The Lightness of Being : Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces

Our understanding of nature’s deepest reality has changed radically, but almost without our noticing, over the past twenty-five years. Transcending the clash of older ideas about matter and space, acclaimed physicist Frank Wilczek explains a remarkable new discovery: matter is built from almost weightless units, and pure energy is the ultimate source of mass. He calls it “The Lightness of Being.” Space is no mere container, empty and passive. It is a dynamic Grid—a modern ether— and its spontaneous activity creates and destroys particles. This new understanding of mass explains the puzzling feebleness of gravity, and a gorgeous unification of all the forces comes sharply into focus. The Lightness of Being is the first book to explore the implications of these revolutionary ideas about mass, energy, and the nature of “empty space.” In it, Wilczek masterfully presents new perspectives on our incredible universe and envisions a new golden age of fundamental physics.

the 2004 Nobel Prize Winner In Physics Brings Us Tantalizingly Close To The Long-sought Grand Unification Of Forces. And Then Takes Us Beyond.

publishers Weekly

grand Unification Theories Have Long Been A Holy Grail In Science. Nobel Prize-winning Physicist Wilczek, Who Has Himself Made Notable Contributions In This Field, Offers A Survey Of Everything In The Universe From Quarks To Black Holes, Elucidating The Current Scientific Thinking On How Matter And Energy Interact. The Two Main Concepts Are The Grid And The Core. Wilczek Says The Grid Is A Conceptual Descendant Of Ether, That Mysterious Substance Scientists Once Believed Filled Empty Space. Now Some Physicists Theorize That Space Is Highly Structured By The Grid, Which Is The Primary Ingredient Of Physical Reality And The Substance From Which All Physical Matter Is Formed. Core Theory, On The Other Hand, Provides A Theory Of Everything, Reconciling Gravity With Electromagnetism And The Strong And Weak Nuclear Forces. Wilczek Reports A Couple Of Problems With Core Theory: It's Not Very Elegant (scientists Love Elegance In Their Equations), And It Hasn't Been Reconciled With String Theory. This Book Is Not For Most General Readers, But Will Be A Hit With Hard-core Science Buffs. Photos, Illus. (sept.)

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A Nobel-prize winning physicist takes on the essential question: what are we made of? Our understanding of nature's deepest reality has changed radically, but almost without our noticing, over the past twenty-five years. Transcending the clash of older ideas about matter and space, acclaimed physicist Frank Wilczek explains a remarkable new discovery: matter is built from almost weightless units, and pure energy is the ultimate source of mass. He calls it "The Lightness of Being." Space is no mere container, empty and passive. It is a dynamic Grid-a modern ether- and its spontaneous activity creates and destroys particles. This new understanding of mass explains the puzzling feebleness of gravity, and a gorgeous unification of all the forces comes sharply into focus. The Lightness of Being is the first book to explore the implications of these revolutionary ideas about mass, energy, and the nature of "empty space." In it, Wilczek masterfully presents new perspectives on our incredible universe and envisions a new golden age of fundamental physics. Our understanding of nature’s deepest reality has changed radically, but almost without our noticing, over the past twenty-five years. Transcending the clash of older ideas about matter and space, acclaimed physicist Frank Wilczek explains a remarkable new discovery: matter is built from almost weightless units, and pure energy is the ultimate source of mass. He calls it “The Lightness of Being.” Space is no mere container, empty and passive. It is a dynamic Grid—a modern ether— and its spontaneous activity creates and destroys particles. This new understanding of mass explains the puzzling feebleness of gravity, and a gorgeous unification of all the forces comes sharply into focus.__The Lightness of Being__ is the first book to explore the implications of these revolutionary ideas about mass, energy, and the nature of “empty space.” In it, Wilczek masterfully presents new perspectives on our incredible universe and envisions a new golden age of fundamental physics. Physicist' understanding of the essential nature of reality changed radically over the past quarter century. Frank Wilczek has played a lead role in establishing the new paradigms. Transcending the clash and mismatch of older ideas about what matter is, and what space is, Wilczek presents here some brilliant and clear syntheses. Space is a dynamic material, the engine of reality; matter is a subtle pattern of disturbance in that material. Extraordinarily readable and authoritative, The Lightness of Being is the first book to unwrap these exciting new ideas for the general public. It explores t Explores current scientific thinking on how matter and energy interact, discussing the structure of space as a dynamic Grid that creates physical matter, and examining core theory, which attempts to reconcile gravity with electromagnetism and nuclear forces.