P. C. W. Davies - Böcker

This book presents a comprehensive review of the subject of gravitational effects in quantum field theory. Although the treatment is general, special emphasis is given to the Hawking black hole evaporation effect, and to particle creation processes in the early universe. The last decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in this subject. This is the first attempt to collect and unify the vast literature that has contributed to this development. All the major technical results are presented, and the theory is developed carefully from first principles. Here is everything that students or researchers will need to embark upon calculations involving quantum effects of gravity at the so-called one-loop approximation level.

In The Accidental Universe renowned expositor Paul Davies grapples with the most fundamental questions of all. What is our purpose and the purpose of the universe? Are both an accident of nature? Paul Davies guides us through the mysterious coincidences underlying the structure and properties of the universe we inhabit. He sets out the intriguing hypothesis that the appearance of the universe and its properties are highly contrived. Paul Davies gives a survey of the range of apparently miraculous accidents of nature that have enabled the universe to evolve its familiar structure of atoms, stars, galaxies and life itself. This remarkable book concludes with an investigation of the anthropic principle, which postulates that much of what we observe around us is a consequence of the presence of observers in the universe. This thesis of a cosmic biological selection effect is fiercely debated among scientists and is here set out clearly for a general readership.

This is a new edition of Paul Davies' very highly regarded text on high-energy particle physics aimed at the scientifically educated general reader. Since the appearance of the first edition in 1979 there have been many major developments in the field, and the author has taken this opportunity to bring the text completely up to date. Paul Davies includes details of one of the most significant of these developments, the experimental discovery in 1983 of the W and Z intermediate vector bosons, and discusses the implications for the eventual unification of the four forces of nature. In addition to this, the discovery of the top and bottom quarks, the details and predictions of modern grand unified theories (GUTs), and the application of the results of high-energy physics to studies of the very early universe are all included.

Superstring theory is one of the most exciting and actively pursued branches of physics today. The far-reaching claims made for this theory would, if correct, provide the much sought-after Theory of Everything, the unification of physics. It would enable the fundamental building blocks of matter to be identified and amalgamated in a common description, with a unified theory of all the forces of nature. This book explains the theory for laymen, in an introduction to the subject which originated in the BBC Radio programme, Desperately Seeking Superstrings. A clear, concise, non-mathematical explanation of the theory and its profound implications is followed by transcripts of interviews with all the most important physicists involved in its development. Superstrings makes a fascinating topic at the forefront of modern scientific research accessible to physicists, philosophers and general readers alike.

Anybody who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it. Niels Bohr's dictum bears witness to the bewildering impact of quantum theory, flying in the face of classical physics and dramatically transforming scientists' outlook on our relationship with the material world. While the theory has been supremely successful in its explanation of some of the major problems in twentieth-century physics, its meaning (presenting a number of basic philosophical contradictions) is nevertheless the subject of unprecedented controversy amongst scientists. In this book, which has its origin in a series of radio broadcasts, Paul Davies interviews eight physicists involved in debating and testing the theory, with radically different views of its significance.