Top Ten Ideas of Physics: Foundations for Understanding the Universe
Anthony Zee. Princeton Univ, $32 (344p) ISBN 978-0-691-22580-7
Zee (Quantum Field Theory, as Simply as Possible), a physics professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, serves up a muddled exploration of the crucial ideas and discoveries underpinning contemporary theoretical physics. Some will be familiar to most readers, as when Zee describes how Albert Einstein developed his theories of relativity by introducing the concept of spacetime to Galileo’s writings on velocities and Isaac Newton’s work on gravity. Others highlight scientific truths many take for granted. For instance, Zee emphasizes the groundbreaking nature of Newton’s contention that gravity fundamentally shapes physics in the cosmos just as it does on Earth. Elsewhere, he expresses his astonishment at how well-suited math is for describing the laws of physics, noting that complex numbers, group theory, and many other mathematical tools used by contemporary physicists were first devised by mathematicians as purely conceptual exercises with no known practical applications. Despite such stimulating tidbits, Zee is at once too esoteric for lay readers (“We could describe Einstein’s work on the so-called theory of special relativity as the discovery that the invariance group enjoyed by electromagnetism is actually SO[3, 1], not merely SO[3]”) yet too broad to offer much to those knowledgeable enough to follow along. Never quite settling on its intended audience, this will satisfy few. Photos. (June)
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Reviewed on: 03/27/2025
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 978-0-691-22581-4