Knocking On Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World [Hardcover]

 

 

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Eminent theoretical physicist Lisa Randall regards her new book "Knocking on Heaven's Door" as a "prequel" to her earlier "Warped Passages". But it is much more than that, as a clearly written statement by a distinguished scientist explaining how science works to an interested, if substantially scientific illiterate, public. While there are other books, such as those written by her high school and college classmate, physicist Brian Greene, which emphasize the state-of-the-art thinking in theoretical physics, Randall's is one that still deserves a wide readership, especially for its emphasis on how scientists conduct their scientific research, and in noting how the public often misinterprets it. These aspects of science, and the public's understanding of it, are the most important reasons why "Knocking of Heaven's Door" is an important contribution to popular scientific literature.

The notion of scaling - or rather, scale - is one of the most important concepts which Randall returns to again and again in "Knocking on Heaven's Door". She argues persuasively that, on a macroscopic scale, Newton's laws of motion are still relevant in explaining the motions of large objects such as planets and moons in the Solar System; it is only at atomic and subatomic scales that quantum mechanics does a much better job in explaining motions of subatomic particles. In other words, in plain English, Newtonian classical mechanics has become merely a subset of modern theoretical physics. A similar analogy exists for biology, with regards to the Darwin/Wallace Theory of Evolution via Natural Selection, now subsumed within the Modern Synthesis Theory of Evolution; the latter also incorporates population genetics and some aspects of both developmental biology and paleobiology (As an aside, I also recommend her reminder that evolution denialism isn't a problem only for religious conservatives, by recounting at the end of Chapter Three, an airplane conversation she had with a Hollywood actor trained in molecular biology, an Obama supporter, who rejects the biological evolution of humans since it is contrary to his religious views.).

Probabilistic thought is something which Randall also stresses throughout much of "Knocking on Heaven's Door". While she does not explain probability theory at any great length, she does explain via probability, why science is by very nature, a very tentative process in which there are no clearly defined answers that can be answered in the affirmative or negative with utmost certainty. This very underlying theme is one which underscores her conversations with noted Hollywood screenwriters and New York City dance choreographers that she cites as notable examples of misconceptions about the nature of science widely shared by the public. A firm understanding of probability theory is required for determining risk, which is discussed at length late in "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (Chapter Eleven). In a similar vein, I found equally rewarding her discussion of uncertainty as it pertains to both risk and experimental design (Chapter Twelve).

Most readers will appreciate her extensive discussion on the building and ongoing operation of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN's Swiss research facility. She eloquently ties that into current theoretical models in particle physics and cosmology, as well as to the two overarching themes of scale and probability that the reader encounters repeatedly throughout "Knocking on Heaven's Door". However, as compelling as that discussion is, the reader shouldn't forget that hers is a book which conveys to the general public, the very nature of science as seen through the eyes of this distinguished physicist.

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"[This book] is intended for an interested [non-physicist] who would like to have a greater understanding of current theoretical and experimental physics and who wants a better appreciation of the nature of modern science--as well as the principles of sound scientific thought. Often people don't really understand what science is and what we can expect it to tell us. This book is attempt to correct some of the misconceptions--and perhaps vent a little of my frustration with the way science is currently understood and applied."

The above comes from this thorough book by Lisa Randall. Randall studies theoretical particle physics and cosmology a Harvard University, where she is Professor of Science. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

This book can be thought of being divided into three parts:

(1) scientific thinking or how scientists think
(2) particle physics
(3) cosmology

The scientific thinking sections are well done. She effectively explains the "principles of sound scientific thought." Here are some of my favourite passages from this section:

(1) "Science is not about passive comprehension and belief. And truth about the universe is an end in itself. Scientists actively approach the door to knowledge--the boundary of the domain of what we know. We question and explore and we change our views when facts and logic force us to do so. We are confident only in what we can verify through experiments or in what we can deduce from experimentally confirmed hypotheses."

(2) "Divine actions--whether applied to mountains or your conscience--don't happen in the framework of science."

(3) "Logic [used much in science] tries to resolve paradoxes, whereas much of religious thought thrives on them."

(4) "[A]ny religious scientist has to face daily the scientific challenge to his belief. The religious part of [his or her] brain cannot act at the same time as the scientific one. They are simply incompatible."

Randall writing shines in the particle physics part. Her enthusiasm is especially evident when she talks about the Large Hadron Collider, LHC and the potential discoveries it could make. (A hadron is a composite particle e.g., proton, made of quarks held together by the strong force.)

(For those unfamiliar with the LHC, it is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) over a ten year period from 1998 to 2008, with the aim of allowing physicists to test the different theories of particle physics. The LHC is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, including the understanding of the deepest laws of nature.

One of the important things the LHC will be attempting to discover is the Higgs particle or the Higgs boson, known in the media as the "God particle.")

The same can be said for the cosmology part. She details recent ideas underlying cosmology and current dark matter experiments. (Dark matter is the invisible matter that makes up over 20% of the universe's composition.)

This book contains over eighty illustrations. I found these invaluable in helping me understand difficult concepts.

Finally, even though this book is well-written, there are some problems:

(1) I mentioned above that the scientific thinking section is concentrated into one, neat part. Actually it`s spread throughout the entire book! I found myself getting into a chapter on, say, particle physics and the next chapter would be on some aspect of scientific thinking. This was somewhat distracting (and at times frustrating). Also, I think all the chapters on scientific thinking could have been trimmed down substantially.

(2) There is no glossary. True, many terms (and there are many of them) are defined in the main narrative. However, having all these terms listed in a glossary would have been, in my opinion, beneficial.

(3) The book's title "Knocking on Heaven's Door." This title gives the impression that this book is all about religion. No. This is a science book.

In conclusion, this book effectively details how the scientific mind and the universe actually...work!!

(first published 2011; list of illustrations; introduction; 6 parts or 22 chapters; conclusion; main narrative 415 pages; acknowledgements; endnotes; index)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

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For me, Knocking on Heaven's Door was a good introduction concerning the latest devolpments in Particle Physics. Professor Randall discussed many ideas worth considering such as the idea of scale - different physical laws and processes apply to differrent size scales and are best suited for these scales. For example,General Relativity is not important in describing large, slow moving objects just as gravity is not important at the weak energy scale.
Part III very well described the basic processes of the Large Hadron Collider(LHC),including the development,construction and setbacks that occurred. This led up to one of the most difficult testable ideas, the Higgs Field and Higgs Boson. It appears that the LHC is starting to provide evidence for the Higgs Boson as was predicted but I only still have a vague idea what it is about.
The other very interesting idea discussed was the author's own theory or the Randall-Sundrum Theory that tries to solve the hierarchy problem or why particles have the masses they have. Very interesting, but again very difficult, abstract and only partly understood.
The author is understandably very impressed and positive about the LHC and promises that great things will soon be discovered and our understanding of the world and the cosmos will forever change. She might well be right and I look forward to reading about these discoveries in her next book.

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