Book description
The constants of nature are the numbers that define the essence of
the Universe. They tell us how strong its forces are, and what its
fundamental laws can do: the strength of gravity, of magnetism, the
speed of light, and the masses of the smallest particles of matter.
They encode the deepest secrets of the Universe and express at once
our greatest knowledge and our greatest ignorance about the cosmos.
Their existence has taught us the profound truth that Nature abounds
with unseen regularities. Yet, while we have become skilled at
measuring the values of these constants, our frustrating inability to
explain or predict their values shows how much we still have to learn
about the inner workings of the Universe.
What is the ultimate status of these constants of Nature? Are they
truly constant? Could life have evolved and persisted if they were
even slightly different? And are there other Universes where they are
different?
These are some of the issues that this book grapples with. It looks
back to the discoveries of the first constants of Nature and the
impact they had on scientists like Einstein. This book also tells the
story of a tantalising new development in astronomy. For the first
time astronomical observations are suggesting that some of the
constants of Nature were different when the Universe was younger. So
are our laws of Nature slowly changing? Is anything about our Universe
immune from the ravages of time? Are there any constants of Nature at all?
John D. Barrow is Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Director of
the Millennium Mathematics Project at Cambridge University, Fellow of
Clare Hall, Cambridge, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and the current
Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London. His principal
area of scientific research is cosmology, and he is the author of many
highly acclaimed books about the nature and significance of modern
developments in physics, astronomy, and mathematics, including
The
Origin of the Universe,
The Universe that Discovered Itself
;
The Book of Nothing,
The Infinite Book: a Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless and Endless
,
The Artful Universe Expanded,
New Theories of Everything,
Cosmic Imagery
and, most recently,
The Book of Universes.
