The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far

January 9, 2017
Krauss (A Universe from Nothing), a theoretical physicist and director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, exhaustively relates the history of physics in three parts, which thematically parallel parts of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation. He starts with such familiar topics as gravity, electromagnetism, and the experiments of Newton and Maxwell. Krauss defines science as the “discovery of connections between otherwise seemingly disparate phenomena” and explains how “physics doesn’t proceed in the linear fashion that textbooks recount.” This is shown starkly in the discoveries of quantum mechanics, gauge symmetry, and “the weak interaction,” which “is largely responsible for our existence.” While the advanced concepts will challenge lay readers, they’re balanced with historical context, veins of dark and subtle humor, and Star Trek references. Along the way, Krauss provides anecdotes about luminaries such as Einstein and Planck alongside lesser-known achievers such as Chien-Shiung Wu and Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie. In confident and verbose prose, Krauss tells a story that both celebrates and explores science. Through it, he reminds readers why scientists build such complicated machinery and push the boundaries of the quantum world when nothing makes sense: “For no more practical reason than to celebrate and explore the beauty of nature.” Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc.

December 15, 2016
Having recounted the mechanics of the big picture in A Universe from Nothing (2012), theoretical physicist Krauss (Director, Origins Project/Arizona State Univ.) delivers a companion volume that fills in the little--often very little--stuff. Throughout human history, all cultures explained, usually incorrectly, the cosmos, our visible world, and man itself, but, as the author writes, "humanity took a major step toward modernity when it dawned on our ancestors' consciousness that there is more to the universe than meets the eye." From electromagnetism and the concept of space-time, which makes sense, to the minuscule quantum world, which doesn't, these are not in short supply. Although no true believer, Krauss launches with "in the beginning there was light" but adds that gravity deserves equal billing before proceeding with a rich, definitely not-dumbed-down history of physics. Newton and Galileo revealed how things moved, but no individual achievement is likely to surpass Einstein's; he improved the picture with a spectacular unification of space, time, and gravity. Krauss slows after the period around 1920, when quantum mechanics revealed new, confusing phenomena, and matters have not improved much since, as physicists struggle, with varying success, to explain an oddball collection of particles and forces, culminating in the discovery of the Higgs particle by the most complicated machine every built, the Large Hadron Collider. This revealed that physicists were more or less on the right track but faced plenty of unanswered questions. Krauss has never been one to reduce science to a Nova-style magic show, so readers will need to maintain close attention to properly absorb his explanations of concepts such as the weak force, Higgs field, and symmetry breaking. An admirable complement to the author's previous book and equally satisfying for those willing to read carefully.

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