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Nothingness: The Science Of Empty Space
This is a wonderful book on one of the most puzzling problems of physics and philosophy: Does empty space have an existence independent of the matter within it? Einstein thought not. In his universe, there can be no space without matter; but quantum physicist Werner Heisenverg’s famous “uncertainty principle” allows for the spontaneous, though fleeting, creation and destruction of fundamental particles from empty space. As physicist Henning Genz shows, “empty space” is really not empty at all; in fact it is an ocean seething with the creation and destruction of subatomic particles. Through the use of crystal-clear prose and over a hundred cleverly rendered and exceptionally instructive illustrations, Genz takes the reader from the metaphysical speculations of the ancient Greek philosophers, through the theories of Newton and the early experiments of his contemporaries, right up to the latest theories of quantum physics and cosmology.Some of the most delightful episodes of the book consist of early experiments on the vacuum, from teams of horses trying in vain to pull apart two iron hemispheres joined only by a vacuum, to more sophisticated ones involving water and air. These and many other fascinating investigations of the deep and exciting new physics of quantum mechanics and cosmology reveal incredible properties of the interplanetary and interstellar vacuum.While some of man’s ideas about the vacuum of outer space have been treated sporadically in other books, this is the first book for the nonscientist on a much neglected yet incredibly interesting segment of modern physics and timeless philosophy. It will delight and inform everyone interested in the latest concepts in physics, as well as the philosophical implications of scientific discoveries.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 25, 2008
holy crap this dude's editor must have been on crack. one paragraph is about aristotle, the next about newton, the next about descartes, the next about thales, then parmenides, then guericke, then bohr, then anaximenes, then maxwell, then heraclitus, then democritus, then mach, then pythagoras, then torricelli. seriously, paragraph by paragraph, sometimes sentence by sentence.
there is tons of great information in this book, but i can't remember a damn thing, since it's one of the worst-structured things i've ever seen.
the last hundred pages were a bit better, since it was mostly about quantum vacuum fluctuations, and only referred to the ancient greeks a couple times per page(!).
another reason i give it more than one star is because it was clear (sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit) that physicists really aren't sure of a damn thing, and never really have been.
there is tons of great information in this book, but i can't remember a damn thing, since it's one of the worst-structured things i've ever seen.
the last hundred pages were a bit better, since it was mostly about quantum vacuum fluctuations, and only referred to the ancient greeks a couple times per page(!).
another reason i give it more than one star is because it was clear (sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit) that physicists really aren't sure of a damn thing, and never really have been.
February 17, 2014
Genz's book is an account of the vacuum and concepts of space over history up to modern quantum field theory based notions. I enjoyed a lot of this. I did not find the ancient philosophical accounts very clear, but once things progressed to the early science behind understanding the vacuum and pressure the account cohered. It decohered a bit when trying to cover modern cosmology and QM. My biggest complaint is that the style of the book feels very discontinuous. but, as this is a translated book, that may be an issue with the translation.
February 6, 2018
Amazing book. Review coming soon, God Willing.
August 14, 2016
This fascinating book is enormous in scope, and covers the subject of 'empty' space from the space between the nucleus and electrons of the atom to the vastness of interstellar space, with only one equation listed: Einstein’s famous E = mc2. The subject is also covered historically, from the ancient Greek Philosophers through Toricelli (the first to study the vacuum through the barometer), Pascal, Descartes, Newton, Mach and on to Einstein. Genz succeeds in elucidating the nature of space and the vacuum through many intriguing analogies: for example, the way that the Higgs field confers mass (and therefore slows ‘massive’ particles to less than the speed of light) is compared to Margaret Thatcher (a particle with mass) slowly making her way through a crowded room of admirers (the Higgs field): quite different than Margaret Thatcher on a brisk walk with no admirers to impede her (the book was written before the confirmation of the Higgs boson, but Genz seems pretty confident that it will be discovered). In order to understand ‘empty’ space, which is space in which all matter and energy has been removed (to the extent that is possible), the concept of space itself must be explored, and this has been debated throughout history in many contexts: can there be space without matter occupying it?; if not, is one point enough, or do we need two or more points to measure distance?; is space absolute and (as Newton thought) with a defined origin, or is it relative?; is space linear or curved? Is it limited or infinite? Empty space is normally thought of as what exists between stars and galaxies, but we know that the typical atom is almost completely empty space, with a tiny massive nucleus and electrons far away. The book seems to be well translated from the German (Genz is a professor at Karlsruhe University) and is set out in named small sections which stand almost as self-contained discussions. Illustrations and analogies (such as Margaret Thatcher as a particle) really help in understanding some abstruse thoughts. Highly recommended for one who has interest in these things and is willing to read and reflect: Genz has made it about as straightforward as is possible.
August 10, 2008
This was a very difficult book to read and many times I found myself reading the same page over and over but with nothing getting through to my brain. After about 100 pages in, I started skimmed through most of the book.
The book begins with the history of the science and philosophy of "empty space" and whether such a thing can actually exist. It goes through all the great ancient historical thinkers and outlines their theories and then finally comes through to the modern theories. The problem is, this analysis makes up a lot of the book.
It only begins to get interesting when it gets to modern thinking and quantum physics. Empty space is never empty and amazingly virtual particles will spontaneously exist in empty space. The book talks about the existence (or not) of the Higgs field and the Higgs boson (otherwise known as the God Particle) that pervades all space and is theorised to give objects mass. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which has come online this year (2008), will have its first experiment 10th September. Scientists will be looking for proof of these particles.
There is an interesting statement made on page 297 about the potential dangers of such experiments. These collisions may trigger the destruction of the universe! One theory states that the universe as it cools and expands may yet go through another phase transition "... we would learn about it by the arrival with the velocity of light of a wall that destroys literally everything ... ". This phase transition could also "be triggered by a very high energy concentration occurring when elementary particles collide" (as in the LHC). However, we can rest assured that the energy used for these collisions are of orders of magnitude less than what is already occurring in our cosmos. But future experimentation with a larger more powerful collider may pose a risk.
(Reminds me of the recent episode of Dr Who where the Daleks create a "Reality Bomb" to destroy the universe).
The book begins with the history of the science and philosophy of "empty space" and whether such a thing can actually exist. It goes through all the great ancient historical thinkers and outlines their theories and then finally comes through to the modern theories. The problem is, this analysis makes up a lot of the book.
It only begins to get interesting when it gets to modern thinking and quantum physics. Empty space is never empty and amazingly virtual particles will spontaneously exist in empty space. The book talks about the existence (or not) of the Higgs field and the Higgs boson (otherwise known as the God Particle) that pervades all space and is theorised to give objects mass. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which has come online this year (2008), will have its first experiment 10th September. Scientists will be looking for proof of these particles.
There is an interesting statement made on page 297 about the potential dangers of such experiments. These collisions may trigger the destruction of the universe! One theory states that the universe as it cools and expands may yet go through another phase transition "... we would learn about it by the arrival with the velocity of light of a wall that destroys literally everything ... ". This phase transition could also "be triggered by a very high energy concentration occurring when elementary particles collide" (as in the LHC). However, we can rest assured that the energy used for these collisions are of orders of magnitude less than what is already occurring in our cosmos. But future experimentation with a larger more powerful collider may pose a risk.
(Reminds me of the recent episode of Dr Who where the Daleks create a "Reality Bomb" to destroy the universe).
February 19, 2008
Who knew that nothing could be so entertaining?
April 21, 2011
OK but dated now
May 14, 2012
I am so excited about this book.
July 14, 2012
The biggest book about nothingness you will ever find. Fascinating!
February 19, 2014
Used for citation
April 9, 2015
Nothing is something. Nothing is made of something
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews