Warped Passages - Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions (2009)
Lisa RandallHave we reached a point of scientific discovery so advanced that the laws of physics as we know them are simply not sufficient? Will we all soon have to accept explanations that previously remained in the realm of science fiction?
Lisa Randall is herself making these extraordinary breakthroughs, pushing back the boundaries of science in her research to answer some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature. For example, why is the gravitational field from the entire Earth so defenseless against the small tug of a tiny magnet? Searching for answers to such seemingly irresolvable questions has led physicists to postulate extra dimensions, the presence of which may lead to unimaginable gains in scientific understanding.
Randall takes us into the incredible world of warped, hidden dimensions that underpin the universe we live in, describing how we might prove their existence, while examining the questions that they still leave unanswered. Warped Passages provides an exhilarating overview that tracks the arc of discovery from early 20th-century physics to the razor's edge of today's particle physics & string theory, unweaving the current debates about relativity, quantum mechanics, & gravity.
In a highly readable style sure to entertain & elucidate, Lisa Randall demystifies the science & beguilingly unravels the mysteries of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond the one we are only now beginning to know.
Lisa Randall studies theoretical particle physics & cosmology @ Harvard.