9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing accomplishment, December 15, 2006
Before reading this book, the only string theory I knew was what very little I saw on TV. This book not only brings you up to speed on string theory, but also proposes a change that could make string theory complete. After reading it a few times, the universe finally makes sense to me. By using descriptions you can "see" in your head as well as illustrations to assist you, this book makes all the strange concepts of dark matter and dark energy understandable. I never understood why the laws of physics worked the way they do until I read this book. Bender's membrane theory of gravity explains the reasons behind the physics. While his chapter on membrane gravity isn't exactly light reading, it's probably as light as is humanly possible, considering the subject. It took me a couple readings, but I think I finally get it.
Bender's theories about "faster than light" travel are the best hope for us yet to be able to explore our universe. He describes many uses for his gravity wave propelled ships, many of which could save us from disaster. He even describes medical uses for the gravity waves created by his engine. Talk about the practical benefits of science - this could completely change medicine as we know it. Bender's descriptions of the workings of his engine are detailed and they make sense. I hope I'll see one working in my lifetime - I want to fly it!
Some parts of the book can get a bit difficult at times, but it's mostly just one chapter that gave me the most difficulty. After digesting it for a while and then reading it again, I was able to understand how our and many other universes could be created from next to nothing. It's really amazing.
If you have any interest in string theory, relativity, black holes, how the universe began and will end, and even in science fiction or space travel, than this book is for you. You can get by without knowing very much about physics or astronomy. If you're already a physics or string theory expert, than this book probably is not for you. However, even the experts should read this book, as it explains the entire universe, and until now, they haven't been able to put all the pieces together.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
thoughtful, infectious, and mind-expanding, January 10, 2007
SlipString Drive is a highly readable book which offers both a theoretical refinement of M-theory and an important practical application with dramatic implications for the future of intelligent life in the universe.
Along the way, Bender takes the reader on a tour of the sexiest topics of modern physics: the early universe, the large-scale distribution of matter, black hole physics, quantum entanglement, the impact of human life with the ecosystem of the earth, UFOs, the Star Trek/Gene Roddenberry philosophy of life, and our ability to survive the death of the Sun through interstellar travel.
Like many profound ideas in physics, Bender starts from a simple assumption and follows it to its logical conclusion. In this case, he asks what would happen if gravity were due to the curvature of our membrane caused by vibrating strings of matter. By framing the concept in terms of strings interacting with the membrane, he eliminates the need for "other" universes to theoretically explain the empirical effect of gravity, providing a more intellectually satisfying concept than the existing M-theory explanation which involves "disappearing" gravitons exiting our brane and permeating the bulk.
Following recent theories of the early universe in which big bang can be understood as a collision between branes, Bender applies this membrane theory of gravity. The massive transfer of energy from the collision, he asserts, would give rise to enormous vibrating ripples in the membrane, which would in turn cause a rapid contraction of the brane followed by its expansion as the collision's waves dissipate throughout the brane over time. This explains the expansion of the universe, dark matter and dark energy as intrinsic properties of spacetime itself, and provides a means of testing the theory since as time goes on the energy of vibration of the membrane should be transferred to the expansion of the universe as those vibrations dissipate.
In addition to the "big splash" inducing ripples in our membrane, a portion of the energy was transferred to virtual strings, creating real strings (of matter) in realistic proportions - more matter than antimatter because of the disparate energies required to vibrate strings in matter or antimatter configurations. Bender also suggests that surveys of the cosmic microwave background radiation - currently theorized to be a picture of the universe several hundred thousand years after the big bang (when things had cooled sufficiently to allow atoms to form) - may actually be representations of a much earlier time, effectively near the time of the impact itself.
SlipString Drive, as its name suggests, also describes a novel form of propulsion based on the concept of gravity waves repelling matter by compressing spacetime. By generating gravity waves of sufficient magnitude which superpose constructively at points outside a ship, you should be able to repel spacetime sufficiently to "pinch yourself off" from spacetime in an isolated "mini-universe" of your own. Now residing in your own spacetime, you would not be bound by laws pertaining to motion within the spacetime of the universe, since you are now isolated from it.
This method of propulsion would theoretically be testable using existing matter (tungsten) though it would work best with exotic superheavy matter. The detailed description of the prototype is therefore not equivalent to completely hypothetical exotic drives such as the magnetic monopole drive ("if only we had the monopole...") and is conceptually distinct from other theorized warp drives which require one to abandon special relativity or embrace radical counterintuitive concepts like negative energy. It is also distinct from proposed effects like the Alcubierre device which are dependent on hypothetical regions of space of unclear methods of generation and which may not be energetically feasible at macroscopic length scales.
From cover to cover, SlipString Drive is a conceptual romp - a must read for anyone who has ever wondered "what if faster than light travel were possible" - thoughtful, infectious, and mind-expanding.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Faster Than Light travel and a Theory of Everything to boot!, December 29, 2006
This review is from: SlipString Drive: String Theory, Gravity, and “Faster Than Light” Travel (Hardcover)
It's nice to read a book that takes complicated ideas and theories and communicates them in a way that makes sense to someone without a physics background.
The discussion and explanation of String Theory and Membrane Theory was new to me. With these ideas laid out, Bender's book then attempts to tackle a "Theory of Everything" by making modifications to existing Membrane theory. He gives you a lot to chew on about how our universe started and where it is going.
My favorite part of the book is the chapter that describes how a Faster Than Light drive (the Slipstring Drive of the title) could be made and powered. I love the idea that the concepts in this book could be used to create a real Slipstring Drive. I just hope I'm around to see it.
If you are interested in what makes the universe work, you'll enjoy this book.
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