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Its a positive and enlightening tour of the space.however he pulls no punches as he describes the still missing "gaps" in our understanding of nature.and there are a lot of those.I would recommend the book - its an easy and fast read (relatively). Well not being a physicist with an advanced mathematics degree would normally rule you out of understanding the advanced ideas put forth by the author. and its certainly educational and entertaining. But we are in luck with this book, mere mortals :-) are being helped to understand very advanced topics in particle physics and in attempts at GUT. The central theme is "where does mass itself come from." and the book gives a reasonable guide to how the various developments in the Standard model, use of symmetry and super symmetry viewpoints which allow us to calculate the mass of the proton from "first principles". Have fun. Remember 95% of all the mass we experience directly is explained here (sort of) - but that's still a tiny fraction of what there is (dark energy and dark matter remain mysteries)
I understand that the proton's mass cannot be understood in terms of the added masses of the contained quarks and gluons. It predicted one proton would decay in something like 10 to the 33rd years. He thinks it is real. After all, if the very structure of space is contributing to the stability of protons and neutrons, why would he still think proton decay is possible. As near as I can determine, the original experiments (apparently still running) for proton decay came from a prediction made by the predecessor to the Standard Model(or the Core, as Wilczek calls it).
Maybe I'm stupid.Like I said, I had a hard time with this book. We are probably now more unsure of the structure of the universe we live in than any people from any period in the past. They may have been wrong about the universe, but they were very sure of what they knew. Yes, I read through it more than once.
I do not understand Wilczek's explanation of where that energy comes from. They both ask you to believe in things that may not exist. Maybe I'm stupid.I have read a number of these books describing the universe in different ways based on very different assumptions. Come to think of it, though, they have some similarities. I find it strange, that if, as Wilczek believes, space is a multilayer multi-colorcharge superconductor he can still believe in proton decay. Maybe I'm stupid.I also have a problem with proton decay.
The more of these books I read, the more I think of epicycles. There were no results after 15 years, and the model was dropped. I had a hard time with this book - and I read Moffat's "Reinventing Gravity". Until the Higgs Boson is found, SUSY is proven, string theory is disproven (since it can't be falsified), and proton decay is observed, I see no reason to believe in The Grid (ether)or space (generally thought of as boiling with spontaneous creation and destruction of particles and antiparticles) as a multilayer multi-colorcharge superconductor. Nobel prize winner or no, I just can't take what he tells me as the gospel.
They can't all be right; they may all be wrong.
Now, string theory predicts proton decay - which is why the experiment is still running.
Maybe we are all stupid.Oh, the book.
I understand that if the mass is not there in the particles, it must come in the form of energy.
Read it.
(don't know how to get superscript to work) It was estimated that in 10 years with the number of detectors in huge underground water tanks around the world, 3 or 4 decays would take place.
It has yet to produce a single instance of proton decay.
We are not.
Maybe you're smarter than I am.
The book covers much of the same material he does in his course but explains it somewhat different. Great book recommended to me by Prof. Apparently much of this material is rather difficult to explain. Mark Whittle, professor of astrophysics at the University of Virginia. I am a Teaching Company student of his DVD course. Two explanations of the same thing helps me to understand some rather counter intuitive events. A good companion to "The History of Time."
Dr. I'm a bit beyond those. In some of these cutting edge fields, a five-year old book may be outdated. He seems to have had personal experience in experiment and professional collaborations with many of the quantum phenomena that he discusses in his book.
This was a guided tour par excellance, and explains the virtual pair generation, various "condensates," and the infrequent, spontaneous generation of rather massive particles.Dr. His books are very worthwhile. A week or two later, once again I was marking time in the bookstore. But there have been times when I'm not sure if he is having fun with us, or strictly on the level. But Frank really plunges pretty deep, including quite a few equations expressing quark variants and other esoteric matters. These science books for laymen can be scaled at different levels.
I have read a couple of layman's science books by Michio Kaku recently. How can a force increase in intensity as particles draw FARTHER APART. Some are a plodding refresher scaled at the level of a high-school freshman. I took the book down again, and continued to read it. This lightens the book and adds a refreshing human touch. You may very possibly find sections that seem to go over your head. Then there's a very challenging level of science book, such as the current volume. His chapters explaining the source of proton mass were totally fascinating.
When I first chanced across this book, I was waiting for a friend in a large bookstore. Frank Wilczek's writing style is both a blessing and a curse. The equations begin in a simple way, and I seem to follow. How can the gluons and quarks in a proton, all of very minimal mass, combine to provide the proton's total mass, which is hundreds or thousands of times greater. Wilczek also explains the peculiar attractive force that keeps quarks inside of protons.
Dr. I put up a good fight -- and have read several of the chapters more than once. Then others are more challenging. On my third visit to the bookstore, I bought the book. Wilczek did an amazing job of explaining the sourcing of particle mass. When it was time to go, I was quite intrigued.
While I have seen this stated over the years, I never understood the nature of the force. He writes very well, is a respected scientist, and is very clear. But this book is very provocative and genuinely interesting. Wilczek has a Nobel Prize, and seems to be an expert on various esoteric aspects of quantum mechanics, especially quantum chromodynamics.
The title was intriguing, and so I took the book down and began to read it. This is well explained, and totally opened some doors to me. I also found great enlightenment in Wilczek's discussion of what he calls the "Matrix," which is his term for the "vacuum" of empty space that figures so importantly in quantum mechanics. Why do I rate the book positively. Wilczek's last name.
Moreover, there are so many various particles, to include quarks of nine varieties, gluons, mesons, and more, that a certain "overkill" creeps into my noodle. He is refreshing, with a good sense of humor and a whimsical streak. This book is not an easy read. Frank Wilczek's present effort goes over my head at times. Then they become quite complex and sprawling, with a dozen or more variables, and I just give up.
Moveover, the book has just appeared, and so has the freshest information. The greatest challenge -- for me -- may be figuring out how to pronounce Dr.
This concept is popular nonsense; a charming scientific circus. Einstein, Irwin Schroedinger and Milo Wolff disagree that discreet particles exist. i.e QCD and quantum-duality are both wrong but useful if you want to publish popular papers and keep your $$$ research contract.
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