The gravity of math : how geometry rules the universe / Steve Nadis and Shing-Tung Yau ; illustrated by Mei-Heng Yueh.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Basic Books, 2024Edition: First editionDescription: xvii, 251 pages : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781541604292
- 1541604296
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | New | 530.11 N136 | Checked out | 06/14/2024 | 33111011238108 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"A must-read."―Avi Loeb, New York Times -bestselling author of Extraterrestrial
One of the preeminent mathematicians of the past half century shows how physics and math were combined to give us the theory of gravity and the dizzying array of ideas and insights that has come from it
Mathematics is far more than just the language of science. It is a critical underpinning of nature. The famed physicist Albert Einstein demonstrated this in 1915 when he showed that gravity--long considered an attractive force between massive objects--was actually a manifestation of the curvature, or geometry, of space and time. But in making this towering intellectual leap, Einstein needed the help of several mathematicians, including Marcel Grossmann, who introduced him to the geometrical framework upon which his theory rest.
In The Gravity of Math , Steve Nadis and Shing-Tung Yau consider how math can drive and sometimes even anticipate discoveries in physics. Examining phenomena like black holes, gravitational waves, and the Big Bang, Nadis and Yau ask: Why do mathematical statements, derived solely from logic, provide the best descriptions of our physical world?
The Gravity of Math offers an insightful and compelling look into the power of mathematics--whose reach, like that of gravity, can extend to the edge of the universe.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
"On November 25th, 1915, Albert Einstein published his field equations of general relativity and reinvented gravity. Rather than being some mysterious unseen force pulling objects together, gravity, Einstein told the world, is a manifestation of the curvature of space-time caused by the presence of massive objects. But Einstein's theory wasn't born in a vacuum, not even the vacuum of space. Instead, the theory of general relativity relies upon complicated geometry; Einstein worked closely with mathematicians Marcel Grossmann, David Hilbert, Tullio Levi-Civita, and others as he pieced together his theory of gravity. In The Gravity of Math, the writer Steve Nadis and mathematician Shing-Tung Yau tell the story of how our view of the universe has been shaped and informed by mathematics, particularly when it comes to the enigmatic workings of gravity. Mathematicians have played a pivotal role in investigating relativity and gravity, gaining insights on phenomena like black holes, gravitational waves, and the Big Bang - in some cases uncovering key results decades, or even a century, before any experimental or observational data became available. An insightful and comprehensive study, The Gravity of Math explores how our understanding of math has defined our understanding of the universe. Gravity's reach is ostensibly boundless, and so is that of mathematics, which can carry us to the edge of infinity and back"-- Provided by publisher.