The Elegant Universe：Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

Nowwithanewpreface(notinanyotheredition)thatwillreviewtheenormouspublicreceptionoftherelativelyobscurestringtheorymadepossiblebythisbookandanincreasednumberofadherentsamongstphysicistsTheElegantUniverse"setsastandardthatwillbehardtobeat"(NewYorkTimesBookReview).BrianGreene,oneoftheworld'sleadingstringtheorists,peelsawaythelayersofmysterysurroundingstringtheorytorevealauniversethatconsistsofelevendimensions,wherethefabricofspacetearsandrepairsitself,andallmatterfromthesmallestquarkstothemostgargantuansupernovasisgeneratedbythevibrationsofmicroscopicallytinyloopsofenergy.Todayphysicistsandmathematiciansthroughouttheworldarefeverishlyworkingononeofthemostambitioustheorieseverproposed:superstringtheory.Stringtheory,asitisoftencalled,isthekeytotheUnifiedFieldTheorythateludedEinsteinformorethanthirtyyears.Finally,thecentury-oldantagonismbetweenthelargeandthesmall-GeneralRelativityandQuantumTheory-isresolved.Stringtheoryproclaimsthatallofthewondroushappeningsintheuniverse,fromthefranticdancingofsubatomicquarkstothemajesticswirlingofheavenlygalaxies,arereflectionsofonegrandphysicalprincipleandmanifestationsofonesingleentity:microscopicallytinyvibratingloopsofenergy,abillionthofabillionththesizeofanatom.Inthisbrilliantlyarticulatedandrefreshinglyclearbook,Greenerelatesthescientificstoryandthehumanstrugglebehindtwentieth-centuryphysics'searchforatheoryofeverything.Throughthemasterfuluseofmetaphorandanalogy,TheElegantUniversemakessomeofthemostsophisticatedconceptsevercontemplatedviscerallyaccessibleandthoroughlyentertaining,bringinguscloserthanevertounderstandinghowtheuniverseworks.