Modern physics book recommendations

[Freethinker]

Ya, this is a fun one. I had to try to beat it, naturally, but it got me!

 

The Oracle says: N!xau has a Bacon number of 2.

 

N!xau was in Gods Must Be Crazy, The (1980) with Ken Gampu

Ken Gampu was in Air Up There, The (1994) with Kevin Bacon

 

But then I found an infinite Bacon number

 

Michael Williams from the Blair Witch Project.

[TeleMad]

A pretty good introduction to modern physics - relativity (both special and general) and quantum mechanics - for the layperson is The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, by Brian Greene. The first 131 pages cover those areas...only then does he start getting into strings (and even then he does discuss other science along the way).

 

In Search of Shrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality is a good, layperson (conceptual-driven and "formula free") book and covers quantum mechanics in much more depth...but it doesn't cover relativity.

 

If one can spare a few bucks, there's a much better introduction, in my opinion. The Teaching Company (http://www.teach12.com, I believe) offers lecture series from college professors on a wide range of subjects (unfortunately, mostly philosophy and religion). One of the offerings is called something like "Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: Modern Physics for the Non Scientist" (it's by professor Richard Wolfson, I believe). It's on DVD for under 100 bucks, many times, and covers all kinds of stuff in good detail.

 

Tormod: Before the Big Bang - The origins of the universe

by Ernest J. Sternglass (reviewed at Hypography)

Sternglass has his own views of how the universe was born - and it makes for great reading. His theories are not mainstream ...

 

I'll say! I didn't bother to try to get too far through it...he proposes that the ether does exist and that partciles are vortices in the ether. I quickly sold my copy to the first (gullible) buyer.

[geko]

Havent read it yet (on order) but it's gonna be good! Especially for people like me that arent that learned i feel.

 

 

"The Road To Reality - Roger Penrose"

 

 

Cant wait! Ages since ive read a physics book (the elegant universe that telemad mentioned being the last one - not counting the universe in a nutshell).

 

EDIT: The subheading (whcih gives a little explaination of what it's going to be like - *whoops* for not saying), is 'A complete guide to the physical universe'. It's meant to begin with the bascis of mathematics and advance right to the most cutting edge scientific discoveries of the present day.

[geko]

 

"The Road To Reality - Roger Penrose"

 

This book is a magnus opus. It's beyond me. Im actually wondering if later on in the book i will be able to follow some of what he's on about!

 

Someone (somewhere) asked if anyone could recommend a physics book that actually explained the theories in detail, giving the example of a brief history of time being vague and being difficult to follow the reasoning behind the theories because of little math being included. Well, this is THE book for you! Cripes..