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Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe
Nobel Laureate Leon M. Lederman explains the elegant concept of symmetry and its profound ramifications to art, music, and life on Earth, from quarks to the universe at large.
Hardcover, 363 pages
Published
October 1st 2004
by Prometheus Books
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The authors describe the backbone of physics through a variety of symmetries, translational, rotational, continuous time symmetry, symmetries of constant movement, gauge symmetries... all through the lens of Emmy Noether's theorem that for every continuous symmetry there is a conserved property. Translational symmetry, for example, leads to conservation of momentum, that of time to conservation of energy, gauge transformations to that of charge. The book starts out describing Newtonian mechanics...more
What do the laws of nature have in common with music and art? They all obey the mathematical principle of symmetry, according to Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman and theoretical physicist Christopher Hill. Symmetry is a principle underlying much of fundamental physics, and Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe explores this concept in various modern day theories in physics, while attempting to convey a sense of its beauty. It also contains a short biography of a very interesting but relatively unknown...more
Oh I'm so annoyed by Lederman that I must trash this book before letting it quietly sneak in my book shelf. Ok, so firstly, I was deceived by the pretty cover (ok, I do judge books by their covers) and secondly, Amazon says Lederman's "the most engaging physicist since the much-missed Feynman." Comparing Lederman with Feynman in terms of wit and idiosyncrasy? Rubbish.
Lederman wrote this book as if he really didn't care about what he was writing (sort of like the person writing this review). My...more
Lederman wrote this book as if he really didn't care about what he was writing (sort of like the person writing this review). My...more
A mixed bag really. While there were parts that were genuinely fascinating, particularly regarding particle physics and the unification of the forces, a lot of the time the link between what was being discussed and the concept of symmetry seemed a little far-fetched. On a positive note, the book required little prior knowledge to understand although I did find that the difficulty level varying quite dramatically in places; the authors would go from a very, very basic look at momentum straight in...more
The focus of this book is more on physics than on the mathematics of symmetry.
The author is an eminent Nobel Prize winning physicist who really knows what he's talking about, and it's a very good read. Lederman's humor and ego both come through.
Highly recommended!
The author is an eminent Nobel Prize winning physicist who really knows what he's talking about, and it's a very good read. Lederman's humor and ego both come through.
Highly recommended!
Very fascinating subject matter. Primarily about the natural and beautiful symmetry of the universe, but delves into the deep waters of art, music, and language as well. While not for everybody, I highly recommend this to folks who enjoy general science or are interested in the history of symmetry.
A very readable book about quantum physics, told through the concept of symmetry. If this was how my high school physics was taught I may be doing something completely different for a living now...
كتاب رائع حتى الآن .. الترجمة ممتازة و المعلومات شيقة ، عندما تصفحته وجدت فيه معلومات دسمة تهم جميع المهتمين بالجسيمات و الفيزيا النووية ..
Excellent book on the current state of the art of particle physics. Very easy to comprehend. There aren't a lot of mathematical formulas (actually, I thought there could have been a bit more rigorous math outside of the Notes). I really like how the authors stressed the importance of Emmy Noether's contributions to modern quantum theory. She's not a name that enough recognize, but she does belong in the pantheon of Einstein and Newton.
That's science for ya!
Good book to read for a general understanding of how symmetries play a role in physical phenomena. Well written.
May 24, 2013
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