41 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very well written, clearly argued, January 10, 2012
This review is from: A Universe from Nothing (Kindle Edition)
Like Dr. Krauss' other books AUFN is very well written. Anyone can pick this book up and dig right in. The science is also rock solid and the reader will be introduced to both the origins of the universe and its eventual fate. Through this lesson, Krauss introduces the reader to a ton of excellent cosmology that was used to show that the universe is expanding and that the Milky Way is just one galaxy in a cosmic sea. The book also has a lot of wonderful history and Krauss does a fantastic job covering Edwin Hubble, Georges Lemaitre, and Albert Einstein. To top all of this great information and writing off, it is a short read that anyone can breeze through in a day.
While there has already been a reviewer crying because "if stuff can come out of it, then it is something", this is a naive philosophical understanding of what the book is talking about. When Dr. Krauss and other physicists talk about nothing, they are speaking with the vulgar. What they mean by nothing is an area with no space that the laws of nature even came out of (to our knowledge, symmetry breaking that happens during the big bang produces the parameters of gravity, the weak and strong forces, and electromagnetism). In reality, the "absolute nothing" that some readers are whining about has never been shown to be the earliest state of the universe. According to the Einsteinian view of time, the universe exists as a block with time as a tenseless dimension of space. This block extends infinitely into the past and the future. The earliest point we know about (the singularity) is nothing more than a misapplication of relativity to the quantum realm and will be scrapped when a quantum theory of gravity (possibly m-theory or quantum loop) is adopted. This makes the big bang an interesting event but not a beginning in the way that many have misconstrued it (for a popular guide to this, read Brian Green or Michio Kaku's excellent non-technical books).
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26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"How could our universe in all its complexity come into existence from nothingness?, January 10, 2012
****.5
"Not only does physics tell us how something could have come from nothing, it goes further, by Krauss's account, and shows us that nothingness is unstable: something was almost bound to spring into existence from it. If I understand Krauss aright, it happens all the time:... Particles and antiparticles wink in and out of existence..." --Richard Dawkins
*
A couple of years ago, Krauss discussed the current status of the universe, and how it could have come from nothing. The lecture's video quickly became a YouTube sensation, of nearly a million viewers, and out of that success emerged the idea for his new book, "A Universe from Nothing: Why there is Something rather than Nothing," in which Lawrence Krauss recounts the recent developments in our conceptions of cosmology, with the help of modern physics, addressing the question of "Why there is something rather than nothing," and why this is in fact a scientific question rather than a philosophical or theological one.
"Science has changed the way we think about ourselves and our place in the cosmos, and the astounding progress of the last forty years has led us to the threshold of addressing key foundational questions about our existence and our future that were previously thought to be beyond our reach," says Krauss, ". . . , the public deserves to share in the excitement of our scientific quest to understand the biggest mysteries of our existence. As Steven Weinberg has stressed, science doesn't make it impossible to believe in God. It however makes it possible to consider a universe without one."
In an entirely statistical world of quantum physics, whatever change in quantum numbers, only permitted by the selection rules (that limit the transition probability from one eigenstate to another), define how the probability of transitioning from one level to another can happen. Experiments reveal that virtual particles are popping in and out of existence, allover the pseudo-conscious universe. Einstein's relativity provides that empty space can curve, and quantum physics permits matter to appear out of nowhere, given it also vanishes in no time. The reader has just to understand something about vacuum in space, as it is viewed in quantum field theory.
Since modern physics assumes that a vacuum is full of fluctuating electromagnetic waves, which can never be completely eliminated, they have been occurring before the dawn of time. All were thought to have quickly disappeared, but perhaps under the right conditions, if one lived long enough to give rise to the original event of the nascent universe: banging inflation. Thereafter, the original relatively infinitesimal volume expanded enormously to produce our present universe. Krauss recounts its history, underling the recent discoveries that not only increased our knowledge but also our ignorance (imperfect knowledge).
Krauss, a pioneering theoretical physicist, at the forefront of exploratory cosmology and particle physics, tackles the timeless enigma, articulating how cosmic physics has literally changed the response to this ancient question. Recent research into the origins of the universe explored by quantum mechanics, shows that our universe could arise from nothing. I enjoyed above all Richard Dawkins 'Afterword', that nothing expands the mind like the expanding universe, made known to the lay by Sir James Jeans before Dr. Krauss was even born. He concludes that, "Krauss's vision of the cosmology of the remote future is paradoxical and frightening!"
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Is Really Something!, January 11, 2012
A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
"A Universe from Nothing" is the fascinating book about how are universe came from nothing. Using the latest in scientific knowledge, his expertise and the innate ability to explain very complex topics in accessible manner earns this book five stars. Lawrence Krauss takes us on an exciting voyage of discovery that helps us understand the universe and further wets our appetite for more knowledge. This 224-page book is composed of the following eleven chapters: 1. A Cosmic Mystery Story: Beginnings, 2. A Cosmic Mystery Story: Weighing the Universe, 3. Light from the Beginning of Time, 4. Much Ado About Nothing, 5. The Runaway Universe, 6. The Free Lunch at the End of the Universe, 7. Our Miserable Future, 8. A Grand Accident?, 9. Nothing Is Something, 10. Nothing Is Unstable, and 11. Brave New Worlds.
Positives:
1. This book is truly something! A page turner.
2. A thought-provoking, inspirational quest for knowledge...I loved it!
3. A profound book that is intelligible. An achievement in its own right. Very complex topics accessible to the masses. Thank you.
4. Elegant prose with conviction. Lucid and clarity in a world of dark matter.
5. A journey of cosmological discoveries.
6. Effective use of charts and illustrations.
7. I have a much better understanding of our universe as a result of this book and most importantly it has only wet my appetite for even more knowledge...and that's why I read.
8. A love affair with science and for good reason. The three key principles of scientific ethos.
9. Startling conclusions are presented. The author does a wonderful job of letting us know what we do know versus what we don't know.
10. Some of the greatest discoveries presented.
11. I finally have a reasonable grasp of the Big Bang, Bazinga! The three main observational pillars.
12. Of course you will get to hear about the greats of science but I really appreciate the stories of the lesser known scientists who provided vital knowledge, such as, the story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Vera Rubin. Bravo!
13. Great facts spruced throughout the book and some jaw-dropping insight. One scientist was able to defend his mother in a witchcraft trial...find out whom.
14. What general relativity tells us.
15. The uses for gravitational lensing. Let's get Zwicky with it.
16. Dark matter and dark energy...enlighten me. Or at least try.
17. Quantum mechanics, I will never understand it but I can appreciate it what it provides.
18. The author does a good job of telling us what scientific progress has been made and how that applies to cosmology.
19. A flat universe?? Find out.
20. An explanation of nothing that means something to me. Can you say quantum fluctuations?
21. A "creator" in proper perspective. The requirement of some externality. Read it and you will understand.
22. Multiverses...oh my.
23. String theory a critical view.
24. A little bit of philosophy for good measure.
25. The best explanation for how something can come out of nothing to best current knowledge available.
26. Key concepts will now become part of your understanding..."the existence of energy in empty space".
27. Black holes under the light and some very interesting takes.
28. Spoiler alert...one of the most profound questions, "What I want to know is whether God had any choice in the creation of the universe." Thank you, Mr. Einstein.
29. An interesting look at Aristotle and the First Cause in the light of new knowledge.
30. The book ends with a bang of reality.
Negatives:
1. No links or bibliography.
2. A lot of the concepts of this book are hard to grasp. Some readers may not have the patience and inclination to take the time to properly digest what is being offered. That being said, the author does wonders in making such difficult concepts accessible.
In summary, this is a fantastic book, a real treat. I learned so much and admire the author for providing a book that is accessible and enjoyable to the masses. This book lived up to my expectations. Fascinating topics in the hands of a master results in a captivating book. This is how science books should be written. I can't recommend this book enough!
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