Customer Reviews

Einstein's Enigma or Black Holes in My Bubble Bath

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What do Einstein, Black Holes, and Bath Tubs have to do with each other? The relationship between Einstein and black holes is no mystery even to someone, like myself, who is not a specialist in astrophysics. But the bath tubs? The title intrigued me, so I bought the book and read it.

This book is about relativity and black holes, as the title implies. But it is unlike any other book on the subject I have come across so far.

To begin with, in lieu of the lecture-style format common to this kind of books, the author uses two fictional personas, his alter egos George and Alfie, to present the fundamentals of relativity and black hole physics. George, an astrophysicist, and Alfie, a FLOP according to the author, love to discuss physics while eating and drinking at an Italian restaurant. The narrative style of the book is that of a dialogue, in homage to Galileo, perhaps. The casual environment of the restaurant, where most of the dialogues take place, sets the tone for the entire book.

This is a book intended for the non-specialist, interested public. The use of mathematics is kept to a minimum, and many concepts are illustrated with simple and intuitive cartoons-style diagram scribbled on the napkins in the restaurant (where else?, you may ask).

The book follows 2 parallel narrative tracks: the first track is personified by George and his explanations of the physics of relativity and black holes. The second track is introduced and represented by Alfie.

Alfie has an extraordinary memory, and remembers an incredible amount of data and information about anything he reads. Alfie is interested in the human side of science, and represents the wide range of interests and knowledge of Prof. Vishveshwara outside the realm of physics. It is through Alfie's eyes, and dreams, that the reader encounters great physicists of the past, Kepler, Galileo, Einstein, and even such characters as Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland.

Alfie may be a FLOP, as the book says, but he has magic, and his magic permeates the entire book making it a delightful read, more like fiction than science. And if you are wondering what a FLOP is, I strongly recommend you read the book to find out.

Lang - Review of Einstein's Enigma

Thank you so much for sending me C. V. Vishveshwara's lively book "Einstein's Enigma," which I have enjoyed reading. As the subtitle "Black Holes in My Bubble Bath" suggests, it is the author's imagination that sets this book apart, making it unique and thoroughly enjoyable. It reminds be a bit of the book "Einstein's Dreams" in that regard.

The main character rides a bath bubble into space and time, to visit astronomers of the past such as Tycho, Kepler, Galileo and eventually "Al" Einstein himself, always accompanied by Casanova, an exceedingly clever merging of Cassiopeia A ( a supernova remnant) and nova, or new star. The bubble baths are taken in a talking bathtub, once the kitchen sink in Einstein's house, which is filled with recollections of the "Master's" views on music, time, death, religion and more.

The physics of general relativity, especially for black holes, is there, from the bending of light (twice the Newtonian value) to the various black hole metrics (static, rotating, charged), and admittedly speculative elements are included - like white holes, charged black holes, and primordial black holes. There is an honest confession that observational astronomers tend to disregard theorists who adjust parameters in their theories to fit contradictory observations.

The book contains all kinds of interesting astrophysical concepts, from why the Sun shines to the super-massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, and there are all sorts of clever quips, like a black holy man and improper time, rather than the proper sort.

The inclusion of three graduate students helps make the text additionally personal, as do the frequent meals prepared at the local tratoria by an Italian chef. Having an Italian wife, who has prepared dishes like fired zucchini flowers, made this aspect especially enjoyable.

I would not say that the black hole was "the undisputed offspring of the general relativity," since the concept of a star that emits no light because of its immense gravity dates back to Newton's time. But this is a minor comment, and I would certainly recommend this book as a rare and entertaining volume, a must read for anyone interested in the subject.

Kenneth R. Lang

Professor of Astronomy

Tufts University