| Description |
xix, 291 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-278) and index. |
| Contents |
Particle physics at the turn of the millennium -- The instruments of production -- Quantum theory -- Quantum field theory -- Gauge symmetry and Gauge theories -- The standard model -- Triumph of the standard model -- Problems of the standard model -- Beyond the standard model -- New insights in quantum field theory and mathematics -- String theory : history -- String theory and supersymmetry : an evaluation -- On beauty and difficulty -- Is superstring theory science? -- The Bogdanov affair -- The only game in town : the power and the glory of string theory -- The landscape of string theory -- Other points of view. |
| Summary |
"What happens when scientific theory departs the realm of testable hypothesis and comes to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not." "In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong, he explains that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, right or wrong, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish." "Woit tells the story of how the field of particle physics arrived at its current state and how it is in some ways a victim of its own success. He describes the exciting dialogue between mathematics and physics as well as the important role that mathematical beauty plays in the ongoing quest for new levels of understanding."--Jacket. |
| Subject |
String models.
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Supersymmetry.
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Quantum theory.
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Superstring theories.
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Physical laws.
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Physical laws. (OCoLC)fst01062699
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Quantum theory. (OCoLC)fst01085128
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String models. (OCoLC)fst01135293
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Superstring theories. (OCoLC)fst01139037
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Supersymmetry. (OCoLC)fst01139038
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Superstringtheorie.
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| ISBN |
0465092756 (alk. paper) |
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9780465092758 (alk. paper) |
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0465092764 |
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9780465092765 |
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