Consolations Of Physics

by Tim Radford

A wise and inspiring manifesto about why understanding physics can make you happier, by one of the leading science writers of our time.'A book more about life and passion than physics. People who have never cared a jot for physics (like me) must read this book.' SUZANNE O'SULLIVAN'A beautifully crafted love letter to physics.' NatureThe Consolations of Physics is an eloquent manifesto for physics. In an age where uncertainty and division is rife, Tim Radford, science editor of the Guardian for twenty-five years, turns to the wonders of the universe for consolation.'A beautiful, inspiring reflection on science, humanity, space, and matter.' SARAH BAKEWELLFrom the launch of the Voyager spacecraft and how it furthered our understanding of planets, stars and galaxies to the planet composed entirely of diamond and graphite and the sound of a blacksmith's anvil; from the hole NASA drilled in the heavens to the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the endeavours to prove the Big Bang, The Consolations of Physics will guide you from a tiny particle to the marvels of outer space.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Astronomy

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2018

About the author

Timothy Robin Radford was a British–New Zealand journalist who was the science editor for The Guardian from 1980 to 2005.

Reviews

[Muhammad Abdullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful illustration of the solar system

This is an amazing, fantastic and short read. The book began with the wonderful story of Voyager (including two missions Voyager 1 and Voyager 2) spacecrafts which was the first ever man-made spacecraft that left the solar system. The book is categorized into six chapters each with its unique taste and the glory it brings on the reader's face.


The two Voyager spacecraft took different paths through the solar system, and both have since left the sun’s influence entirely.

1: Journey to the Stars

This is the opening chapter which deals with the amazing efforts made by humanity to conquer interstellar planets and stars. Voyager was launched in 1977 on Titan rocket. The main reason for choosing year 1977 for Voyager mission launch was the planetary conjunction that happens only once every two centuries, all the outer planets in solar system are on the same side during conjunction. So one space craft is enough to visit them all which is not possible in other scenarios.

In 1990, the Voyager 1 turned its cameras for the last time at the edge of the solar system, 6 billion kilometers away to take the the famous photo of solar system. The Earth is like a pale blue dot revolving around the Sun. The astronomer Carl Sagan was so much inspired frrom the photo and he published his book with title, Pale Blue Dot, in 1995. He described the essence of the scene in these words :

Look again at the dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thouands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar', every supreme leader ', every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

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Pale Blue Dot

2: The Carriers of Our Memory

This chapter talks about the history of Voyager, equation of motion of rockets, the discovery of particles like Higgs Boson in Large Hadron Collider at CERN and scientific and engineering community efforts which make the mission to actually take place and explore the solar system.

3:Adventures with the Time Machine

This part covers the pre-history of philosophy which tells about the ideas of people like Boethius (a Roman philosopher and author of Consolation of Philosophy, a famous book), about the universe. During 1977 at the time of Voyager's launch, most of the physicists thought the universe had had a beginning somewhere between 10 to 20 billions years previously. The same year Steven Weinberg wrote his bestseller book, "The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe". In this book, he pictured the Universe as follows:

All this is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe. It is even harder to realize that this present universe has evolved from an unspeakably unfamiliar early conditions, and faces a future extinction of endless cold or intolerable heat. The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.

According to latest estimation, the current age of universe is about 13.8 billion years.

4:Contemplation in Free Fall

This part deals with the ideas and technologies related to future space missions for exploring solar and extraterrestrial territories. This part also discussed several religious accepts about the universe as mentioned in Holy Scriptures. Milton Comus speculated the spaceship riding away on sunbeam in the poetic fashion.

To the Ocean now I fly,
And those happy climes that ly
Where day never shuts his eye,
Up in the broad fields of the sky

5:The Distance of Darkness

Due to the unimaginable distances of space, no scientist had ever told the true nature of universe. This part is essentially discussed the questions which many people have asked now, had asked in past and will have asked in future as well. Furthermore, it covers the serenity of universe with the mind-boggling pictures taken by Hubble Space telescope, the mysterious string theory, gravitational waves detectors like LIGO(Laser Interferometry Gravitational Wave Observatory) , LISA (Laser Interferometry Space Antenna) and the gravitational wave created due to the merger of two black holes in the faraway galaxy is detected by one of the finest instruments on Earth.
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View of amplified effects of a + polarized gravitational wave (stylized) on LISA laser beams / arms paths.

The first gravitational wave detected by LIGO on 14 September 2015, at 09:50:45 Universal Time. The LIGO consists of two halves. One in Livingston, Louisiana and the other half of LIGO is 3000km away at Hanford, Washington. The signal named GW150914 is a gravitational wave created due to the merger of two Black Holes with mass upto 4 solar masses and 5 solar masses respectively. The LISA project is the latest one build for the same purpose as for LIGO to detect gravitational waves. The full LISA project would involve three spacecraft in the formation of an equilateral triangle, each 2.5 million kilometers distant from each other, each linked with the others by laser beam. The mission would expect to launch in 2034.

LISA spacecraft orbitography and interferometer -yearly-periodic revolution in heliocentric orbit.

6: The Planet Factory

The last chapter deals with the extrasolar planets, neutron stars, pulsars and other heavenly objects. This part also talk about the joy one feels while searching for the questions about the universe and its beginning. The author also emphasized on the importance of joy which one feels while searching for the answers.

Highly recommended.

[R Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few books you enjoy reading so much that you actually slow down to relish the words and the passion with which they are written, irrespective of your prior knowledge.

This is one of those books.

From the Voyager missions and the the LIGO experiments detecting gravitational waves to Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy written in 524 C.E., this book focusses more on our inherent love of doing Physics and questioning the Universe than going into the deep technical details of how it is done. It's a short, beautiful book that should appeal to all, from Physicists and Engineers to anyone who loves science simply for the seer monument to human curiosity that it is. A monument that in the form of the Voyager missions among others will probably be the only eventual remnant left of us in the Universe, recording for all that we once existed and we yearned for the truth.
Highly recommended.

[Fabrizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author writes like a very knowledgeable scientist, but with the love and passion for physics of a child who is exploring the subject for the very first time, mesmerized by the incredible laws that govern our universe, and by the extent to which we've come to understand the world we inhabit.

The way he talks about the several costly missions we have carried on in order to understand a bit more, the level of precision to which these instruments ought to be designed, and the persistence attitude of the scientists involved is simply inspirational.

A very good book that despite its briefness is able to convey the importance of doing research and the love for the subject that is necessary for it.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm, I have mixed feelings. I loved the beginning, but then at some point I got confused. Or maybe I was distracted, so I lost interest. Whenever this happens I tend to regret reading the book. But not this one.
I like to start the year with an "astro-book" because I feel hopeful and ready for the challenges. With this I experienced this, so no hard feelings. :)

[TheMadHatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book as a Xmas present from a friend who knows I love books and love physics and so he said finally there was a book that was all about why one loves physics - so perfect for me (and I do love being given books!).

I was so excited to start this - especially as it was sold as "love letters" to physics - so in my head I had these visions of chapters actually made up of love letters espousing why physics is like food for the soul. The reality though was a little less exciting and I actually found this all to easy to put down and had to force myself to read a chapter a day just to finish it.

Trying to pin point why I felt this way when I usually love these books is a bit tricky...this is what I have come up with:

1) I already love physics and my reasons why are actually quite different to the author. I actually think this book was more of an ode to engineering and human's application of physics as large chunks of this book were devoted to the voyager missions (seriously large chunks on this), LIGO, CERN and why these are interesting - I think the underlying physics (planetary sling shot, gravitational waves etc) is much more interesting and more of what I was expecting to be the focus. For example, the author was very enamored with little voyager endlessly traveling through deep space. While I am a big fan of what the voyager missions achieved (and are still achieving), I could pack a suitcase with some Earth memorabilia and throw it into space (with my uber super powers) at a little more than 11km/s and that suitcase is going to travel forever (collisions excepted which, based on probability, is highly unlikely). I am not sure why Voyager in deep space occupied such a large chunk of this book. I think the notion of being able to use nothing more than Newton's Laws to sling shot between planets due to alignment so much more interesting. The reality is, I don't really find engineering applications interesting. It is not my thing. Understanding the rules that govern our universe - well that is one thing....but human manipulation of those rules - yeah not so much.
2) This book really jumped a lot. Maybe it was because I kept switching off - but the fast paced switching was a bit much. I wanted it to slow down and let the ideas develop a little slower (like all good love affairs). This is physics to me.
3) In parts this seemed a bit pretentiously name dropping (but in this case - subject dropping) with the author constantly trying to bring in art, literature, religion, history references - but some of it just seemed like it was crammed in for the sake of being crammed in to show knowledge rather than to highlight the beauty in physics. The "physics" which should have been the focus got lost behind a lot of other things....

Don't get me wrong - any book on science/physics for the masses is one I am going to get behind and the author of this is obviously very intelligent, writes really well, is very passionate and the book is a mark of their insight and their love for the field. So why I didn't agree so much with what he chose to highlight a truly brilliant and diverse field, I respect his vision for this book and respect the intention of science for the masses.

[Ross Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Read one page in Waterstones and had to buy immediately. If you’re interested in CERN, gravitational waves and Voyager you’ll probably have heard much of this already, but it gives a poetic overview of where we are with our understanding of the universe. A love letter to science, bringing in theology and history.

[Honey · Rating 4 out of 5]

INSANELY BEAUTIFUL. A love letter to the cosmos, matter & antimatter, gravity & light, #physics & maths, international collabs @cern @ligo_virgo, and the brilliance of Voyager 1&2.
Poetic about the permanence of humanity’s curiosity weaving in science, literature & theology. One of my 2019 FIRM FAVOURITES.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a physicist...far from it indeed! But I can now understand the consolations in the constellations, calibrations & calculations of a philosophy far beyond my small universe of balls, banter & books!

My brain hurts!

[Giuliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books of the year, for sure. Simple, profound, thought provoking - his book asks significant questions around the origin of the universe and life. Drawing parallels with Boetius' "The Consolations of Philosophy" and some of the most audacious scientific endeavours, the book does not necessarily offer an answer to each question, but it makes a statement by showing time and time again that, so long as we continue to follow the scientific method and to collaborate on life's burning questions, we will always have a chance to increase our understanding of the universe and ultimately ourselves

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's such beauty in humanity's strive to understand the unknown and in how science manages to have us collaborate across nations and cultures. From the Voyager project to huge recent international physics experiments (CERN, LIGO, LISA..) this book is a great reminder of the elegance and joy of science. Discovery for the sake of it.

Radford got a bit sidetracked on some of his tangents which made the book feel slightly unbalanced. But I really love the basic concept, so I very much enjoyed this.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly an introduction to physics and astronomy, and not something more developed in that regard. But that's not the point of this book. This book is a love letter to science. And that's where it shines.

[Alexander Lord · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book I'd recommend for one who does not like physics.

Although the main purpose behind my reading journey is to increase general knowledge and skills, I found this book to be lackluster.

Interesting topics were explored, but not in full detail.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved the stars since I was a little girl. This book; its words, its theories, its message reignite my excitement and wonder at the vast and amazing universe.

[Diana Saraiva de Carvalho · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!!

[Zachary Bacon Darwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book full of both unanswerable questions and satisfying answers.

The topics Radford brought up in this book are some of those which physicists only 100 years ago had no understanding or knowledge of. However the writing manages to present these ideas into simple, digestible theories with enough explaination to get a brief understanding but not too much that I felt completely out of depth.

The topic of questions we cannot answer is always a difficult one, since it is hard to explain a question without having much knowledge or context on where to begin answering it or proving it. However Radford brings fourth such thought provoking questions that even non-physicists could start to wonder where and when perhaps this world around us was formed.

Overall I enjoyed this (relatively) light read as I didn't feel overwhelmed at any point, however some aspects of the book felt a little drawn out. But besides that point I felt engaged throughout and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the philosophical and mathematical wonders of life, the universe and everything.

[Richard Cubitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Our striving and efforts towards understanding the universe and the results create a fascination that is consoling to a degree. The title is more of a nod to Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy. Will this well written and scientifically erudite book bolster your capacity to deal with the overwhelming struggle of everyday life against work, climate change, recession, covid, and inept government? Yes, but probably not to a large extent.

[Lea Plörer · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah was fine, there's better books for consolation though imho

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful.

[HITWM · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Mind numbing. Random fancy words that distracted. My first DNF in 2 years.

[Pieter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this as I am fascinated by science (and very much appreciate the wordplay on Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae) but ultimately it fell flat. The 'wonders of the universe' are poorly explained and wrapped up in metaphors that don't go anywhere, stripping them of what would make them interesting, while both individual chapters and the book as a whole lacks structure and clear direction. There's quite a few anecdotes of the author meeting a leading scientist which don't serve any purpose - it's not even namesdropping, as these scientists often remain unnamed and their work largely undiscussed. And somehow, the book seems both too complex for a cursory reader and far too shallow for an enthusiast: it's a long parade of expensive science theories and hefty words with very little explanation of what they are or why they are amazing.