Fearful Symmetry: The Search for Beauty in Modern Physics

Description

Fearful Symmetrybrings the incredible discoveries of contemporary physics within everyone's grasp. A. Zee, a distinguished physicist and skillful expositor, tells the exciting story of how today's theoretical physicists are following Einstein in their search for the beauty and simplicity of Nature. Animated by a sense of reverence and whimsy, the book describes the majestic sweep and accomplishments of twentieth-century physics. In the end, we stand in awe before the grand vision of modern physics--one of the greatest chapters in the intellectual history of humankind. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Contents......Page 6 Foreword (2007)......Page 8 Preface (1999)......Page 12 Preface (1986)......Page 14 Acknowledgments......Page 16 1. In Search of Beauty......Page 18 TRAINING OUR EYES......Page 19 LIVING IN A DESIGNER UNIVERSE......Page 20 LOCAL ORDINANCES VERSUS CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES......Page 22 A GLIMPSE OF NATURE......Page 24 AN AUSTERE BEAUTY......Page 25 THE BEAVER'S LESSON......Page 26 ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY......Page 27 SYMMETRY OF PHYSICAL LAWS......Page 29 SPRING REDUX......Page 30 SIMPLICITY BEGETS COMPLEXITY......Page 31 THE RULE OF LARGE NUMBERS......Page 33 A HIERARCHY OF STRENGTHS......Page 35 GUIDED BY SYMMETRY......Page 37 MIND AND SYMMETRY......Page 38 ALICE AND NARCISSUS......Page 42 A CHERISHED BELIEF SHAKEN......Page 43 IS THE MIRROR WORLD THE SAME AS OURS?......Page 45 THE LADY AND THE LEFT HAND OF GOD......Page 48 THE CURMUDGEON AND HIS GHOST......Page 50 THE CULPRIT......Page 52 INTO THE ANTIMIRROR......Page 55 A TANTALIZING PERVERSITY......Page 58 WHAT SHE PLEASES......Page 61 II: Einstein's Legacy......Page 64 4. Marriage of Time and Space......Page 66 INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATION VERSUS ASTONISHING CONSEQUENCES......Page 67 GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM......Page 68 RELATIVITY OF MOTION AS A SYMMETRY......Page 70 FROGS AND LODESTONES......Page 72 MAY THE FIELD OF FORCE BE WITH YOU......Page 74 TELECOMMUNICATION, FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS, AND PIGEONS......Page 77 LET THERE BE LIGHT. BUT WHAT IS LIGHT?......Page 79 THE BIG QUESTION......Page 80 EINSTEIN AND TIME......Page 81 TIME AND MOTION IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY......Page 84 A NEW TRANSFORMATION OF SPACE AND TIME......Page 85 REVISIONIST MECHANICS......Page 86 INNER CONNECTIONS: THE POWER OF SYMMETRY......Page 88 DRIVE TOWARD UNITY......Page 90 INVARIANT STRUCTURE OF REALITY......Page 92 THE HAPPIEST THOUGHT AND THAT SINKING FEELING......Page 93 GENERAL COVARIANCE......Page 96 A SUBTLE DIFFERENCE......Page 99 WARPED TIME AND SPACE......Page 100 THE BENDING OF LIGHT......Page 102 WARPED TIME......Page 104 THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT LISTEN......Page 106 SECRET LABYRINTHS......Page 108 IT MUST BE......Page 109 6. Symmetry Dictates Design......Page 110 A SCHEMA FOR FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS......Page 111 IN ONE FELL SWOOP......Page 113 VOICES IN THE NIGHT......Page 114 IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT......Page 115 III: Into the Limelight......Page 116 7. Where the Action Is Not......Page 118 LIGHT IN A HURRY......Page 120 WHERE THE ACTION IS NOT......Page 122 A GREAT FALL......Page 123 DIVINE GUIDANCE......Page 124 THE WORLD ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN......Page 125 THE INVARIANT ACTION......Page 126 THINKING OF ACTION......Page 127 8. The Lady and the Tyger......Page 128 NATURE DOES NOT PUBLISH HER DESIGNS......Page 129 NO FREE LUNCH......Page 130 SYMMETRY AND CONSERVATION......Page 134 PLUS CA CHANGE......Page 136 THE MATHEMATICS OF SYMMETRY......Page 138 COMBINING TRANSFORMATIONS......Page 139 REPRESENTATIONS......Page 142 WHICH MATH BOOK DID HE READ?......Page 147 10. Symmetry Triumphs......Page 148 WORLD STABILITY......Page 149 THE FRENCH NEW WAVE......Page 150 TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE......Page 154 CERTAINTY ABOUT UNCERTAINTY......Page 156 DICE UNLIKE ANY DICE......Page 157 ENTER THE ACTION......Page 158 SUM OVER HISTORY......Page 159 HERE AND THERE AT THE SAME TIME......Page 160 INTO THE LEADING ROLE......Page 162 A BELL RINGS......Page 163 GROUP THEORY IN QUANTUM PHYSICS......Page 164 THE TRIUMPH OF SYMMETRY IN THE QUANTUM REALM......Page 165 IV: To Know His Thoughts......Page 166 11. The Eightfold Path in the Forest of the Night......Page 168 TWINS IN THE SUBNUCLEAR FOREST......Page 169 NOT MERELY AN IDLE CAMP FOLLOWER......Page 170 A BALANCING ACT......Page 171 NATURE REVEALS A SYMMETRY......Page 173 VIEW INTO AN INTERNAL WORLD......Page 175 THE FULL FORCE OF GROUP THEORY......Page 176 STRONG INTERACTION IS TOO STRONG......Page 177 CONTAINED IGNORANCE......Page 178 THE MARRIAGE BROKER......Page 179 THE EMBEZZLER......Page 180 AN ARROGANT CONSERVATIVE......Page 182 THE POSTWAR BOOM......Page 183 WHAT IS IN A NAME?......Page 184 A CONVENTION OF TWINS AND TRIPLETS......Page 186 A PSYCHOHISTORY OF PHYSICS......Page 188 THE TREACHERY OF NATURE......Page 189 FROM TANKS TO SU(3)......Page 190 THE EIGHTFOLD WAY TO NIRVANA......Page 191 NO NEED TO LEAVE HOME......Page 192 INSPIRED BY HAUTE CUISINE......Page 193 THREE QUARKS......Page 194 A LAPSE OF FAITH......Page 196 QUARK CONFINEMENT......Page 197 12. The Revenge of Art......Page 200 FLEAS IN MOZART'S COURT......Page 201 IN RETREAT BUT NOT IN DEFEAT......Page 202 COUNTERATTACK......Page 203 IN SEARCH OF A WORLD......Page 204 STRANDS INTO TAPESTRY......Page 205 QUANTUM FIELD THEORY......Page 208 A CONSTRUCTION MANUAL......Page 209 GAUGE DYNAMICS......Page 210 PHYSICISTS AS DESPERADOES......Page 211 LOOKING AT THE WORLD......Page 212 MOMENTS OF WEAKNESS......Page 214 THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM......Page 215 COLOR SYMMETRY......Page 218 FREEDOM AND SLAVERY......Page 221 APPEARANCE AND REALITY......Page 222 THE REVENGE IS COMPLETE......Page 223 LEARNING TO ADD......Page 224 THINK LIKE ME......Page 225 A PROBLEM IN DESIGN......Page 226 SYMMETRY VERSUS DIVERSITY......Page 227 AN IMPOSSIBLE DEMAND......Page 228 THE WISDOM OF THE WINE BOTTLE......Page 229 SPONTANEOUS SYMMETRY BREAKING......Page 230 SPONTANEITY IS NOT PUT IN BY HAND......Page 232 REPOSE AND EXCITEMENT......Page 233 A CORPULENT MARRIAGE BROKER......Page 235 OF THE SAME STRENGTH......Page 236 A SISTERHOOD OF GAUGE BOSONS......Page 237 PRETTY BUT FORGOTTEN......Page 239 SPONTANEOUS BREAKING TO THE RESCUE......Page 240 A NEW EPOCH......Page 242 A FATEFUL REUNION......Page 244 GRAND UNIFICATION......Page 245 A GREAT LEAP FORWARD......Page 246 LET THERE BE GRAND UNIFICATION......Page 247 A SEAMLESS FIT......Page 249 RENDEZVOUS A TROIS......Page 251 THE COSMIC BOOK OF CHANGES......Page 253 PROTON DECAY......Page 254 PROTONS, AND DIAMONDS, ARE NOT FOREVER......Page 256 THE FINAL DISASTER......Page 257 INTO THE SALT MINE......Page 258 GOD DOES NOT THROW DIRT AROUND......Page 261 A MATTER-ANTIMATTER UNIVERSE......Page 262 THE GENESIS OF MATTER......Page 263 ORIGINS......Page 265 THE RULER OF TIME......Page 266 STANDING ON A COOLED CINDER......Page 267 NEW AND PERHAPS IMPROVED......Page 268 DESIGNER UNIVERSES......Page 269 TO SEE THE ENTIRE DESIGN......Page 270 THE IMPOSTOR......Page 272 THE DISCOVERY OF CHARM......Page 273 REDUNDANCY IN DESIGN......Page 274 PAINTING FEET ON SNAKES......Page 275 MIRRORS......Page 276 STANDING APART......Page 277 A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL RESISTED......Page 278 EINSTEIN'S QUEST......Page 279 DIMENSIONS OF THE WORLD......Page 280 THE RULE OF LOCAL SYMMETRY......Page 283 MATTER AND LIGHT......Page 285 SYMMETRY BECOMES SUPER......Page 286 THE BAROQUE AND THE ROCOCO......Page 288 16. The Mind of the Creator......Page 290 THE FLOW OF TIME......Page 291 THE FALL OF TIME REVERSAL INVARIANCE......Page 292 TIME AND CONSCIOUSNESS......Page 294 DID HE HAVE ANY CHOICE?......Page 296 SUPERSTRING......Page 301 BRANES AND BRAINS......Page 302 THE BIG BRANE......Page 304 THE ELUSIVE M THEORY......Page 305 DEISM VERSUS THEISM......Page 308 THE ULTIMATE DESIGN?......Page 310 Appendix to Chapter 9......Page 313 A CABARET SHOW......Page 317 COMING FROM LEFT FIELD......Page 318 STRING AND SUPERSTRING......Page 319 UNIFICATION OF GRAVITY......Page 320 STRINGS GO SUPER......Page 321 AN EXTRAVAGANT UNIFICATION......Page 322 ELECTROMAGNETISM OUT OF GRAVITY......Page 324 FORCES FROM GEOMETRY......Page 326 A BROKEN PROMISE......Page 328 TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING......Page 329 HERE LIE DRAGONS......Page 331 RUNGS ON A LADDER......Page 332 PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCE......Page 334 Notes......Page 337 Index......Page 361