The Hidden Reality：Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos

作者: Brian Greene （布瑞恩·格林）著

出版社: Random House US

出版时间: 2011-01

版次: 1

ISBN: 9780307265630

定价: 259.00

装帧: 精装

开本: 16开

纸张: 胶版纸

页数: 384页

正文语种: 英语

分类: 外文古旧书>英文书>工程技术

3 张插图图片

5人买过

From the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos comes his most expansive and accessible book to date—a book that takes on the grandest question: Is ours the only universe?

There was a time when "universe" meant all there is. Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different "multiverse" proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most refined observations of both subatomic particles and the dark depths of space: a multiverse in which you have an infinite number of doppelg?ngers, each reading this sentence in a distant universe; a multiverse comprising a vast ocean of bubble universes, of which ours is but one; a multiverse that endlessly cycles through time, or one that might be hovering millimeters away yet remains invisible; another in which every possibility allowed by quantum physics is brought to life. Or, perhaps strangest of all, a multiverse made purely of math.

Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a captivating exploration of these parallel worlds and reveals how much of reality's true nature may be deeply hidden within them. And, with his unrivaled ability to make the most challenging of material accessible and entertaining, Greene tackles the core question: How can fundamental science progress if great swaths of reality lie beyond our reach?

Sparked by Greene's trademark wit and precision, The Hidden Reality is at once a far-reaching survey of cutting-edge physics and a remarkable journey to the very edge of reality—a journey grounded firmly in science and limited only by our imagination. Brian Greene received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the physics faculty of Cornell University in 1990, was appointed to a full professorship in 1995, and in 1996 joined Columbia University, where he is professor of physics and mathematics. He has lectured at both a general and a technical level in more than twenty-five countries and is widely regarded for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory. His first book, The Elegant Universe, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His second book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, was also a bestseller. He lives in Andes, New York, and New York City. Preface

　The Bounds of Reality

　On Parallel Worlds

2. Endless Doppelgangers

　The Quilted Multiverse

3. Eternity and Infinity

　The Inflationary Multiverse

4. Unifying Nature's Laws

　On the Road to String Theory

5. Hovering Universes in Nearby Dimensions

　The Brane and Cyclic Multiverses

6. New Thinking About an Old Constant

　The Landscape Multiverse

7. Science and the Multiverse

　On Inference, Explanation, and Prediction

8. The Many Worlds of Quantum Measurement

　The Quantum Multiverse

9. Black Holes and Holograms

　The Holographic Multiverse

10. Universes, Computers, and Mathematical Reality

　 The Simulated and Ultimate Multiverses

11. The Limits of Inquiry

　Multiverses and the Future

　Notes

　Suggestions for Further Reading

　Index
内容简介:
From the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos comes his most expansive and accessible book to date—a book that takes on the grandest question: Is ours the only universe?

There was a time when "universe" meant all there is. Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different "multiverse" proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most refined observations of both subatomic particles and the dark depths of space: a multiverse in which you have an infinite number of doppelg?ngers, each reading this sentence in a distant universe; a multiverse comprising a vast ocean of bubble universes, of which ours is but one; a multiverse that endlessly cycles through time, or one that might be hovering millimeters away yet remains invisible; another in which every possibility allowed by quantum physics is brought to life. Or, perhaps strangest of all, a multiverse made purely of math.

Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a captivating exploration of these parallel worlds and reveals how much of reality's true nature may be deeply hidden within them. And, with his unrivaled ability to make the most challenging of material accessible and entertaining, Greene tackles the core question: How can fundamental science progress if great swaths of reality lie beyond our reach?

Sparked by Greene's trademark wit and precision, The Hidden Reality is at once a far-reaching survey of cutting-edge physics and a remarkable journey to the very edge of reality—a journey grounded firmly in science and limited only by our imagination.
作者简介:
Brian Greene received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the physics faculty of Cornell University in 1990, was appointed to a full professorship in 1995, and in 1996 joined Columbia University, where he is professor of physics and mathematics. He has lectured at both a general and a technical level in more than twenty-five countries and is widely regarded for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory. His first book, The Elegant Universe, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His second book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, was also a bestseller. He lives in Andes, New York, and New York City.
目录:
Preface

　The Bounds of Reality

　On Parallel Worlds

2. Endless Doppelgangers

　The Quilted Multiverse

3. Eternity and Infinity

　The Inflationary Multiverse

4. Unifying Nature's Laws

　On the Road to String Theory

5. Hovering Universes in Nearby Dimensions

　The Brane and Cyclic Multiverses

6. New Thinking About an Old Constant

　The Landscape Multiverse

7. Science and the Multiverse

　On Inference, Explanation, and Prediction

8. The Many Worlds of Quantum Measurement

　The Quantum Multiverse

9. Black Holes and Holograms

　The Holographic Multiverse

10. Universes, Computers, and Mathematical Reality

　 The Simulated and Ultimate Multiverses

11. The Limits of Inquiry

　Multiverses and the Future

　Notes

　Suggestions for Further Reading

　Index