Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of NatureThe Nobel Prize-winning physicist and bestselling author of The First Three Minutes describes the grand quest for a unifying theory of nature--one that can explain forces as different as the cohesion inside the atom and the gravitational tug between the sun and Earth. Wirting with dazzling elegance and clarity, he retraces the steps that have led modern scientists from relativity and quantum mechanics to the notion of super-strings and the idea that our universe may coexist with others. But Weinberg asks as many questions as he answers, among them: Why does each explanation of the way nature works point to other, deeper explanations? Why are the best theories not only logical but beautiful? And what implications will a final theory have for our philosophy and religious faith? Intellectually daring, rich in anecdote and aphorism, Dreams of a Final Theory launches us into a new cosmos and helps us make sense of what we find there. |
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User Review - br77rino - LibraryThingThough there are no equations, I don’t think this should be seen as a layman’s book on modern physics. I have a Bachelor’s in Physics and a Master’s in Radiological Physics and I’m learning a lot ... Read full review
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User Review - antao - LibraryThing(Original Review, 1992) I wear a giant panda suit outside a Panda Burger giving out promotional leaflets. As this job is a bit easy and I can do it without too much conscious effort .....the only ... Read full review
Contents
PROLOGUE | 3 |
ON A PIECE OF CHALK | 19 |
TWO CHEERS FOR REDUCTIONISM | 51 |
QUANTUM MECHANICS AND ITS DISCONTENTS | 65 |
TALES OF THEORY AND EXPERIMENT | 90 |
BEAUTIFUL THEORIES | 132 |
AGAINST PHILOSOPHY | 166 |
TWENTIETH CENTURY BLUES | 191 |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature Vintage books |
| Author | Steven Weinberg |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1994 |
| ISBN | 0679744088, 9780679744085 |
| Length | 352 pages |
| Subjects | › › Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects Science / Physics / General Science / Space Science / Cosmology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |