The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

This is an excellent book to explain concepts of space and time. Some may say that this 1999 book is slightly dated from the latest findings, but for the the majority of people who want to understand how the universe works, this is perhaps the best so far. Deep concepts are explained clearly and in detail that will explain the development of physics from ancient times, through Einstein and to current thinking about String Theory. For me this has been a must read and I know that I will read it again when finished!

This is an impressive work that explains the highly complex non-intuituve string theory in amazingly lucid clear writing style to the general public. Similar to many physics books which survey classical theories for the readers, Greene offers his own elucidation on relative motion in special relativity and in warped space in general relatvity that is even more detailed and clear than some physics text books. His transition of how String theory offers a solution to bridge general relatvity and quantum mechanics because of String theory's geometry to cope with quantum undulation at the microscopic scale is very intuitive and helpful. His explanations on how the 3 families of particles in Standard Theory are best explained by just variations of vibrating strings frequency and strength are also relatable and convincing. Greene's use of the garden hose universe to explain the curled up dimensions in string theory and how they are hidden from and connected to extended dimensions is exceptionally lucid and helpful, making us easy to grasp how 3 extended space dimensions we experience are related to 6 curled up space dimensions, together with time making up 10 dimensions. The 9 dimensions don't just crumbled up in any shape but in a unique 6 dimensional Calabi-Yau shape derived from many researchers calculations. Hence, the universe is made up of the Calabi-Yau shape manifold in curled up 9 dimensional space configuration together with time. The final 11th dimension space is explained by the need of the two dimensional membranes in M theory which is used to resolve the dilemma of 5 version of string theory. Greene further explained that the five versions are just different depiction of string theory with three of which Type 1, Herotic O, and Herotic E being large/small radius duality equivalence of each other and with the rest of the two, Type IIA and Type IIB, having the same reciprocal dualiy. This whole 11 dimensional geometric scheme development is carefully and lucidly written with unmatched clarity over these connected concepts of Kaluza-Klein theory, Calabi-Yau, shapes and M theory. Though Greene does not use the actual equations from perturbation approach and Kaluza-Klein geometry of String theory to flesh out his explanations, it is still not easy to conceptually grasp the concepts of String Theory for anyone who does not have university level education in physics or mathematics. Greene actually warns his readers about the difficulty of the subject despite his best effort. It takes work to get through this work. Another feature I like in any physics books is the anecdote stories of the journey of the physicists doing research. Greene shared his stories of his journey in String theory. The separate research efforts on the mirror symmetry Calabi-Yau shapes for space tearing flop between Greene's group, to include Aspinfall and Morrison, while at Princeton, and Witten is an interesting story. Greene also included various stories of String theory second revolution in 1995. Overall, this book is a brilliantly clear introduction to string theory that is going to be a classic.

Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory is an in depth exploration of one of the most complex and ambitious ideas in modern physics: string theory. Greene has a talent for taking mind-bending concepts such as the fabric of spacetime, quantum mechanics, and the possibility of extra dimensions and presenting them in a way that is both accessible and captivating for non-scientists. He uses vivid analogies and clear explanations helps explain the theories that often feel overly complex, while still conveying the beauty and scope of the science behind them. The book does a good job striking a balance between education and wonder, leading readers through the strange but fascinating world of modern theoretical physics. Beyond its explanations of string theory, the book also dives into the philosophical and scientific implications of pursuing a “theory of everything.” It captures the excitement, uncertainty, and even controversy that surrounds this search, showing how it pushes the boundaries of human knowledge while raising deep questions about the nature of reality. Whether or not string theory ultimately proves correct, The Elegant Universe succeeds as both a thrilling scientific adventure and a thoughtful meditation on the human drive to understand the universe at its deepest level. Although beyond my depth at times, this is a book that inspires curiosity and wonder, leaving me with a greater appreciation for the beauty and mystery of the cosmos.

Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" is the best book on a scientific subject I've ever read. The first five chapters, which deal with Space, Time, Special & General Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics, are incredibly clear and worth the price of the book alone. Without using any math, Greene is able to explain the key points of all these topics, and most importantly, to show why Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are incompatible, and why that's a problem for physicists. He then takes the reader through the various stages of thinking that have gone into String Theory, and it's fascinating stuff! Greene uses copious examples to demonstrate concepts that are difficult to visualize or grasp, and this is incredibly helpful. You definitely get a sense, for instance, of what a "curled up dimension" means, through some very clever reduced-dimension examples (not sure if these are Greene's constructions or well-known in the physics world, but they're very clear and helpful). The going gets a little tougher towards the end of the book, where the most recent thinking on String Theory and the discussion of Black Holes & the early instants of the cosmos are more complex and tougher to grok straight through. But even so, they are fascinating and worth the effort. Greene's prose is clear, analytical, and well thought out. At least a half dozen times while reading the book, I said to myself, "Hmmm, but what about X?" to find a few paragraphs later Greene would write, "You may be wondering about X. Well, here's how that works..." To me, this is a sign of a clear thinker and helped make the book even more enjoyable to read. If you're at all interested in cutting edge physics theory, this is a great book to turn to.

The author talks about important facts of the general relativity. Next he has an approach to the mirror symmetry. It is interesting the words of Yau, who admits that by mathematical view, the mrror symmetry is only conjectural and probably also in error. It needs to aspect the job of Batyrev for an exact proof. Nevertheless it born several models about the physics of the strings. Greene explicates those arguments with a strong passion and a nice style.

There seems to be some confusion as 2 versions of this book appear on the website - one published in '2000' and one in '2010'. I ordered and reviewed the '2000' version which is actually the upated 25th anniversary edition (2024) as mentioned in the description, though the book cover is different to that pictured. Although this page also refers to a 'later' edition, that links to the '2010' publication which has no description so I've no idea which version that actually is! When I tried to edit this review I got the message 'You already reviewed another variant of this product. You've been redirected to that review.' even though I haven't reviewed the other book so I've no idea what's going on there either. I'd suggest you stick to the item with over 3,000 reviews and a description and avoid the one with less than 10 and no description. Don't let that put you off this book; it's exceptional. For the 25th anniversary release, Brian Greene has opted to leave the bulk of the book as originally published but has added a preface and a most interesting epilogue to bring it up to date. The original was extremely well written and he did a marvellous job of explaining some, what would have been, very difficult concepts. Armed with the knowledge gained by that, the epilogue presents some truly astonishing developments since that time. I must admit to having even more questions now but, because he does such a good job of presenting the ideas, I'm able to frame them quite coherently. He hints that he is tempted to write another book encompassing many more of the new developments and I hope he does so. I'd be first in line for such a tome. I passed on my paperback copy to a friend but would like to re-examine this tome whenever the desire takes me. Consequently, I have now purchased the Kindle version. It's well worth the price and has the added advantage of being able to search the text - the index of the printed book is good but a decent search tool adds flexibility.

Great lecture

Greene writes an extremely accessible book on the universe at the micro and macro levels, with no math required and common everyday examples and analogies.

Une excellente introduction à la théorie des cordes, par l'un des chercheurs les plus renommés sur le sujet. Cet ouvrage est un ouvrage de vulgarisation, dont la lecture ne requiert pas de connaissances scientifiques très poussées. Un bon niveau de terminale scientifique est suffisant pour apprécier et comprendre les principes exposés.