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The Holy Grail of modern physics is a theory of the universe that unites two seemingly opposing pillars of modern science: Einstein's theory of general relativity, which deals with large-scale phenomena (planets, solar systems and galaxies), and quantum theory, which deals with the world of the very small (molecules, atoms, electrons). In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides the first concise and accessible overview of current attempts to reconcile these two theories in a final... (show more)
Reviews (20)
Despite headaches from reading this book, the subject was so interesting and so well written that I was so glad I picked it out. The author does an amazing job in explaining in simple terms gravity and the theories used to create an understing of it. The only drawback is that some new discoveries have occured since the book was published.
Interesting study of the possibility that there is a discrete smallest unit of space. Also goes through previous attempts to unify gravitational theories with quantum findings.
Well I read this when I was quite young. And while it was a struggle to get through certain parts, I feel as though it was well worth it, because I made some important gains in understanding.
I believe, it's important to read even things that don't make a lot of sense to you. After all, I'm sure I could read it now without any problem whatsoever.
One of my favorites. I think he is on the right track, although I like what I just read about Bars and the extra dimension of time and space...would explain a lot...but quantum gravity, yeah, makes sense to me.
Once you get past his fear of "Christians", supported by anecdotal evidence of the stupidity of some people who "claim" to be Christians, he gets into the physics and into what he truly understands. Great read!
You will never look at the world the same after you read this....in a good way.
A little technical for me at least, but what I could follow as an introduction to this fascinating topic was very enjoyable and enriching
I found the book pretty interesting. One thing I was definitely surprising to me was the nature of the relationship that we often see between popular science writing and natural fact. In the past, when I've read an article (I am not a physicist, but mearly an interested party) I have taken statements like "There are nine dimensions" to be some kind of natural law. Smolin stresses that statements like this are really just observations that seem to make the math work. In the particular instance of the "nine dimensions" statement, that's just the number of dimentions that seems to make string theory work in the cleanest way. It's hard to grasp somthing like this when your not a working physicist who sees these equations every day. Are there nine dimensions? There may or may not be depending on what physicists find through theoretical work and experiment, but I think it's important to remember that this isn't a statement like "a bowling ball and a pillow fall at the same rate."
