The New Physics [Paperback]

Paul Davies (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0521438314 | ISBN-13: 978-0521438315

Physics affects the way we live and, ultimately, how life itself functions. This new take on a classic text investigates key frontiers in modern physics. Exploring our universe, from the particles within atoms to the stars making up galaxies, it reveals the vital role invisible mechanisms play in the world around us, and explains new techniques, from nano-engineering and brain research to the latest advances in high-speed data networks and custom-built materials. Written by leading international experts, each of the nineteen chapters will fascinate scientists in all disciplines, as well as anyone wanting to know more about the world of physics. First Edition Hb (1989) 0-521-30420-2 First Edition Pb (1992) 0-521-43831-4

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The very people who are busy creating the new physics carry the reader out to the growing edge of modern science. It is an exciting trip. The New Physics is an ambitious attempt to make the frontiers of this science accessible to a wider audience. This book succeeds admirably in this goal. I know of no better one-volume guide to the edges of modern physics.' Nick Herbert, New Scientist

'This is an attractively presented book, but it is one to be read and thought about rather than merely looked at. Non-scientists will get a good sense of some of the new ideas, and scientists - physicists included - can learn how very far physics has extended its dominion.' J. H. Mulvey, Nature

' ... a first-class book, conveying a real sense of current research.' Observatory

Book Description

Fifteen years on from the highly praised The New Physics, new scientific advances have led to a dramatic reappraisal of our understanding of the world around us, and made a significant impact on our lifestyle. Underpinning all other branches of science, physics affects the way we live our lives and ultimately how life itself functions. This book covers the key frontiers in modern-day physics, exploring our universe--from the particles inside an atom to the stars that make up a galaxy, from brain research to the latest advances in computing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 28, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521438314
• ISBN-13: 978-0521438315
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb tour of current physics, March 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Physics (Paperback)

I thoght this was one of the best books on physics that I had ever read. As an educated layman (MS in Elec Eng) I have experienced some frustration with most "popular" tours of science. This book balanced sufficient (mathematical) detail to make me feel I had grasped some of the fundamentals with enough wonderfully clear conceptual explanation to ensure that I understood the whole. A must-read for anyone who has felt short-changed by "simple" explanations of the latest developments in our understanding of the universe

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good articles, December 13, 2004

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Physics (Paperback)

Now that 15 years have passed since this book came out, the physics it describes is not quite so new. But it is still a very nice introduction to some of the more interesting parts of physics. Not every exciting aspect of physics is covered. But everything that is covered is a stimulating area in which plenty of noteworthy things are happening.

There's a nice section by Clifford Will on the renaissance of general relativity. And he makes the point that cosmologists have long been plagued by having their predicted ages of the Universe come out just a teeny bit less than the ages of (pick one) the Earth or the Milky Way Galaxy. Alan Guth and Paul Steinhardt have a nice article on the inflationary universe. And Stephen Hawking has some nice words about the question of whether spacetime has a boundary. Chris Isham discusses quantum gravity. All these are subjects that get us in the proper mood for the chapter I liked best, by Malcolm Longair, on the new astrophysics. This 115-page article is a wonderful introduction to the field.

Now that we've looked at something big (the universe), we study some systems that appear self-organized. We start with an article by David Thouless on condensed matter in less than three dimensions. I liked this, he even discussed "third sound" in superfluid helium, something which as an "acoustics person" I find fascinating. And there's another good article on low temperature physics, by Anthony Leggett. The next chapter in the self-organization section is by Peter Knight, on quantum optics (lasers); he has a good discussion of the generation of ultrashort optical pulses. And there is a chapter about phase transitions and critical point phenomena by Alastair Bruce and David Wallace.

Those who have studied Biology have seen the incredible amount of order in living systems. But where does this order come from? What about the order in non-Biological systems, such as the planets going around the Sun? Or, better yet, snowflakes? What forces produce such self-organization? It's nonlinear dynamics and the presence of constraints maintaining a system far from equilibrium that turn out to be the basic mechanism. We have a nice chapter by Gregoire Nicolis that discusses it. And next is a chapter on chaos. By this, we mean systems that are deterministic but unpredictable. Joseph Ford discusses systems that can make use of inputs that arrive in a random manner.

The final portion of the book deals with the ultimate structure of matter. We start with an article by Abner Shimony, which discusses the importance of the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, showing that simple "hidden variable theories" are impossible. Frank Close explains the quark structure of matter and Abdus Salam supplies an overview of particle physics. H. M. Georgi tells us of the adventures people have had trying to use Lie Groups, especially SU(5), to come up with grand unified theories. But he explains that they predicted proton decay and never found it. And in his chapter on quantum field theories, he speculates that maybe we're making a mistake to try to guess the nature of reality for very small distances, rather than work our way down to it from what we can see at bigger distances. And there is a very readable chapter on gauge theories by John Taylor, who includes a discussion of quark confinement.

These simply aren't the topics we're used to seeing when we take high school or college physics, and it's wonderful to have them in one book so that one can see how many exciting topics there are in this field. Yes, there's been plenty of advances on all these topics since 1989, but this isn't a bad way to get started. If you are thinking of doing physics, this will show some of what many physicists have been doing for the past couple of decades. If you have a little technical training and simply want a book for the layman that has relatively little math, it's a good choice. We may need an updated version soon!

5.0 out of 5 stars Future physics and non-linearities, October 12, 2010

By 

Sky Kadakia - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Physics (Paperback)

Magnificient book on physics. Congratulations! Hello from Shailesh Kadakia the author of book True Physics of Light, Beyond Relativity. This is a fantastic book on fundamental issues of physics concerning geometries of space and time, scope of universe, theories unifying various forces occurring in nature, quark structure of matter and light. I enjoyed several chapters of this book. What I like the most about the book is that authors of each special topic in each chapters have refrained from including derivation of formula they used to describe the concepts. The absence of derivation and math makes the book reading very easy and there is no loss of continuity in train of thoughts for any reader a novice or an expert. To date I have read Chapters 1,2,4,5,13 and 14. Also, I glanced contents of other chapters. Some of the chapters are involved and contents are difficult to grasp if reader loose focus. My suggestion would be to read this book in quiet environment. I strongly recommend this book for someone who wish to learn the philisophy behind the modern ideas in physics. I am still not finished.