World-leading researchers, including Nobel Laureates and rising young stars, examine some of the most important and fundamental questions at the forefronts of modern science, philosophy, and theology, taking into account recent discoveries from a range of fields. This fascinating book is ideal for anyone seeking answers to deep questions about the universe and human life. The remarkable career of Charles H. Townes, inventor of the maser and laser for which he shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics, has spanned seven decades. His interests have ranged from the origin of the Universe to the structure of molecules, always focusing on the nature of human life. Honouring his work, this book explores the most basic questions of science, philosophy, and the nature of existence: How did the Universe begin? Why do the fundamental constants of nature have the values they do? What is human consciousness, and do we have free will?
Recenzijas
' if a young physicist in 2011 should ask what are the major intellectual questions facing scientists today, it would be difficult to better the range of insights offered by this book.' Contemporary Physics
Papildus informācija
World-leading researchers, including Nobel Laureates, explore the most basic questions of science, philosophy, and the nature of existence.
List of contributors; Foreword Charles H. Townes; Editors' preface;
Preface Freeman J. Dyson; Laureates' preface: reflections from four physics
Nobelists Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, Theodore W. Hänsch and Wolfgang
Ketterle; Acknowledgments; Part I. Illumination: The History and Future of
Physical Science and Technology:
1. A short history of light in the Western
world John L. Heilbron;
2. Tools and innovation Peter L. Galison;
3. The
future of science Freeman J. Dyson;
4. The end of everything: will AI replace
humans? Will everything die when the universe freezes over? Michio Kaku; Part
II. Fundamental Physics and Quantum Mechanics:
5. Fundamental constants Frank
Wilczek;
6. New insights on time symmetry in quantum mechanics Yakir Aharonov
and Jeffrey Tollaksen;
7. The major unknowns in particle physics and
cosmology David J. Gross;
8. The major unknown in quantum mechanics: Is it
the whole truth? Anthony J. Leggett;
9. Precision cosmology and the landscape
Raphael Bousso;
10. Hairy black holes, phase transitions, and AdS/CFT Steven
S. Gubser; Part III. Astrophysics and Astronomy:
11. The microwave
background: a cosmic time machine Adrian T. Lee;
12. Dark matter and dark
energy Marc Kamionkowski;
13. New directions and intersections for
observational cosmology: the case of dark energy Saul Perlmutter;
14. Inward
bound: high-resolution astronomy and the quest for black holes and extrasolar
planets Reinhard Genzel;
15. Searching for signatures of life beyond the
solar system: astrophysical interferometry and the 150 km Exo-Earth Imager
Antoine Labeyrie;
16. New directions for gravitational wave physics via
'Millikan oil drops' Raymond Y. Chiao;
17. An 'ultrasonic' image of the
embryonic universe: CMB polarization tests of the inflationary paradigm Brian
G. Keating; Part IV. New Approaches in Technology and Science:
18.
Visualizing complexity: development of 4D microscopy and diffraction for
imaging in space and time Ahmed H. Zewail;
19. Is life based on laws of
physics? Steven Chu;
20. Quantum information J. Ignacio Cirac;
21. Emergence
in condensed matter physics Marvin L. Cohen;
22. Achieving the highest
spectral resolution over the widest spectral bandwidth: precision measurement
meets ultrafast science Jun Ye;
23. Wireless non-radiative energy transfer
Marin Soljai; Part V. Consciousness and Free Will:
24. The big picture:
exploring questions on the boundaries of science consciousness and free
will George F. R. Ellis;
25. Quantum entanglement: from fundamental questions
to quantum communication and quantum computation and back Anton Zeilinger;
26. Consciousness, body, and brain: the matter of the mind Gerald M. Edelman;
27. The relation between quantum mechanics and higher brain functions:
lessons from quantum computation and neurobiology Christof Koch and Klaus
Hepp;
28. Free will and the causal closure of physics Robert C. Bishop;
29.
Natural laws and the closure of physics Nancy L. Cartwright;
30.
Anti-Cartesianism and downward causation: reshaping the free-will debate
Nancey Murphy;
31. Can we understand free will? Charles H. Townes; Part VI.
Reflections on the Big Questions: Mind, Matter. Mathematics, and Ultimate
Reality:
32. The big picture: exploring questions on the boundaries of
science mind, matter, mathematics George F. R. Ellis;
33. The mathematical
universe Max Tegmark;
34. Where do the laws of physics come from? Paul C. W.
Davies;
35. Science, energy, ethics, and civilization Vaclav Smil;
36. Life
of science, life of faith William T. Newsome;
37. The science of light and
the light of science: an appreciative theological reflection on the life and
work of Charles Hard Townes Robert J. Russell;
38. Two quibbles about
'ultimate' Gerald Gabrielse; Index.
Raymond Y. Chiao is Professor of Physics in the Schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the University of California, Merced, where he is pursuing a new line of groundbreaking research on gravitational radiation. Marvin L. Cohen is University Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Senior Faculty Scientist in the Materials Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His principal research interests lie in theoretical condensed matter physics. Among his numerous awards and honors, Professor Cohen received the 2001 National Medal of Science. Anthony J. Leggett is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Physics and the Center for Advanced Study Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His principal research interests lie in condensed matter physics and the foundations of quantum mechanics. Among his numerous awards and honors, Professor Leggett shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics. William D. Phillips is a physicist at the Joint Quantum Institute, a cooperative venture of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland. He is the Leader of NIST's Laser Cooling and Trapping Group in the Atomic Physics Division. Among his numerous awards and honors, Professor Phillips shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics. Charles L. Harper, Jr. is the former Senior Vice President of the John Templeton Foundation in Philadelphia. He is currently President of Vision-Five, a philanthropic consulting firm, also in Philadelphia.
