The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything

by Paul Halpern

The concept of multiple unperceived dimensions in the universe is one of the hottest topics in contemporary physics. It is essential to current attempts to explain gravity and the underlying structure of the universe. The Great Beyond begins with Einstein’s famous quarrel with Heisenberg and Bohr, whose theories of uncertainty threatened the order Einstein believed was essential to the universe, and it was his rejection of uncertainty that drove him to ponder the existence of a fifth dimension. Beginning with this famous disagreement and culminating with an explanation of the newest ""brane"" approach, author Paul Halpern shows how current debates about the nature of reality began as age-old controversies, and addresses how the possibility of higher dimensions has influenced culture over the past one hundred years.

Genres: Science, Physics

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Acclaimed science writer and physicist Dr. Paul Halpern is the author of fourteen popular science books, exploring the subjects of space, time, higher dimensions, dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, particle physics, and cosmology. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and an Athenaeum Literary Award. A regular contributor to NOVA's "The Nature of Reality" physics blog, he has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including "Future Quest" and "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special".

Halpern's latest book, "Einstein's Dice and Schrodinger's Cat," investigates how physicists Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrodinger battled together against the incompleteness and indeterminacy of quantum mechanics. Their dialogue inspired Schrodinger's famous thought-experiment about a cat in a box that is in a mixed state between life and death until it is observed. They struggled to find a unified field theory that would unite the forces of nature and supersede quantum weirdness. Sadly they would never find success and their efforts would lead to a fiasco.

More information about Paul Halpern's books and other writings can be found at:
phalpern.com

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very uneven. Some parts were great: clear, concise, cohesive. Other parts, not so much. Too much is lost in the scattered way the story is told. For example, it took me far longer than it should have to realize that the backbone of the book was intended to be the Kaluza-Klein model.

That said, it does contain some very good explanations of difficult concepts. You just have to work harder than you should to figure out the context.

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and subtitle are misleading; this is not as I expected it to be a popular exposition of modern physics/cosmogony, but a history of twentieth century physics from the viewpoint of theories of more than three dimensions. It begins with the mathematical discoveries of non-Euclidean geometry from Gauss to Riemann, and then concentrates for most of the book on Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and his search for a unified field theory, especially focusing on Kaluza, Klein and the fifth dimension. There is a little background on quantum theory, and the end of the book gets into string and M-theory. The theories are not discussed in any depth; the emphasis is on biography and who was investigating what when. For what it actually discusses, it is reasonably good, and I learned much about Einstein's later work and the handful of other scientists who concentrated on General Relativity when most physicists were doing quantum theory and particles.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Halpern's "The Great Beyond" is a whirlwind tour of the work physicists have been doing to uncover the structure of reality. It begins with Plato, and culminates with modern string theory. Though only a few years old, it is already slightly dated (Higg's boson, anyone?) but still well worth a read... and a re-read!

The author is engaging, and often even funny, which is essential for non-physicists to enjoy such a mind-boggling topic! But the best part of the book for me was the insights gained into parts of history. For instance, I had never thought about the crippling impact of World War II on the academic world.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in physics or history.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the history of physics! It talks about the kaluza-klein model which inspired the modern incarnation of extra dimensions in the form of strings and membranes. Our Universe could be just one universe, (a 3-brane) in the vast sea of universes in the hyperspatial bulk (the multiverse). Our Universe is "fine-tuned" because we happen to be in one of those rare universes which gave rise to the perfect conditions to form galaxies, stars, planets, and ultimately life, but most of the universes in the Multiverse are inhospitable to life just like the other planets in our solar system. Our Earth is a rare planet in the Solar System and the Milky Way, and perhaps the Universe; and our Universe, is one of the rare universes in an infinite sea of universes in the eternal Multiverse.

[Dan Zarfati · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is focused on the search for higher dimensions through the work of quantum physicists and their proposals to unify the gravity force with the other 3 forces. It is an interesting book, but I found it a bit superficial at times, not touching the quantum aspect of it, and sometimes too elliptical, perhaps it was my fault as I was not too familiar with the physicians and their theories, so perhaps if I read again I would have a fairer appraisal to his effort, still the sensation was that it could be better, could be a bit more clear.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Interesting synthesis of the theories of the universe, relativity, string theory etc. Actually, fairly readable for the topic covered. Unfortunately, a bit dated. But did give me a sense of where the various theories came from, how they differed from each other. I feel I have a better grasp of some of the concepts now than when I started the book. Good job!