Lawrence B Crowell – författare

Three key aspects of quantum gravity are considered in this book: phenomenology, potential experimental aspects and foundational theory. The phenomenology is the treatment of metric quantum fluctuations as torsional curves that deviate from classical expectations. This leads to possible experimental configurations that may detect such fluctuations. Most of these proposed experiments are quantum optical measurements of subtle quantum gravity effects in the interaction of photons and atoms. The foundational discussions attempt to find an substratum to string theories, which are motivated by the phenomenological treatment. Quantum gravity is not the quantization of general relativity, but is instead the embedding of quantum theory and gravitation into a more fundamental field theoretic framework.

This book is an exposition of classical mechanics and relativity that addresses the question of whether it is possible to send probes to extrasolar systems. It examines largely well-understood physics to consider the possibility of exploring the nearby interstellar environment in a similar fashion to how the solar system has been explored. As such, this book is both a semipopularization of basic physics and an informal study of a likely future technological development. An auxilliary text on basic physics for students and laypersons as well as an illustration of the problems with interstellar exploration, this book is a must-read.