The Universe, the Eleventh Dimension, and Everything What We Know and How We Know It

by Morris, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781568581408
• ISBN10: 1568581408
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-19
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

From the formation of the universe to the theory of matter to life on earth, Richard Morris delivers a clear and concise picture of what we know, how we know it, and what the limits to future knowledge might be. Morris begins by discussing various ideas about the ultimate destiny of the universe: whether it will continue expanding or eventually collapse. Next he addresses the search for a unified theory of matter that will encompass the four known forces in nature: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Finally, Morris looks at the origin of life. Once conditions were hospitable, life evolved on Earth almost immediately. But how? With wit and insight Morris takes the reader on a tour through some of the more profound aspects of contemporary science.

Author Biography

Richard Morris earned a Ph.D. in physics in 1968. He is the author of more than 20 books, 10 of which are about science, including Evolution and Human Nature. He lives in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

What We Know and How We Know It	1	(10)
PART 1: COSMIC EVOLUTION
Preface	11	(3)
The Beginning	14	(13)
When the Universe Was One Second Old	27	(15)
The Creation of Life	42	(14)
The Fate of the Universe	56	(14)
Universes without End, or the Cosmos Is a Big Nothing	70	(17)
PART 2: THE SEARCH FOR A THEORY OF MATTER
Prelude: ``Was It a God That Wrote These Signs?''	79	(8)
Too Many Particles	87	(25)
Interlude: Einstein's Unified Field Theory	104	(8)
The Hunting of the Quark	112	(13)
Superstrings and Other Entanglements	125	(19)
Epilogue	136	(5)
PART 3: THE SCIENTIFIC IMAGINATION
Foreword	141	(3)
Intuitions of a Deeper Reality	144	(25)
How to Tell What Is Science from What Isn't Science	169	(23)
When the World Changed	192	(16)
Platonists and Kantians	208	(21)
Appendix	226	(3)
Index	229