Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions

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Harper Collins, Oct 21, 2009 - Science - 514 pages

The universe has many secrets. It may hide additional dimensions of space other than the familier three we recognize. There might even be another universe adjacent to ours, invisible and unattainable . . . for now.

Warped Passages is a brilliantly readable and altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature—taking us into the warped, hidden dimensions underpinning the universe we live in, demystifying the science of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond our own.

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Contents

Dimensions of Space and Thought
1
Demystifying Dimensions
11
Rolledup Extra Dimensions
31
Branes Braneworlds and the Bulk
50
Approaches to Theoretical Physics
63
The Physics of Elementary Particles
150
Verifying the Standard Model
179
The Essential Organizing Principle
190
Brane Development
303
Braneworlds
321
Proposals for ExtraDimensional Universes
334
Fingerprints of Extra Dimensions
351
Large Extra Dimensions
362
A Solution to the Hierarchy Problem
385
The Warped Annotated Alice
414
A Reflective and Expansive Passage
433

Spontaneous
203
Relating Interactions
221
The Only Effective
240
A Leap Beyond the Standard Model
256
Allegro Ma Non Troppo Passage for Strings
277
Closing Thoughts
446
InConclusion
455
Math Notes
472
Permissions
481
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Lisa Randall studies theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University, where she is Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees. Professor Randall was included in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" of 2007 and was among Esquire magazine's "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century." Professor Randall's two books, Warped Passages (2005) and Knocking on Heaven's Door (2011) were New York Times bestsellers and 100 Notable Books. Her stand-alone e-book, Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space, was published in 2012.

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