The Constants of Nature自然的永恒
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作者： John Barrow著
出 版 社： 东至影音 (代销)
出版时间： 2004-3-1字数：版次： 1页数： 352印刷时间： 2004/03/01开本： 32开印次： 1纸张： 胶版纸I S B N ： 9781400032259包装： 平装内容简介
From Publishers Weekly
In this lively volume, Cambridge physicist Barrow (The Book of Nothing) considers the natural constants-the handful of seemingly eternal numerical values, such as the speed of light, the weight of the proton, Planck's constant or the four dimensions of space and time-that constitute the "bedrock" of physical reality. These constants quantify some of the simplest statements that science makes about the world, but as this fascinating work of popular science demonstrates, they have profound implications for the fate of the universe and our place within it. And, Barrow hints, they might not be truly constant. He traces scientists' evolving understanding of the natural constants as they grew to assume a central role in modern relativity theory and quantum mechanics, and outlines ongoing attempts to determine whether they are just inexplicable facts of nature or the logical consequence of some fundamental Theory of Everything. He also raises important philosophical and even religious questions. The natural constants are delicately balanced to make the universe safe for living organisms: altering them more than a hair would make stars burn out, atoms fly apart, and the world as we know it impossible. Is this a happy accident? Proof of Intelligent Design? Or is it a coincidence of our inhabiting one of an infinity of universes that just happens to have living observers? Barrow explores these issues in erudite but lucid prose that draws on an array of thinkers from Einstein to Freud, and, because he withholds his answer to the changing constants question until the end, his book has surprising narrative pull. His account makes some of the most challenging frontiers of science accessible, even enthralling, to laypeople. B&w photos and illustrations.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A writer in cosmology with roughly a dozen books for lay readers to his credit (e.g., The Book of Nothing), Barrow here discusses the efforts of various scientists, including himself, to discern some deeper meaning in the various fundamental constants of physics-for example, the so-called fine-structure constant, the gravitational constant, and the speed of light in a vacuum. Why do these constants have the values that they do? What might be their interrelationships? And might these constants turn out to be subtly variable instead of truly "constant"? Barrow gives us the history of early attempts to answer such questions and then describes the current state of thinking. Along the way, he shows how these considerations relate to the structure and ultimate fate of the universe. Barrow acknowledges that this field is very much in a state of flux, explaining what is known in a readable fashion for nonspecialists-though he does assume a moderate degree of scientific literacy on the part of his readers. Strongly recommended for college and larger public libraries.
Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
目录
1Before the Beginning
Sameliness
2 Joruney Towards Ultimate Reality
Mission to Mars
Measure for measure-parochial Standards
Maintaining Universal Standards
A brilliant idea!
Max Planck's real
About time
3 Superhuman Standards
Einstein om constants
The deeper significance of Stoney-Planck units: the new Mappa Mundi
Otherworldliness
The super-Copernican Principle
4 Further,Deeper,Fewer:The Quest for a Theory of Everything
Numbers you can count on
Cosmic cubism
New constants involve new labour
Numerology
5 Eddington's Unfinished Symphony
Countint to15,747,724,136,275,002,577,605,653,961,181,555,468,044,717,914,527,116,709,366,231,425,076,185,631,031,296
Fundamentalism
Theatrical physics
6 The Mystery of the Very Large Numbers
Spooky numbers
A bold hypothesis
Of things to come at large
Big and old,dark and cold
The biggest number of all
7 Biology and the Stars
Is the universe old?
The chance of a lifetime
Other types of life
Prepare to meet thy doom
From coincidence to consequence
Life in an Edwardian universe
8 The Anthropic Principle
Anthropic arguments
A delicate balance
Brandon Carter's principles
A close-run thing?
Some other anthropic principles
9 Altering Constants and Rewriting History
Rigid worlds versus flexi worlds
Inflationary universes
Virtual History-a little digression
……
10 New Dimensions
11 Variations on a Constant Theme
12 Reach for the Sky
13 Other Worlds and Big Questions