Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

January 4, 2016
This enchanting book from Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist, looks at physics as a continually changing quest for understanding of our universe, instead of as immutable laws of nature. These pieces, expanded from a series of articles written for a general audience that knows “little or nothing about modern science,” are not true lessons, though there are some conceptual explanations. Rather, the essays are a joyous celebration of scientific wonder. Rovelli compares Einstein’s general theory of relativity to Mozart’s Requiem or the Sistine Chapel: “To fully appreciate their brilliance may require a long apprenticeship, but the reward is sheer beauty.” Exploring that beauty and mystery, he notes the “paradox at the heart of our understanding of the physical world.” When Rovelli arrives at the edges of certainty, his writing turns lyrical, even mystical, as science becomes “incandescent in the forge of nascent ideas.” Discussing thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, he poses a Zen-like question—“What is a vibrating time?”—that leads to the book’s heart: he asserts that the study of infinitesimal particles and black holes is part of being human, and that the divide between science and the rest of learning is artificial. “The border is porous,” Rovelli writes. “Myths nourish science, and science nourishes myth.”

Starred review from December 15, 2015
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century. These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy--or in our physics," he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man. An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.

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November 1, 2015

General relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, and more; Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli, one of the founders of the loop quantum gravity theory and head of the quantum gravity group at the Centre de Physique Theorique of Aix-Marseille University in France, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about physics in under 100 pages. And it's fun, too.

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