The road to reality: a complete guide to the laws of the universe

Roger Penrose

ISBN 10: 0224044478 / ISBN 13: 9780224044479

Published by CAPE JONATHAN (RAND) (July 29,, 2004

About this Item

First edition, first impression. An excellent example of this major scientific work. Both the complete d / w. and the book have very minor edgewear and there is just a suggestion of tanning to the page edges. No inscriptions etc. Images available on request.

Seller Inventory # 002242

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The road to reality: a complete guide to the laws of the universe
• Publisher: CAPE JONATHAN (RAND) (July 29,
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0224044478
• ISBN 13: 9780224044479
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

The Road to Reality, some 1000 pages long, aims to provide a comprehensive account of our present understanding of the physical universe, and the essentials of its underlying mathematical theory. No particular mathematical knowledge on the part of the reader is assumed - the early chapters providing the essential mathematical background for the physical theories described in the remainder of the book. The aim is to convey something of an overall understanding - a feeling for the deep beauty and philosophical connotations of the subject, as well as of its intricate logical interconnections. Clearly, a work of this nature is challenging, but there is enough descriptive material to carry the less mathematically inclined reader through, as well as some 450-500, mostly hand-drawn, figures. The book provides a feeling for all the key issues and deep current controversies, and counters the common complaint that cutting-edge science is fundamentally inaccessible. The topics covered in this book include: the roles of different kinds of numbers and of geometry in physics; the ideas - and magic - of calculus and of modern geometry; notions of infinity; the physics and mathematics of relativity theory; the foundations and controversies of quantum mechanics; the standard model of particle physics; cosmology; the big bang; black holes; the profound challenge of the second law of thermodynamics; string and M theory; loop quantum gravity; twistors; fashions in science; and new directions.

About the Author

Roger Penrose is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. He has received a number of prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize for physics which he shared with Stephen Hawking for their joint contribution to our understanding of the universe.