The leading mind behind the mathematics of string
theory discusses how geometry explains the universe we
see. What if you were told that we actually live in a
10-dimensional universe - that the leading theory of
nature posits only 4 out of 10 are accessible to our
everyday senses? How do we account for the other 6
dimensions? What do they look like, where are they
hiding, and what, if anything at all, do they do? In
''The Shape of Inner Space'', geometer and leading
string theorist Shing-Tung Yau unpacks the widely-held
belief that these undetected dimensions are tightly
curled in elaborate, twisted shapes called ''Calabi-Yau
manifolds''. Yau explains that these spaces are so
miniscule that humans will probably never see any of
them directly. Amazingly, this hidden realm may hold the
answers to some of the most profound questions we have
about our universe. In examining his life's work, Yau
emphasises his most important finding: proof of the
manifold's mathematical existence. This discovery has
been critical in advancing our understanding of geometry
and string theory, and, more broadly, physics and the
universe.With this acquired knowledge, string theorists
can go beyond the concept of the universe that Einstein
left us with, and possibly expose some of nature's
greatest mysteries. A fascinating exploration of a world
we are only just beginning to grasp, ''The Shape of
Inner Space'' will change the way we think about
mathematics, cosmology, and our quest to learn the shape
of the inner universe. |
|