The Elegant Universe: Super strings, hidden dimensions and the quest for the ultimate theory by Brian Greene

In this amazing book, Brian Greene presents the intricacies of superstring theory in the same way that Stephen Hawking opened our eyes to black holes with A Brief History of Time. Greene first runs the reader through Newton's theory of gravity, Einstein's theories of relativity and special relativity as well as the beginnings of quantum mechanics and the lead-up to string theory.

String theory proposes that beyond the smallest particles found thus far, that is quarks, there exists tiny vibrating strings which form oscillating loop patterns. Greene talks the reader through the main principles of string theory including tension, symmetry and the energy of strings and their oscillating principles. We are introduced to the first theorists of string theory as well as the original hesitancy of the physics community to accept it firstly as a theory and secondly as a possible candidate for the elusive grand unified theory.

Greene also presents the idea of super-symmetry (which adds the 'super' to string theory). Theorists postulate that every elementary particle can be partnered by a 'super-particle' that differs by half a spin. This proposes a whole raft of new particles that's size and mass can be calculated theoretically but that have not been scientifically proven.

The third major proposal this book puts forward is that of hidden, "curled-up" dimensions, possibly that are so small we cannot see them. That is, we accept the three spatial dimensions and time as a dimension, but the current view of the physics world is now that of ten or maybe even eleven dimensions. Greene himself did some of the foremost research on this comparing the tiny dimensions to Calabi-Yau manifolds. These are virtually impossible to represent on a 2-dimensional page but Greene does a good job of creating these tiny dimensions in the mind of the reader, despite some initial brain fizzle.

I hold high hopes for the ability of the Large Hadron Collider to produce a Higgs boson

I can't really put everything in this book in the review because there is simply so much material. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in physics or in the nature of the universe. A brilliant read.

Eon by Greg Bear

This novel stands as one of the more epic science fiction adventures equalling the likes of Asimov's Foundation series. I've never read anything else by this author but my father told me that Eon is a must-read.

When a large asteroid goes in orbit around earth, some of the best scientists on offer are sent to investigate what begins to be referred to throughout the book as 'the stone' (and its inhabitants are thus referred to as stoners). The book opens as a theoretical physicist, Patricia is taken to the stone; plucked from a myriad of people with similar talents but none with the specialisation she soon learns is vital to her mission. The asteroid holds many secrets which are exposed to Patricia one by one. The reason why she has been called to the stone soon becomes evident when she sees a seemingly endless corridor stretching away into infinity.

One of the recurring themes in this book is the lack of agreement between the USSR and the USA. While Soviet scientists are allowed on the stone, they are not privy to any information and have virtually no high security clearances. What becomes clear throughout the book is that nuclear destruction on earth is imminent and the plot centres around the end of a large portion of mankind.

The book is filled with aspects of a thriller, as well as aspects more related to the science of the infinite corridor. Patricia's real purpose on the stone becomes clear to her when she begins to find articles written by her twenty years in the future. The novel continues to a devastating conclusion, while at the same time the Soviets and the Americans are forced to make amends.

A grear science fiction thriller which I would recommend to all.