they are achieving these breakthroughs through thought alone. Experimental data is increasingly hard to come by (high-energy particle accelerators don't come cheap) so physicists are increasingly relying on mathematics to guide their thinking. To the amazement of both physicists and mathematicians, it is becoming clear that they are working on the same subject.Einstein saw this coming in the 1930s when he controversially declared that he believed it was possible to find the ultimate laws of nature by pure thought. A few years later, the great English theoretical physicist Paul Dirac set out what is now regarded as an extraordinarily far-sighted vision: 'as time goes, on it becomes increasingly evident that the rules which the mathematician finds interesting are the same as those which Nature has chosen.' That the fundamental laws of the universe appear to be written in the language of mathematics is one of the greatest mysteries of science. This book goes to the heart of that enigma.Farmelo takes us on an international adventure from the Enlightenment to the early 21st century, introducing us to the contributions of some of the greatest thinkers of our time, including Edward Witten, Juan Maldacena and Nima Arkani-Hamed. The cast of this book are working with mind-blowing concepts such string theories in higher-dimensional space-times and a menagerie of exotic new objects that are believed to exist deep inside atomic nuclei.Always lively and authoritative, Farmelo navigates the reader through some of the most exciting developments and controversies in modern thought. Is all this 'fairy-tale physics' as some commentators complain? Are today's superstar physicists abandoning the traditions of experimentally-rooted science? Farmelo tackles these arguments and explains the huge imaginative leaps that are edging us towards a radically new understanding of the nature of our universe.