The black hole war : my battle with Stephen Hawking to make the world safe for quantum mechanics

What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed it did, and in doing so put at risk everything we know about physics and the fundamental laws of the universe. Most scientists didn't recognize the import of Hawking's claims, but Leonard Susskind and Gerard t'Hooft realized the threat, and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics. The Black Hole War is the thrilling story of their united effort to reconcile Hawking's revolutionary theories of black holes with their own sense of reality -- effort that would eventually result in Hawking admitting he was wrong, paying up, and Susskind and t'Hooft realizing that our world is a hologram projected from the outer boundaries of space. A brilliant book about modern physics, quantum mechanics, the fate of stars and the deep mysteries of black holes, Leonard Susskind's account of the Black Hole War is mind-bending and exhilarating reading.

At the beginning of the 21st century, physics is being driven to very unfamiliar territory—the domain of the incredibly small and the incredibly heavy. The new world is a world in which both quantum mechanics and gravity are equally important. But mysteries remain. One of the biggest involved black holes. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking claimed that anything sucked in a black hole was lost forever. For three decades, Leonard Susskind and Hawking clashed over the answer to this problem. Finally, in 2004, Hawking conceded.

THE BLACK HOLE WAR will explain the mind-blowing science that finally won out, and the emergence of a new paradigm that argues the world—this catalog, your home, your breakfast, you—is actually a hologram projected from the edges of space.

The Barnes & Noble Review

In ancient Greece, aspirants to the Elusinian Mysteries, seeking to partake of godlike knowledge into the workings of the cosmos, had to undergo the rigors of travel, fasting, ingestion of mind-altering substances, ritual chanting and dramatics, and a climactic orgy. Nowadays, those selfsame seekers have it easy, needing merely to purchase one of the many available mind-blowing books of popular science and dive into theophany-inducing explanations of reality's screwball quantum substrate.

A vivid and fascinating case in point is Leonard Susskind's The Black Hole War, freshly available in paperback after its well-received 2008 hardcover debut.

At the core of this stimulating volume is an arcane but easily statable controversy of nearly 30 years' duration: is information (in the technical, Shannonesque sense) utterly and forever destroyed by black-hole ingestion? This simple yet deep question, full of dramatic implications for all of physics, involves everything from string theory to brane theory to holographic models of the cosmos, all of which, plus much more, is laid out in Baedecker-lush detail by Susskind, whose window-pane prose and Holmesian logic foster epiphanies in the reader in nearly every chapter.

Susskind is no dispassionate journalist but rather an insider and participant in this "war." Facing a mighty antagonist in the form of Stephen Hawking, Susskind chronicles their intellectual battles with zest and not a little arrogance of the victor (for the current consensus on the topic favors Susskind's camp). His ultimate description of Hawking as a tragic figure of diminished abilities, finally forced to concede defeat, should forever dispel the stereotype of scientists as ice-water-veined brainiacs.

But Susskind never allows the emotional components of the battle to cloud his delivery of the facts and theories. He arrays the cliffhanger developments of three decades, along with just the right amount of backstory, in the deft manner of a novelist, proving himself a born storyteller whose unconventional troupe of players just happens to consist of gluons and photons against a scrim of Anti de Sitter Space. --Paul DiFilippo

A Mind-bending Book About Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, The Fate Of Stars And The Deep Mysteries Of Black Holes. What Happens When Something Is Sucked Into A Black Hole? Does It Disappear? Three Decades Ago, A Young Physicist Named Stephen Hawking Claimed It Did--and In Doing So Put At Risk Everything We Know About Physics And The Fundamental Laws Of The Universe. Most Scientists Didn't Recognize The Import Of Hawking's Claims, But Leonard Susskind And Gerard T'hooft Realized The Threat, And Responded With A Counterattack That Changed The Course Of Physics. This Is The Story Of Their United Effort To Reconcile Hawking's Revolutionary Theories With Their Own Sense Of Reality--effort That Would Eventually Result In Hawking Admitting He Was Wrong, Paying Up, And Susskind And T'hooft Realizing That Our World Is A Hologram Projected From The Outer Boundaries Of Space.--from Publisher Description. Pt. 1. The Gathering Storm. -- The First Shot -- The Dark Star -- Not Your Grandfather's Geometry -- Einstein, Don't Tell God What To Do -- Planck Invents A Better Yardstick -- In A Broadway Bar -- Energy And Entropy -- Wheeler's Boys, Or How Much Information Can You Stuff In A Black Hole? -- Black Light -- Pt. 2. Surprise Attack. -- How Stephen Lost His Bits And Didn't Know Where To Find Them -- The Dutch Resistance -- Who Cares? -- Stalemate -- Skirmish At Aspen -- Pt. 3. Counterattack. -- The Battle Of Santa Barbara -- Wait! Reverse The Rewiring -- Ahab In Cambridge -- The World As A Hologram -- Pt. 4. Closing The Ring. -- Weapon Of Mass Deduction -- Alice's Airplane, Or The Last Visible Propeller -- Counting Black Holes -- South America Wins The War -- Nuclear Physics? You're Kidding! -- Humility. Leonard Susskind. Includes Index. Includes Index. Front Cover......Page 1 Reviews ......Page 2 Front Page ......Page 3 Copyright Info ......Page 4 Quote ......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 INTRODUCTION......Page 9 PART 1: The Gathering Storm......Page 20 1 - THE FIRST SHOT......Page 21 2 - THE DARK STAR......Page 29 3 - NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S GEOMETRY......Page 54 4 - "EINSTEIN, DON'T TELL GOD WHAT TO DO"......Page 80 5 - PLANCK INVENTS A BETTER YARDSTICK......Page 115 6 - IN A BROADWAY BAR......Page 121 7 - ENERGY AND ENTROPY......Page 130 8 - WHEELER'S BOYS, OR HOW MUCH INFORMATION CAN YOU STUFF IN A BLACK HOLE?......Page 147 9 - BLACK LIGHT......Page 161 PART II: Surprise AHack......Page 180 10 - HOW STEPHEN LOST HIS BITS AND DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM......Page 181 11 - THE DUTCH RESISTANCE......Page 195 12 - WHO CARES?......Page 202 13 - STALEMATE......Page 213 14 - SKIRMISH AT ASPEN......Page 227 PART III: Counteratt ack......Page 233 15 - THE BATTLE OF SANTA BARBARA......Page 234 16 - WAIT! REVERSE THE REWIRING......Page 266 17 - AHAB IN CAMBRIDGE......Page 272 18 - THE WORLD AS A HOLOGRAM......Page 291 PART IV: Closing the Ring......Page 308 19 - WEAPON OF MASS DEDUCTION......Page 309 20 - ALICE'S AIRPLANE, OR THE LAST VISIBLE PROPELLER......Page 354 21 - COUNTING BLACK HOLES......Page 366 22 - SOUTH AMERICA WINS THE WAR......Page 395 23 - NUCLEAR PHYSICS? YOU'RE KIDDING!......Page 422 24 - HUMILITY......Page 433 EPILOGUE......Page 442 ACKNOW LEDGMENTS......Page 448 GLOSSARY......Page 449 Back Cover ......Page 455 Wenn etwas in einem Schwarzen Loch verschwindet, geht es dann für immer verloren? Stephen Hawking, der berühmte britische Physiker, und Leonard Susskind, Physiker und Theoretiker aus den USA, gerieten über diese Frage in Streit. Hawking vertrat die These, dass alles, was je von einem Schwarzen Loch verschluckt worden sei, nicht wiederkehren könne. Wäre dem wirklich so, würde das unser ganzes Verständnis des Universums von Grund auf erschüttern, hielten Leonard Susskind und der niederländische Physiker Gerald t’Hoofd dagegen. Mehr als drei Jahrzehnte dauerte der Streit der Wissenschaftler über das Phänomen der Schwarzen Löcher. Leonard Susskinds Buch Der Krieg ums Schwarze Loch ist eine anschauliche, dramatische Expedition durch die Welt der modernen Physik und die galaktischen Weiten. Der weltweit angesehene Forscher erläutert darin, wie aus einer der spannendsten Auseinandersetzungen in der Quantenmechanik ein neues Paradigma, der genauso merkwürdig und revolutionär wie Heisenbergs Unschärferelation ist.