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For 300 years, Trinh Xuan Thuan writes, since the time of Isaac
Newton, scientists saw reality as a giant clock -- a sterile mechanism in which
one part acts on another in a deterministic fashion. But the discoveries of the
last few decades have changed all that, conjuring up instead a universe brimming
with unpredictability, creativity, and chance. Writing
with exceptional grace and clarity, Thuan vividly describes these important scientific
discoveries, intriguing new theories about chaos, gravity, strange attractors,
fractals, symmetry, superstrings, and the strangeness of atoms. Equally important,
he reveals how these discoveries have shaped our view of the universe -- for instance,
how quantum mechanics brought indeterminism to the subatomic universe. Thuan deftly
describes quantum mechanics, discusses its relationship to the theories of relativity
(which deal with the universe on a massive scale), and comments on Einstein's
inability to accept it. Indeed, throughout Chaos and Harmony, he makes
clear as never before the mind-bending ideas of modern physics, such as the effect
of gravity on time (it slows it down), the impossibility of crossing the speed-of-light
barrier (it would actually reverse time), the role of fractals as "the language
of nature," and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in understanding
the universe. From the subatomic world to the vast realm
of quasars and galaxies, from the nature of mathematics to the fractal characteristics
of the human circulatory system, Trinh Xuan Thuan takes us on a breathtaking tour
of the universe. With striking examples and clear, plain language, he shows how
science has actually restored mystery to the world around us -- a world of symmetry
and chaos, continency and creativity. Trinh
Xuan Thuan is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Virginia, and the author
of The Secret Melody. He is a well-known science writer in France, where
his books have been major bestsellers. |
