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The Evidence for Modern Physics: How We Know What We Know
How do we know the universe is 13.8 billion years old? How do we know the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second? How do we know there are subatomic particles that live less than a trillionth of a trillionth of a second? Studying how physicists make discoveries is the best way to understand key developments in modern physics - from quantum mechanics, to the theory of relativity, to cosmology.
In this 24-lesson course aimed at non-scientists, noted particle physicist Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory covers more than a century of progress in physics, describing exactly how scientists reach the conclusions they do. He starts with the atom, which was long hypothesized, but wasn’t definitively proven until a paper by Albert Einstein in 1905. That was just the beginning, as researchers probed ever deeper into the atom’s complex structure, leading to the weird findings of quantum mechanics. Meanwhile, Einstein’s more famous work in relativity overturned conceptions of time and space, especially in the realm of the super-fast and ultra-massive.
Relativity and quantum theory are notoriously counterintuitive, but Dr. Lincoln shows why their conclusions must be true. He does the same for cosmology, which has advanced from the view that the Milky Way galaxy is all that exists, to the realization that there are likely a trillion of galaxies in the observable universe. Along the way, he deals with the Big Bang, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic inflation, among other ideas. Some are purely speculative, but he points out what it would take to prove them.
The Evidence for Modern Physics is an intellectual roller-coaster ride that will amaze and enlighten. As Dr. Lincoln says, “You must wonder how we can say with such certainty that the world of the super-fast and ultra-small follow such bizarre rules. Well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what this course is about.”
In this 24-lesson course aimed at non-scientists, noted particle physicist Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory covers more than a century of progress in physics, describing exactly how scientists reach the conclusions they do. He starts with the atom, which was long hypothesized, but wasn’t definitively proven until a paper by Albert Einstein in 1905. That was just the beginning, as researchers probed ever deeper into the atom’s complex structure, leading to the weird findings of quantum mechanics. Meanwhile, Einstein’s more famous work in relativity overturned conceptions of time and space, especially in the realm of the super-fast and ultra-massive.
Relativity and quantum theory are notoriously counterintuitive, but Dr. Lincoln shows why their conclusions must be true. He does the same for cosmology, which has advanced from the view that the Milky Way galaxy is all that exists, to the realization that there are likely a trillion of galaxies in the observable universe. Along the way, he deals with the Big Bang, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic inflation, among other ideas. Some are purely speculative, but he points out what it would take to prove them.
The Evidence for Modern Physics is an intellectual roller-coaster ride that will amaze and enlighten. As Dr. Lincoln says, “You must wonder how we can say with such certainty that the world of the super-fast and ultra-small follow such bizarre rules. Well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what this course is about.”
12 pages, Audible Audio
Published May 21, 2021
16 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Don Lincoln
14 books43 followersDon Lincoln is a Senior Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). He is also a Guest Professor of High Energy Physics at the University of Notre Dame. He received his Ph.D. in Experimental Particle Physics from Rice University.
Dr. Lincoln’s research has been divided between Fermilab’s Tevatron Collider, until its close in 2011, and the CERN Large Hadron Collider, located outside Geneva, Switzerland. The author of more than 1,000 scientific publications, his most noteworthy accomplishments include serving on the teams that discovered the top quark in 1995 and confirmed the Higgs boson in 2012. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
His writing at a popular level includes many articles as well as four books: Understanding the Universe, The Quantum Frontier, The Large Hadron Collider, and Alien Universe. His enthusiasm for science education earned him the 2013 Outreach Prize from the High Energy Physics Division of the European Physical Society.
Dr. Lincoln has given hundreds of lectures on four continents to a broad range of audiences. He is a blogger for the website of the PBS television series NOVA, and he also writes a weekly column for the online periodical Fermilab Today.
Dr. Lincoln’s research has been divided between Fermilab’s Tevatron Collider, until its close in 2011, and the CERN Large Hadron Collider, located outside Geneva, Switzerland. The author of more than 1,000 scientific publications, his most noteworthy accomplishments include serving on the teams that discovered the top quark in 1995 and confirmed the Higgs boson in 2012. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
His writing at a popular level includes many articles as well as four books: Understanding the Universe, The Quantum Frontier, The Large Hadron Collider, and Alien Universe. His enthusiasm for science education earned him the 2013 Outreach Prize from the High Energy Physics Division of the European Physical Society.
Dr. Lincoln has given hundreds of lectures on four continents to a broad range of audiences. He is a blogger for the website of the PBS television series NOVA, and he also writes a weekly column for the online periodical Fermilab Today.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 21, 2021
Excellent. The presenter has a calm, clear, natural speaking style that is easy to listen to, and he has that rare ability to explain complex theories in simple language without talking down to the audience. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up with this one since I never took physics, and my math skills are definitely lacking. Some of it is a little mind-bending, as some science can be, but I am happy that I was able to follow the bulk of it between Dr. Lincoln's lectures and his extensive course notes.
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September 28, 2022Things I've learnt:
1. Kazimir effect aka quantum foam is real and modern electronics need to account for that effect.
2. Schrodinger cat was actually a point to demonstrate the absurdity of Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics. Not to endorse or elucidate it. Also apparently no scientists believe it today -- that observation somehow causes the probability function to collapse.
3. We detect gravitational waves with three+ detectors and can determine the exact place from where it came and see the thing that caused it.
There probably was more but these three came to myind now.
1. Kazimir effect aka quantum foam is real and modern electronics need to account for that effect.
2. Schrodinger cat was actually a point to demonstrate the absurdity of Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics. Not to endorse or elucidate it. Also apparently no scientists believe it today -- that observation somehow causes the probability function to collapse.
3. We detect gravitational waves with three+ detectors and can determine the exact place from where it came and see the thing that caused it.
There probably was more but these three came to myind now.
November 26, 2022
A great way to brush up on (or learn) the fundamental experiments and observations that serve as the foundation for physics. Gets increasingly vague as it approaches the limits of current knowledge (eg. the quantum world), but it rounds out the course nicely.
November 28, 2021
Excellent up to date review of physics and why some of the strange things are believed to be true.
March 1, 2023
Part of the “The Great Courses” series, "The Evidence for Modern Physics: How We Know What We Know" by Don Lincoln is a comprehensive overview of modern physics and the experiments that have led to our current understanding of the universe. The book provides an accessible introduction to modern physics and covers a range of topics from relativity and quantum mechanics to particle physics and cosmology.
Lincoln starts the book by introducing the scientific method and explaining how physicists use it to investigate the natural world. He then moves on to discuss the foundations of modern physics, including the concepts of space and time, and the development of relativity theory. The author does an excellent job of explaining the key concepts and ideas of relativity in a way that is easy to understand, even for readers without a background in physics.
The second half of the book focuses on quantum mechanics and particle physics. Lincoln explains the wave-particle duality of matter and the uncertainty principle, which are central concepts in quantum mechanics. He also discusses the different particles that make up the universe, including quarks, leptons, and bosons, and how they interact with each other.
One of the strengths of the book is Lincoln's ability to explain complex ideas in a way that is accessible to a general audience. He uses analogies and real-world examples to help readers understand abstract concepts. For example, he compares the curvature of space-time to the curvature of a trampoline, which helps readers visualize the effect of gravity on space-time.
Another strength of the book is Lincoln's focus on experimental evidence. He emphasizes that scientific theories are not just abstract concepts, but are based on empirical evidence. He describes the experiments that have led to our current understanding of the universe, including the famous Michelson-Morley experiment that disproved the existence of the ether and paved the way for relativity theory.
One of the limitations of the book is its focus on particle physics and cosmology. While these are important areas of modern physics, the book could have benefited from more coverage of other areas, such as condensed matter physics and astrophysics.
Overall, "The Evidence for Modern Physics" is an excellent introduction to modern physics and the experimental evidence that supports it. It is a well-written and engaging book that will appeal to anyone interested in science and the natural world. Whether you're a physics student or a curious reader, this book is a great way to deepen your understanding of the universe we live in.
Lincoln starts the book by introducing the scientific method and explaining how physicists use it to investigate the natural world. He then moves on to discuss the foundations of modern physics, including the concepts of space and time, and the development of relativity theory. The author does an excellent job of explaining the key concepts and ideas of relativity in a way that is easy to understand, even for readers without a background in physics.
The second half of the book focuses on quantum mechanics and particle physics. Lincoln explains the wave-particle duality of matter and the uncertainty principle, which are central concepts in quantum mechanics. He also discusses the different particles that make up the universe, including quarks, leptons, and bosons, and how they interact with each other.
One of the strengths of the book is Lincoln's ability to explain complex ideas in a way that is accessible to a general audience. He uses analogies and real-world examples to help readers understand abstract concepts. For example, he compares the curvature of space-time to the curvature of a trampoline, which helps readers visualize the effect of gravity on space-time.
Another strength of the book is Lincoln's focus on experimental evidence. He emphasizes that scientific theories are not just abstract concepts, but are based on empirical evidence. He describes the experiments that have led to our current understanding of the universe, including the famous Michelson-Morley experiment that disproved the existence of the ether and paved the way for relativity theory.
One of the limitations of the book is its focus on particle physics and cosmology. While these are important areas of modern physics, the book could have benefited from more coverage of other areas, such as condensed matter physics and astrophysics.
Overall, "The Evidence for Modern Physics" is an excellent introduction to modern physics and the experimental evidence that supports it. It is a well-written and engaging book that will appeal to anyone interested in science and the natural world. Whether you're a physics student or a curious reader, this book is a great way to deepen your understanding of the universe we live in.
August 30, 2023
Renowned Physicist Don Lincoln's "The Evidence for Modern Physics" is an ambitious endeavor to present the fundamental concepts of particle physics, quantum physics, relativity, and cosmology through the lens of an experimentalist. As an overview of the empirical foundations upholding our current understanding of physics, the book succeeds in covering the key discoveries and techniques of modern physics. However, for readers who have read any popular books on these subjects, Prof. Lincoln's approach contains too little that is substantively new.
Lincoln's book diverges from the traditional approach of explaining scientific concepts chronologically and theoretically. Instead, he briefly introduces well-known theories and then spends far more time discussing the evidence that supports them. The idea is to ground abstract ideas, like relativity, quantum weirdness, and everything in between, in the tangible data that should make us believe. One comes across most modern physics concepts, including those as advanced as time dilation, wave-particle duality, and quantum entanglement. Still, the course rarely explains the concepts well, as the focus is never on them. From Galileo's inclined plane to the Large Hadron Collider, the book is more about the experimental ingenuity that proved them valid.
Unfortunately, the evidence discussed is not new; it's the same data that has been presented in countless other popular science books. The unique selling point here is the focus on evidence as the central argument, but this is a minor positive at best.
For those new to physics, the vast scope attempted means complex concepts like general relativity and quantum field theory are covered hastily, lacking powerful explanations involving everyday analogies, elaborations involving tales, and repetitions to illuminate them fully. Those already familiar with these topics from other popularizers like Brian Greene, Sean Carroll, or Carlo Rovelli are unlikely to encounter anything new.
In distilling a vast field down to its empirical essence, the course is, at best, a consolidator and refresher for its enthusiasts.
Lincoln's book diverges from the traditional approach of explaining scientific concepts chronologically and theoretically. Instead, he briefly introduces well-known theories and then spends far more time discussing the evidence that supports them. The idea is to ground abstract ideas, like relativity, quantum weirdness, and everything in between, in the tangible data that should make us believe. One comes across most modern physics concepts, including those as advanced as time dilation, wave-particle duality, and quantum entanglement. Still, the course rarely explains the concepts well, as the focus is never on them. From Galileo's inclined plane to the Large Hadron Collider, the book is more about the experimental ingenuity that proved them valid.
Unfortunately, the evidence discussed is not new; it's the same data that has been presented in countless other popular science books. The unique selling point here is the focus on evidence as the central argument, but this is a minor positive at best.
For those new to physics, the vast scope attempted means complex concepts like general relativity and quantum field theory are covered hastily, lacking powerful explanations involving everyday analogies, elaborations involving tales, and repetitions to illuminate them fully. Those already familiar with these topics from other popularizers like Brian Greene, Sean Carroll, or Carlo Rovelli are unlikely to encounter anything new.
In distilling a vast field down to its empirical essence, the course is, at best, a consolidator and refresher for its enthusiasts.
January 7, 2024
The Evidence for Modern Physics started off really strongly, explaining the mechanics of how a scanning electron microscope works. This is what I wanted to know: how can we see atoms that are smaller than a wavelength of light? And author Lincoln laid it out in a way I understood very clearly. It was awesome.
And then he pretty much never got back to that point of clarity throughout the rest of this book, to my great disappointment. The subsequent chapters did a pretty good job of explaining what we know, and the thought processes and models by which we arrive at our conclusions, but the details of measurement? Usually glossed over. Oh, we can observe something in a particle accelerator if we just emit a single photon, can we? Well, uh, how do we go about emitting just one photon? Is that like emitting a single snap of one's vocal cords when we're sick and our throats are all froggy? Is it like throwing a lightswitch really really fast? How the heck do we emit just one photon?!? And those neutrino detectors, and their associated light detectors: how do they detect only neutrinos, and not the muons or whatever that are detected by blocks of ice?
I would have loved it if this book had half as many lessons, and each one took twice the time to explain the physical principles of measurement. But, even as it is, there's a lot of fun history of science and discovery to learn. It didn't teach me what I really wanted to know (except in a few chapters, like the one about the scanning electron microscope and the interferometers used to detect gravity waves), but I enjoyed it despite my frustration at all the opportunities Lincoln missed to describe what I really cared about.
And then he pretty much never got back to that point of clarity throughout the rest of this book, to my great disappointment. The subsequent chapters did a pretty good job of explaining what we know, and the thought processes and models by which we arrive at our conclusions, but the details of measurement? Usually glossed over. Oh, we can observe something in a particle accelerator if we just emit a single photon, can we? Well, uh, how do we go about emitting just one photon? Is that like emitting a single snap of one's vocal cords when we're sick and our throats are all froggy? Is it like throwing a lightswitch really really fast? How the heck do we emit just one photon?!? And those neutrino detectors, and their associated light detectors: how do they detect only neutrinos, and not the muons or whatever that are detected by blocks of ice?
I would have loved it if this book had half as many lessons, and each one took twice the time to explain the physical principles of measurement. But, even as it is, there's a lot of fun history of science and discovery to learn. It didn't teach me what I really wanted to know (except in a few chapters, like the one about the scanning electron microscope and the interferometers used to detect gravity waves), but I enjoyed it despite my frustration at all the opportunities Lincoln missed to describe what I really cared about.
August 27, 2025
I was mislead a bit by the subtitle “How We Know What We Know”. I thought there would be some philosophy of science dealing with the concept of “proof” in the social process of science. There are a lot of assumptions taken for granted, such as a trust in Occam’s razor in finding truth, and nothing is said about the self referential nature of these scientific “proofs”. Instead, this is simply another popular science history explaining the big theoretical developments. Nothing here stood out to me as exceptional compared to the dozens of other popular science books I’ve read that cover the same material. Otherwise there was nothing bad about this course, I’d still recommend it for anyone new to this subject.
April 16, 2023
The Evidence for Modern Physics: How We Know and What We Know by Don Lincoln was a course I was initially a little skeptical of, since it seemed like a tour of different themes that I came across before when I was younger and binging astrophysics documentaries. To an extent, some of that was justified, but I was pretty wrong in the main. Lincoln explored covered a lot of new material for me, had a clear style of presentation, and made the lectures something of a joy to listen to. It reminded me of why I was so interested in theoretical physics and astrophysics in the first place all those years ago.
December 21, 2022
Wonderful! A Great Course that had humor, so I chuckled throughout it! The lecturer also took difficult ideas and made them much easier to understand, with wonderful graphics! I recommend this to all interested in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and/or science, from high school up.
July 27, 2024
This is an interesting presentation by the great courses. It’s almost entirely narrative. Very few pictures and diagrams and almost zero equations. It’s like someone telling you a story about modern physics. I’m not sure I gained much, but it wasn’t a bad way to pass the time.
March 4, 2023
Good overview for someone looking for a survey course. Light for anyone wanting more specificity
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2023
Fascinating stuff, but I feel.it would be best in written form and not as an audio book. It loses ... something.
July 12, 2024
Really hard to follow at times...
August 5, 2024
Fascinating course on how we know modern physics is proveable. Many proveable theories are truly amazing.
March 24, 2025
I might've only understood 10% of what was going on but the presenter was entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews