radimus

String Theory Demystified - David McMahon

I had assumed it to be something like a "Dummies book on _____", but hopefully not so basic that it comes with crayons. However:

Quote:

This book is written with the intent of getting readers started in string theory. It is intended for self-study and to make the real textbooks on the subject more accessible after you finish this one. But make no mistake: This is not a “popular” book—it is written for readers who want to learn string theory. The presentation has been simplified in some places. I have left out important topics like path integration, differential forms, and partition functions that are necessary for advanced study. Even so, there has been an attempt to give the reader a good overview of the basics of string physics. Unlike other introductory texts, I have decided to include a discussion of superstrings. It is more complicated, but my feeling is if you understand the bosonic case it’s not too much of a leap to include superstrings. What you really need as background for this is some exposure to Dirac spinors. If you don’t have this background, read Griffiths’ Elementary Particles or try Quantum Field Theory Demystified. The bottom line is that string theory is an advanced topic, so you will need to have the background before reading this book. Specifically, from mathematics you need to know calculus, linear algebra, and partial and ordinary differential equations.It also helps to know some complex variables, and my book Complex Variables Demystified is being released at about the same time as this one to help you with this. This sounds like a long list and if you’re just starting out it is. But you don’t have to be an expert—just get a grasp of the topics and you should do fine with this book. From physics, you should start off with wave motion if you’re rusty with it. Open up a freshman physics book to do this. The core concepts you need for string theory are going to include wave motion on a string, boundary conditions on a string (from basic partial differential equations), the harmonic oscillator from quantum mechanics, and special relativity. Brush up on these before attempting to read this book. Due to limited space in the book, I did not include all of the background material from ground zero like Zweibach does in his fine text. I have attempted to present as accessible a presentation as possible but assume you already have done some background study. The three areas you need are quantum mechanics, relativity, and quantum field theory. Luckily there are three Demystified books available on these topics if you haven’t studied them elsewhere. In the short space allotted for a Demystified book, we can’t cover everything from string theory. I have tried to strike a balance between building the basic physics and laying down the necessary mathematical machinery and being too advanced and introducing the most exciting topics. Unfortunately, this is not an easy program to pull off. I cover bosonic strings, superstrings, D-branes, black hole physics, and cosmology, among other topics. I have also included a discussion of the Randall- Sundrum model and how it resovles the hierarchy problem from particle physics.

I'm going to have to pick up some others :-)

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Quote:

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams

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hstn

Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates

Jogga

The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin (at last)

And it's actually very good: Darwin was so close to predicting DNA and genetics it's scary

As a starting point for the theory, it's the original and (dare I say) the best!

hstn

Indeed, Jogga. I recently finished The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen and visited the museum exhibit that traced Darwin's formulation of his ideas after the travels on the Beagle. Fascinating to see his notebooks and learn about the process of his thinking.

Box

But I'm sure you are both aware that that is all gibberish.
You only need to read one book and all will become clear.

hstn

All I need to know, I learned ....

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Jogga

Originally Posted by Box

But I'm sure you are both aware that that is all gibberish. You only need to read one book and all will become clear.

Mmmmmm

You're correct ;)

hstn

Hugh Trevor-Roper, The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History
nonentity's favorite recommendation:)

breley

A gift I recently received, Rosamond McKitterick's Atlas of the Medieval World, and Oliver Sacks' Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood.

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breley | Aximsite/Mobility Site Review Staff, Administrator | Judge, Smartphone & Pocket PC Best Software Awards 2008
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Zaniax

The newest one by the swedish author Liza Marklund called 'A Place in the Sun'

She's a very fine writer

jflick35

I have read almost all of Jack London's short stories. The story Bâtard is about an evil dog and his evil master who has an interesting death, my absolute favorite Batard by Jack London

I have not read his popular novels like Call of the Wild yet. I am starting to read his hard to find stuff like Iron Heel. I finished Star Rover and it was pretty good, it's basically a bunch of short stories of the main character's past lives and talks about reincarnation and astral projection to escape the hells of San Quentin prison. Before Adam is about a person who has memories of the life of one of his subhuman ancestors, that was pretty good.

Frenchy

Right now trying to learn the ins and outs of Outlook. Tricks to share to make things easiers for the users.

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Frenchy

Jogga

My reading has been interrupted over the last few weeks: I've yet to finish The Origin of Species (although I will this week), but I have worked my way through Ian Lloyd's Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS twice!

Lloyd's book is an excellent introduction to XHTML and is very easy to follow (I don't have any real background in code other than some VBA and VB6) and has encouraged me to invest in Rachel Andrew's, The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks and Hacks. Both will have your site up and running in a couple of weeks.

paulg1957

I've just finished two books: Douglas Coupland-"The Gum Thief" & Don Tapscott "Grown Up Digital"

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Dell Axim X3i 400 Mhz


If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. ~Japanese Proverb

Jogga

I have just finished Timothy Gowers', Mathematics A Very Short Introduction.

This short (140 page) book has taken me a couple of weeks to get through, but I have enjoyed every single minute. It is a superb introduction for anyone interested in conceptual mathematics (for instance, curved space, proofs, and imaginary numbers) but it does require a reasonable grounding in basic mathematics and the commitment to master each topic (which is why it took me longer than I expected). That said, Gowers has an easy style that makes abstract mathematics both appealing and accessible. I would not hesitate to recommend this title to anyone!

This is a book that will be added to my Books That Have Changed Your Life list!