This book deals with mind-boggling questions about how the universe
works, whether there are other universes besides our own, and even
whether the laws of physics are really immutable. The 'constants'
referred to in the title are the numbers that define the universe.
A constant, says Barrow, is a 'pure' number; something that has a
dimension, such as speed or length, cannot be a constant because
its numerical value changes with the units in which it is
expressed. The speed of light, which might seem like a constant to
the layperson, is not really a constant at all because it could be
expressed as 186,000 miles per hour or 300,000 kilometres per hour.
On the other hand, the number of photons per proton, and the ratio
of dark to luminous matter densities, are constants. Barrow, a
professor of physics, leads us through a history of modern physics
and its attempts to define and understand constants, outlining the
work of theorists such as Planck, Einstein and Dirac. He does his
very best to make the text accessible, peppering it with quotations
from Oscar Wilde and Douglas Adams, using analogies with readily
understandable ideas (such as traffic flow) and including lots of
diagrams and pictures. Unfortunately, the subject matter itself is
so difficult that it is almost impossible to follow the argument in
all its detail unless you have a good grounding in mathematics or
physics. As a lay reader, even if you grasp the basic ideas - the
importance of constants, the search for a Theory of Everything, the
possibility of different universes - you are very unlikely to
understand the mathematics that illustrate Barrow's argument.
Nonetheless, this is a book worth persevering with, because even if
your brain aches at the end of it, you will have discovered what
modern physicists are thinking about - and some of their current
theories about the way the universe works are truly startling.
(Kirkus UK)
The constants of nature are the numbers that define the essence of the Universe. They tell us how strong its forces are, and what its fundamental laws can do: the strength of gravity, of magnetism, the speed of light, and the masses of the smallest particles of matter. They encode the deepest secrets of the Universe and express at once our greatest knowledge and our greatest ignorance about the cosmos.
Their existence has taught us the profound truth that Nature abounds with unseen regularities. Yet, while we have become skilled at measuring the values of these constants, our frustrating inability to explain or predict their values shows how much we still have to learn about the inner workings of the Universe. What is the ultimate status of these constants of Nature? Are they truly constant? Could life have evolved and persisted if they were even slightly different? And are there other Universes where they are different? These are some of the issues that this book grapples with. It looks back to the discoveries of the first constants of Nature and the impact they had on scientists like Einstein. This book also tells the story of a tantalising new development in astronomy. For the first time astronomical observations are suggesting that some of the constants of Nature were different when the Universe was younger.
So are our laws of Nature slowly changing? Is anything about our Universe immune from the ravages of time? Are there any constants of Nature at all?
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