elegant+universe

__**The Elegant Universe**__ by Brian Greene



Jordan Pollack Baron Kim J.T. Ferrara Brian Martin


 * Week One: May 7**

Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)

Jordan: Discussion Baron: Summary J.T.: Questions Brian: Food

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

There really are no characters in "The Elegant Universe," aside from the scientists, physicists, and other geniuses that the book talks about. The book takes the theories of these people and tries to explain them. Examples would include Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics, as well as string theory. The book is definitely more focused on string theory as a more than possible solution to explain the universe from the subatomic level to events on much larger scales. I guess it could be said that the main characters in the book so far are black holes, the 11 dimensions of string theory, space and time, and the list could go one and on. It is interesting to think about these topics in the way the book explains them. There are no characters that I cannot stand.

__Summary__

Today was our first book club meeting with the book, The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene. We all agreed that the topics covered blow our minds. We talked about the atom smasher that is being created in 2012, of all years. Also, we debated whether Steven Hawking or Albert Einstein was the greatest mind ever. We went over the questions, and we discussed topics brought up in the beginning of our book. We talked string theory, the big bang theory, and Newton's laws. The book is very entertaining, yet informative at the same time.

__Questions__

1. If string theory was created in Einstein’s time, do you think he would have accepted it?

No, because quantam mechanics are part of string theory and Einstein did not accept quantam mechanics.

2. How did Einstein’s theory of relativity change everyone’s perspective?

He created a way to explain the large parts of the universe and how gravity works, which revolutionized how scientists viewed the universe.

3. Do you think it is safe to simulate the big bang with giant atom smashers?

We do not think it is safe because of the power generated from the big bang is not safe and cannot be safely controlled with putting the Earth in danger.

4. Do you believe even if the scientists discover the gravitron, it will prove string theory?

No, there are still many other factors of the theory that we believe need to be proved because of the complexity of the theory.

5. If string theory is the theory of everything, do you believe scientists will use it to explain everything, or just the universe?

We believe they would just use it to explain the universe because their are several other laws that govern things. For example, we believe scientists probably will not use string theory to explain why the sky is blue.


 * Week Two: May 14**

Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)

Jordan: Summary Baron: Food J.T.: Discussion Brian: Questions

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__

The language used in this book is like no other book any of us have read. This is mainly due to the fact that this is a science book. To express the complicated concepts in this book, scientific terms are used that we are mostly unfamiliar with. However, there is a glossary of terms to help with some of the confusing words. Even though it sometimes hard to understand the words, to counteract this, Brian Greene does a great job in putting his points in a real life situations. He will give a scenario that will pertain to everyday experiences to explain his point. For example, as a precursor to explaining the speed of light, he uses the example of playing catch. By doing this, his point becomes much more clear and the language can be interpreted more easily.

__Summary__

This was the second meeting of the book group for __The Elegant Universe__. The meeting started with a discussion between J.T. and I regarding the possibility of reaching the speed of light. I said it was definitely possible, just not with the current technology, but J.T. disagreed and said it was impossible. I am not sure what Brian or Baron's opinions on the subject were. Brian began asking the questions that he prepared. The questions that had to do with string theory sparked a discussion on whether or not this theory seemed plausible. The general thoughts on the subject were that string theory is plausible, but there is not enough evidence to say anything more about it. After the questions, the group began to discuss time in relevance to traveling the speed of light. Brian did not get it at first. This went on for a couple of minutes. The period ended shortly after.

__Questions__

How do you like the book so far? or how do you dislike it so far?

It is very intriguing and has many concepts that are mind blowing.

How would a non string theorist view the theories in the book?

Considering string theory is so radical, the concepts that apply, they would see them as wrong.

Do you believe in string theory?

JT: i think it is plausible but since there is no evidence. Jordan: same as JT. Baron: Yes i believe in string theory.

Do you think you can travel the speed of light?

Jt: no, due to newtons law of E=MC^2 you would need infinite amount of energy to travel that fast. Jordan: Yes, JT's response in bologna. Baron: Yes

What do you think life would be like if we traveled nearly the speed of light?

Because time slows down everything would happen so much slower, all our thoughts would be slower.


 * Week Three: May 21**

Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B) 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class

__Discussion__

The tone of this book is very informative. Brian Greene, the author, is a true genius when it comes to his research on the theories and information. The tone of the book makes it seem like he knows these topics really well, and sometimes it is very hard to understand because we aren't as smart as him. It is also somewhat informal, because he uses every day examples. One of them is when he compares gravity and accelerated motion through an example of a bomb on a scale. Other times he uses a very scientific tone with facts and conclusions. His explanations have a very sagacious tone and they are often hard to grasp. Overall though, tone is not a big factor in this book at all because it is not very emotional.

__Summary__

Today we started off our nosh session with some really old chips ahoy. They don't even have the peel off thing, they are old. Then we began to talk about the theme of the book. This book is a very serious book so we described the book as that way. We also talked about the explanations that he uses in the books. Then Jordan started to ask his questions. We discussed the theories in the book. We also talked about the ideas of the physicists and how we can relate to them. This is a good book for our group because it makes us think. We normally just end up talking about the speed of light or other ideas in the books. This is probably the first book that we agreed on and liked.

Questions:

1. Do the examples that Brian Greene uses help or hinder your understanding of the book and its concept?

They help because they are everyday scenarios that he applies to physics.

2. How does string theory account for the states of matter?

The energy of the strings construct the quark, then the atoms and molecules, which determine the states of matter that the substance will be.

3. Why do you think that physicists tend to view the world on an infinitely larger or smaller scale, but never both at the same time?

Because of the theories governing quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, when thought of at the same time, they fall apart. That is why string theory was made.

4. Based on your understanding of the dimensions, if the world were perceived in 11 dimensions, would our mind be able to interpret it?

The dimensions would be present, but we would not notice it because we do not have the capability.

5. If gravity travels at the speed of light, how can light not escape the pull of a black hole?

At the speed of light, no time elapses, so at the speed of gravity (warping of time and space) no time elapses. However, not even light can escape the gravitational pull of gravity, meaning that gravity travels faster than light. This would suggest that the pulling in of light by a black hole would create negative amounts of time based on the knowledge we have from the book.


 * Week Four: May 28**

Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)

Jordan: Food Baron: Questions J.T.: Summary Brian: Discussion

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? 2. Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

__Discussion__  The basic theme is String theory. String theory was developed to link theories about the macro universe and micro universe. When they were normally combined they didn't work, but with string theory now they work. String theory uses the same concepts in the theories of general relativity, which is the theory of macro universe, and quantum mechanics, which is the theory of micro universe. String theory unifies them to create a theory of everything which defines the entire universe, from big to small. The obstacle facing string theorists is the lack of evidence to prove string theory actually exists.

__Summary__

Our final meeting ever of book club went rather smoothly. We began by eating our food, before slowly began our discussion. The beginning of our discussion was just speaking about the book in general and some of the major theories. We then started Baron's questions, which were much more complicated than the past. This was due to the section of the book we just read, which was very intense string theory. It had some of the most confusing parts of the book so far, and many of us did not understand it. However, together we were able to work out some of the major points. Lastly, we addressed the discussion question, where we were able to wrap up our thoughts on the books. We gave an overall explanation of string theory which helped us all understand it. The final book club was smooth and successful.

__Questions__

1. What are the various obstacles facing string theorists today? How do they hope to overcome these obstacles?

String theorists face the problem that they have no hard evidence that it exists. They hope to overcome this by creating a particle accelerator to smash particles together which creates an effect similar to the big bang.

2. Why is the big bang theory as of right now incomplete? How do string theorists hope to fix this problem and use string theory to explain the origin of the universe?

In the big bang theory, general relativity and quantum mechanics come together because the big things like the universe combine with small things like particles. This is because the universe shrinks and expands. Both theories contradict each other. With string theory, uncertainty principle does not apply and it works on a dual (big and small) scale.

3. Explain the importance of the word elegance to Greene’s conception of the universe.

Elegance describes the string theory. All of the strings unite so smoothly, and it is as if everything in the universe is working and moving in harmony.

4. According to string theory, how do the smallest units of matter behave?

The smallest units, strings, vibrate constantly like a string on a violin. They are composed of energy and never stop working/moving.

5. How did Einstein redefine gravity? How do string theorists hope to incorporate it into a single Theory of Everything?

Einstein redefined gravity with his Theory of General Relativity which defines gravity as warps in space-time. String theorists incorporate the same principles, but tweak them to match the properties of strings.