This is likely the best book I have read on these subjects, and I would recommend it. But I still find myself wondering whom it's written for as the explanations still require a lot of complicated math and a lot of "trust me, we've proven this." I am beginning to doubt that there will ever be a popular physics book that actually brings the understanding that, say, a popular biology or history book does. ( )

The Lightness of Being is a book on Physics by Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek. In the book, Dr. Wilczek hopes to impart the ideas of the Grand Unified Theory, basically the Holy Grail of Physics. The Grand Unified Theory (GUT) for those not in the know is an attempt by scientists to rectify the predictions and equations of Quantum Theory and General Relativity. It is an attempt to combine the unimaginably large with the vanishingly small. If you attempt to do so with equations as we have them now, to my understanding, all you get is garbage.

So Dr. Wilczek talks about the standard ideas of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the idea that quarks possess a property known as a ‘color’ to distinguish them from each other. Wilczek introduces the idea of what he calls ‘The Grid.’ This is his advanced version of the field that permeates reality. He goes in depth on a lot of subjects but never seems to meander pointlessly. There are color plates in the middle of the book that further illustrates what he is talking about. The end of the book contains three appendices that further elaborate on some of the subjects in the book. For instance, it goes into depth on the ubiquitous Einstein equation E=mc^2.

So all in all, this book was excellent. ( )

I think this was actually written by Topato ( of WIGU ) , I kept expecting him to say " I am made of poision ! " at any minute there. ( )

I think this was actually written by Topato ( of WIGU ) , I kept expecting him to say " I am made of poision ! " at any minute there. ( )

In 21st century physics, there is no such thing as truly empty space. What we envision as “empty” is a multiplicity of space-filling ethers or fields, where virtual particles pop in and out of existence. The theory of all that activity is called quantum chromodynamics, or QCD. Frank Wilczek, a Nobel Prize winning professor of physics at MIT and one of the developers of QCD, attempts to describe that arcane subject in The Lightness of Being.

Wilczek tackles the profound issues of what is matter and from whence does mass arise. In the process, he introduces us to the details of the most current theories of particle physics. He tells us that the existence of many types of exotic particles was first predicted from the governing equations before those particles were ever observed in a laboratory. The actual equations from which the predictions followed are a bit too advanced for a book of this type. He tries to impart the importance to scientists of a unified field theory that could unite the four known forces found in nature into a single overarching set of equations. Alas, although significant progress along those lines has been made, we still lack a way of combining the force of gravity with the other three forces.

Wilczek is a lucid writer with a deft sense of humor, and he avoids all but the simplest equations. His explanation of Einstein’s special theory of relativity is as terse and clear as I have read. Moreover, he provides the reader with a comprehensive glossary that itself would constitute a challenging and fairly thorough introduction to the subject. Nevertheless, the subject matter is TOUGH. I found the first eight chapters (out of 21) pretty easy to understand, but I started to get lost when the book delved into the combinetrics of quarks and gluons.

(JAB) ( )