The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (Abridged)

by Brian Greene Narrated by Erik Davies

Overview

From Brian Greene, one of the world's leading physicists, comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely different way.

Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past?

Greene uses these questions to guide us toward modern science's new and deeper understanding of the universe. From Newton's unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein's fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics' entangled arena where vastly distant objects can bridge their spatial separation to instantaneously coordinate their behavior or even undergo teleportation, Greene reveals our world to be very different from what common experience leads us to believe. Focusing on the enigma of time, Greene establishes that nothing in the laws of physics insists that it run in any particular direction and that "time's arrow" is a relic of the universe's condition at the moment of the big bang. And in explaining the big bang itself, Greene shows how recent cutting-edge developments in superstring and M-theory may reconcile the behavior of everything from the smallest particle to the largest black hole. This startling vision culminates in a vibrant eleven-dimensional "multiverse," pulsating with ever-changing textures, where space and time themselves may dissolve into subtler, more fundamental entities.

Sparked by the trademark wit, humor, and brilliant use of analogy that have made The Elegant Universe a modern classic, Brian Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on an irresistible and revelatory journey to the new layers of reality that modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.

With 146 illustrations

Jacket photograph by DB Image/Brand X Pictures


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

JUN/JUL 04 - AudioFile

Stephen Hawking may be the more renowned scientist, but when it comes to explaining cutting-edge physics to the lay reader, he comes second to Brian Greene. This recording introduces superstring theory, an attempt to solve one of science’s most perplexing problems: how to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. Not only is Greene a superb stylist who introduces these concepts without jargon or mathematics, he also has a grab bag of imaginative analogies for ideas that are impossible to visualize--such as the extra spatial dimensions that superstring theory requires. Erik Davies may not be a physicist, but he’s entirely comfortable with the material, and he delivers it at just the right pace. Most importantly, he feeds on Greene’s enthusiasm and passes it along to the listener. D.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 04 - AudioFile

Stephen Hawking may be the more renowned scientist, but when it comes to explaining cutting-edge physics to the lay reader, he comes second to Brian Greene. This recording introduces superstring theory, an attempt to solve one of science’s most perplexing problems: how to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. Not only is Greene a superb stylist who introduces these concepts without jargon or mathematics, he also has a grab bag of imaginative analogies for ideas that are impossible to visualize--such as the extra spatial dimensions that superstring theory requires. Erik Davies may not be a physicist, but he’s entirely comfortable with the material, and he delivers it at just the right pace. Most importantly, he feeds on Greene’s enthusiasm and passes it along to the listener. D.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170030545
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	02/10/2004
Edition description:	Abridged

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