Product Description

The author's first book, "The First Three Minutes", was about the earliest moments of the universe. This book looks at the smallest and most elusive things making up that universe. It relates the story of this search, specifically the development of the Superconducting Supercollider.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #371961 in Books
• Published on: 1993-09-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
Weinberg's career has gone from boy wonder to Nobel laureate (Physics, 1979) to sage among particle physicists, combining creative talents with a zeal to explain. In The First Three Minutes (1977), he popularized Big Bang cosmology, in particular the symmetry-breaking changes and events that can account for the matter-fined universe around us. Now, 15 years later, he summarizes how far theory has gone toward uniting gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces into a final theory. To accomplish this summary requires a masterful backing-and-filling of 20th-century physics, spelling out the role of Einstein in 1905 and 1917, Einstein's dispute with Bohr, the Copenhagen interpretation, the contributions of Heisenberg, Dirac, Schrodinger, and Feynman, and so on down to the younger generation of string and superstring theorists. This would be enough for a popularization, but Weinberg has something else in mind. He discusses, from an insider's point of view, the style of science, specifying concepts like beauty and simplicity, and the context of science, describing the social milieu that creates waves of belief (or disbelief) at given times. Mirabile dictu, he also devotes a chapter to religion, seeing its role as a consolation in the face of death - something science cannot offer. But the underlying theme and not-at-all-hidden agenda emphasizes that if we are going to make any headway toward a final theory, it can come about only with the discovery of entities such as the Higgs particle, using equipment like the Super Collider. While Weinberg justifiably extols the explanatory power of 20th-century quantum mechanics, then, he leaves the reader with the frustrating sense that politics, the recession, science-infighting, or any combination thereof may thwart the logical next step. He makes an eloquent case. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Steven Weinberg received the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in unifying two of the fundamental forces of nature. Since 1982 he been Josey Regental Professor of Science at the University of Texas.

Customer Reviews

An excellent, thought-provoking book.
A final theory – an all-embracing explanation of the laws of nature – is the ultimate dream of science. Weinberg is optimistic that such a theory, rejected as a possibility by philosophers such as Popper, can indeed be unravelled. The book is underpinned by a description of the historical progression of knowledge about the laws of physics. Some of the description of quantum mechanics and other aspects of physics are heavy going for non-physicists such as myself. Those interested in Einstein’s theories and developments since will probably find this book full of interesting information in that regard. From my perspective the book is most important in the issues it raises and addresses relating to the philosophy of science. Weinberg shows a good understanding of philosophy, critically examining scientific method and questioning the relevance of philosophy to this methodology in the modern world. The obvious question to ask is whether a final theory can ever be reached. Weinberg provides an interesting case that it can – but I won’t spoil the fun by giving away his arguments here. The text is well written and easy to follow. I found this book an interesting and thought-provoking read, despite my lack of knowledge about physics. I recommend it as essential reading for anyone with an interest in the philosophy of science.