Shadowlands: Quest for Mirror Matter in the Universe (Paperback)

~ Robert Foot (Author) "Shortly before his death in 1727, Isaac Newton reflected upon his life and wrote: I don't know what I may appear to the world, but,..." (more)
Key Phrases: Tau Bootis, Physics Letters, Discovery of Mirror Planets (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Australian physicist Robert Foot, sets out the case for "mirror matter" in highly entertaining style in shadowlands... -- New Scientist, July 27, 2002

By his own admission, Foot maybe mad. He also may be on the verge of a breakthrough redefining the Universe.. -- The Australian, August 7, 2002

Product Description

In a revolutionary new theory, Dr. Robert Foot of the University of Melbourne argues that meteorites composed of mirror matter could impact with the Earth without leaving any ordinary fragments. Indeed, the theory seems to provide a simple explanation for the puzzling Tunguska event - the blast which destroyed a huge area of Siberian forest in 1908. While scientists have attributed this explosion to an ordinary meteorite, no traces of such an object have ever been found. Moreover, there are frequent smaller such events, occurring on a yearly basis, which are even more puzzling.

Foot's new book, "Shadowlands:Quest for Mirror Matter in the Universe", lays clear the scientific case for mirror matter. It describes the fascinating evidence for its existence including, astronomical observations suggesting that most of our galaxy is made from a new form of matter - dark matter, puzzling Jupiter sized planets only a few million miles from their host star, the mysterious slowing down of spacecraft in our solar system. Remarkably, it is also possible that Pluto -- the most distant planet -- might even be a mirror world, which can explain various anomalous features of its orbit. Perhaps, the most important consequence of all this -- if true -- is the possibility of actually extracting the mirror matter from the Tunguska impact site and other such sites around the world.

Invisible asteroids and other cosmic bodies made of a new form of matter may pose a threat to Earth, agrees a noted Australian physicist. But the mirror matter idea has not attracted a huge following among physicists. In a recent article, Howard Georgi of Harvard University says: "Foot's ideas have not attracted a huge following in the community that cares about these things, perhaps because the problems they solve, while interesting, are not the most critical puzzles that we are wrestling with." Nevertheless, mirror matter, if it exists, would be a completely new type of material with a potentially huge commercial value. Its scientific value would be of no less importance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Universal Publishers (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158112645X
• ISBN-13: 978-1581126457
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,774,360 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Response to Jorgen Danielsson's comment., May 17, 2002

By	Robert Foot (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

In defense of my book (which this reviewer has NOT read),
let me simply quote from it. On page 148 (in the chapter
about the mirror matter interpretation of the Tunguska
event) it states:
"The mirror body may have some embedded amount of
ordinary matter, so a tiny amount of ordinary
extraterrestrial material is possible."
Thus, the discovery of a small amount of
extraterrestrial ordinary matter -- if correct --
does not disprove the mirror matter hypothesis
for the Tunguska event (perhaps the book description
needs a slight re-wording). Let me just add, that
the Tunguska event is only a small part of the evidence
for mirror matter, and comprises only about 10 percent
of the book. Nevertheless, it is perhaps the
most interesting because it suggests the
possibility that mirror matter could be extracted
from the ground at the Tunguska site.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Spot on Physics Landscape, August 30, 2005

By	Roberto C. Kfouri "Rober C K" (Campinas, Brazil) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

R.Foot is one of the few physicists that seriously investigates the "Mirror Dark Matter" model today,in a field crowded by supersymmetric or quantum gravity models of the still 'dark' contents of our universe.His exposition is very clear and represents a good start for those interested in a different pathway of our quest for the understanding of our strange universe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear exposition of a bold, far-reaching hypothesis, April 29, 2002

By	John F. G. Eastmond (Southampton, Hampshire Great Britain) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

At last, a popular physics book that presents a bold far-reaching hypothesis that is actually experimentally testable. This makes a refreshing change from other books of this genre. Could mirror matter really be the "dark matter" whose existence is inferred from its gravitational effects on the visible Universe? We'll have to wait for further experimental and observational results before we know for sure.