Customer Reviews

The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is more, much more, than the usual treatment of relativity, Kaluza-Klein theory, Yang-Mills and hyperspace that one finds in mass-market publications. It does not assume previous knowledge of these subjects, so the reader is introduced to them in a logical, understandable manner. But the physics itself is only part of what makes this book special.

What Paul Halpern does so well is create a thoughtful, flowing, compelling, easily-digested history of dreams -the dreams of real people with incredible scientific abilities, but also suffering the same human frailties and fateful circumstances as the rest of us. Brilliant theoreticians have had to create original, transcending scientific advancement under conditions that most people would find daunting, from the 1930s, when famous German universities with rich mathematical traditions were decimated overnight, to Islamist Iran which caused at least one future physicist to begin his escape to Canada on horseback.

Physicists have had to contend with all kinds of obstacles in the quest for a Theory of Everything (as Einstein termed it), not least of which were their own internal disagreements that were sometimes based on rather capricious criteria. Einstein, rather famously, was known for dismissing quantum theory on the grounds that God does not play dice, but in his later years he went beyond that, apparently trying to place himself in God's position to decide which direction to pursue. Pretty amazing stuff.

It's not all serious. There are some laughs here as well, such as Klein and Ehrenfest trading messages in Jocular Physics (reflecting the political times) and a supersymmetrical goof on the song "Macarena" (complete with lyrics).

Today, eleven dimensional M-theory is the standard. The book includes a splendid explanation of what this is and how it was derived. Care is taken to clarify difficult concepts, diagrams are offered, and research is neatly summarized. One is struck by how closely the author is plugged in to the current physics community and the breadth of his experience in multiple theoretical pursuits.

For me, the best aspect of the book is the original research that went into it. Dr. Halpern personally interviewed John Wheeler, Peter Bergmann, Stanley Deser, and others intimately connected (or related) to the icons of twentieth-century physics. He not only researched Einstein's letters and papers but tells us what they say about the character of the man and the meaning of his efforts. You are not only reading about the essential structure of the universe but also gaining valuable insight into human perspective and ambition. A great job by a great author.

The Great Beyond is a new look at man's exploration of higher dimensions through the ages.

Paul Halpern blends tales of physicists' personal lives with explanations of abstruse theories and concepts. His description of wave theory and the paradigm shift from Maxwell and Newton to Einstein was as exciting as the earthshaking consequences of this upheaval.

And he is capable of drawing quite meaningful insights from the subject matter, such as,
"Nature is a study of vivid contrasts and subtle connections." The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins couldn't have said it better.

One of the hardest concepts to understand in human knowledge is Einstein's special theory of relativity. But Halpern makes it look easy with his brilliant metaphor of a Minute waltz concert where the pianist slows down his metronome, a lucid illustration of time dilation. Very clever analogies like these would make the book worth reading even without its other merits. No higher mathematics or quantum physics know-how is required; he's done all of the heavy lifting for you.

The chapters are divided into a series of easy-to-digest sections with intriguing titles like, "Tesseract Construction Kits," "Chasing a Lightwave," and "Life in Apartment 5-D." I suggest you read two or three a day to allow proper time for savoring these delicate morsels.

If you are an armchair scientist who enjoys reading George Gamow, Stephen Hawking, or Stephen Jay Gould, you'll love this book. I know I did.

Halpern traces the history of an idea (multidimensional space) in the most exciting way I have encountered. I loved this book from cover to cover, and I can't imagine a better non-mathematical treatment of modern physics.

If you like Brian Greene's `The Elegant Universe,' you should like this book too. Both books are very comparable in coverage and readability. While Greene's occupies 448 pages, Halpern's does it in 326 pages. Main differences between them are in the compassion toward and the coverage thoroughness of inspiring/taunting and for/against views, persons and incidents. In these respects, I enjoyed reading Halpern's more. Greene tends to write like a story of `String Theory & Einstein;' thus omitting a lot of views, persons and incidents that were or have been inspiring/taunting and for/against Einstein and/or string theorists. Those omitted by Greene; for examples, how Einstein came to think seriously about the four-dimensional space-time approach developed by Hermann Minokowski, and how several other scientists (in spite of Einstein) followed Kaluza-Klein theory in adding the fifth and more dimensions; are well covered in Halpern's − together with the `flesh & blood' stories of persons involved and their plights during Nazi's tyranny − even of Einstein. Compassionately, Halpern tells stories of Edwin Abbott Abbott, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Valentine Bargmann, Peter Bergmann, Niels Bohr, Louis de Broglie, Charlie Chaplin, William Klingdon Clifford, Eugene Cremmer, Stanley Deser, Bryce Seligman DeWitt, Savas Dimopoulos, Paul Dirac, Georgi (Gia) Dvali, Arthur Eddington, Paul Ehrenfest, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Abraham Flexner, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Murray Gell-Mann, Howard Georgi, Sheldon Glashow, Michael Green, Werner Heisenberg, David Hilbert, Charles Howard Hinton, Banesh Hoffmann, Pascual Jordan, Bernard Julia, Theodor Franz Eduard Kaluza, Immanuel Kant, Oskar Benjamin Klein, Hendrik Kramers, Hendrik Lorentz, James Clerk Maxwell, Walther Mayer, Hermann Minokowski, Gunnar Nordström, Wolfgang Pauli, Lisa Randall, Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, Abdus Salam, Joël Scherk, Erwin Schrödinger, John Schwarz, Julian Schwinger, Raman Sundrum, Richard Tolman, Steven Weinberg, H.G. Wells, Hermann Weyl, John Wheeler, Edward Witten, Chen Ning (Frank) Yang, Hideki Yukawa, Johann Zöllner, etc. Having gone through similar `publish or perish' experience, though likely in a much less fierce arena, I can imagine their - like stated by Einstein − "the years of anxious searching in the dark, with their intense longing, their alternations of confidence and exhaustion, and final emergence into the light." Ironically, Halpern even covers the first and second superstring revolutions better than Greene. But one should not overlook the fact that Halpern, writing after, had about five years to improve on Green's. Another major difference between these two books, that one may pick up as a criticism against Halpern's, is in the explicit mentioning of the successes of string theory, so far. Rather explicitly, Greene claims successes of string theory in: solving the conflict between Einstein's general relativity and quantum mechanics, settling that the fabric of space can tear, solving a central puzzle concerning Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of black holes, and rationally modifying the conclusions of cosmic origins. But, my guess is that Halpern - unlike Greene - apparently belonging to an impartial party needs not feel obliged to try hard to sell the product, string theory.

I just bought this book and I have to be honest that it really disappointed me. All the material inside is already known and has been explained from some other book like "Hyperspace" by Michio Kaku. The book just repeats some fact about kaluza-klein, flatlanders, mobius strip, supergravity or relativity theory of Einstein. It does not even consider explaining in detail the latest advancement in theoretical physics that explore the possibility of higher dimension or theory of everything as its title would suggest.

If you are looking for some introduction to popular science of space-time, matter and the universe in general, MAYBE this book will be suitable for you (even though I would advice you to get it from another book such as "Hyperspace" or "Parallel Worlds" by Michio Kaku). But if you are looking for some "advance" information in these area or the latest information in theoretical physics concerning the development of the Superstring, M-Theory, Brane Worlds and so on, this book is definitely NOT for you.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting freaked out. It's this new theory of parallel worlds. Imagine: infinite universes out there, many of them with near identical copies of you. They say every possible outcome in your life will occur in another universe.

So, you're a dismal failure who never achieved anything. Don't fret. In a parallel universe, you might be drinking expensive champagne on your yacht and talking shop with Donald Trump.

So, your wife ran off with your brother and took the truck and the dog to boot. Take heart. One universe over, the shrew is serving you drinks and vacuuming floors in your palatial estate. Your dog watches over your fleet of trucks and your brother is in prison.

So, the Red Sox finally win a World Series after 86 years of heartbreak. It's been year after year of thwarted hopes, for as long as you can remember. But somewhere in the multiverse, the Sox have won so many championships, it's sickening.

Every possible outcome. Those horrible mistakes you made here never happened there. You ate right, exercised and took vitamins every day in some other universe. You are buff and not ashamed to take your shirt off on the beach in another dimension.

The multiverse has its privileges. And it is scientists who claim it as fact, not tabloid writers drunk on cheap wine. To account for errors in the math of quantum physics, some say the existence of multiple universes is the only possible solution.

"The Great Beyond" was one of several books I read on the subject during a recent quantum binge. Halpern writes with a style that will be appreciated by non-PhDs like myself. He uses analogy and visuals to bring his ideas home. He explains the science calmly, without the hysterical, desperate lunge toward the theory of everything so many other physicists succumb to. By the time you read the last page, you'll be wondering what other versions of you are doing in other worlds.

So really, man. It's time to relax. String theory dictates that our time here is really not that important. We're just an insignificant speck in an infinitesimal bubble in the froth of a sea of universes. Stop hollering and worrying all the time. Chill out and let some other you do all the heavy lifting.

I'm getting carried away. I know I am. People who don't absolutely love books like "Parallel Worlds" back slowly away from me when I start talking about the multiverse. My wife doesn't allow words like singularity or participatory anthropic principal around the house. Not in this world, anyway.

-- Mark LaFlamme, author of "The Pink Room," about, what else? A leading physicist who attempts to use the science of string theory to bring his daughter back from the dead.

This is a fascinating book. It is clear in what it explains and although clearly focused on multidimensional theories (in favor of what you see is all there is) the differing theories are explained well and simple even for non-scientists.

A great book.

This is a book about the history of multidimensional theories. The focus of the book is not on the theories themselves, but on how they developed. It is very well written. It is entertaining, and has good rhythm. It was not what I expected, but anyway I enjoyed the book.

Curiously, the best part of the book, in my opinion, is the one that is farthest from the own subject of the book, where the development of the Relativity and Quantum theories are explained, in the context of multidimensional theories. It is just close to having five stars, but I think that the last part of the book is weaker; too many names, in comparison with the excellent first two thirds of the book, where a hard selection of scientists is done.

This and The Theory of Everything are enjoyable reading about the exploration of alternative views of reality and perception.

Dr. Paul Halpern's book, The Great Beyond is a fine work in explaining the Kaluza-Klein theory of a fifth dimension, as well as newer theories concerning ten, eleven and twenty-six dimensions. The men and women in the fascinating adventure in physics are brought to life. Paul Halpern tells stories Theodor Kaluza, Oskar Klein, Allbert Einstein, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Valentine Bargmann, Peter Bergmann, Niels Bohr, Louis de Broglie, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, David Hilbert, Charles Hinton, Pascual Jordan, Hendrik Lorentz, James Clerk Maxwell, Hermann Minokowski, Wolfgang Pauli, Georg Riemann, Abdus Salam, Erwin Schrödinger Raman Sundrum, Richard Tolman, Steven Weinberg, Hermann Weyl, John Wheeler, Edward Witten, Hideki Yukawa, Johann Zöllner, and many more with great skill and feeling. He explains the theories quite well and the personal and scientific struggles these theorists went through. It was a throughly enjoyable read, and I high recommend it.