The Gravity of Math: How Geometry Rules the Universe
暫譯: 數學的引力:幾何如何支配宇宙

Nadis, Steve, Yau, Shing-Tung

商品描述

"A must-read."―Avi Loeb, New York Times-bestselling author of Extraterrestrial

One of the preeminent mathematicians of the past half century shows how physics and math were combined to give us the theory of gravity and the dizzying array of ideas and insights that has come from it

Mathematics is far more than just the language of science. It is a critical underpinning of nature. The famed physicist Albert Einstein demonstrated this in 1915 when he showed that gravity--long considered an attractive force between massive objects--was actually a manifestation of the curvature, or geometry, of space and time. But in making this towering intellectual leap, Einstein needed the help of several mathematicians, including Marcel Grossmann, who introduced him to the geometrical framework upon which his theory rest.

In The Gravity of Math, Steve Nadis and Shing-Tung Yau consider how math can drive and sometimes even anticipate discoveries in physics. Examining phenomena like black holes, gravitational waves, and the Big Bang, Nadis and Yau ask: Why do mathematical statements, derived solely from logic, provide the best descriptions of our physical world?

The Gravity of Math offers an insightful and compelling look into the power of mathematics--whose reach, like that of gravity, can extend to the edge of the universe.

商品描述(中文翻譯)

「必讀之作。」——Avi Loeb,《Extraterrestrial》一書登上《New York Times》暢銷書榜的作者

過去半個世紀最傑出的數學家之一,揭示物理學與數學如何結合,孕育出重力理論,以及由此衍生的大量令人目眩神迷的思想與洞見

數學遠不只是科學的語言,更是自然界至關重要的基礎。著名物理學家 Albert Einstein 在 1915 年證明了這一點:他指出,長久以來被認為是存在於大質量物體之間的吸引力——重力——其實是空間與時間彎曲,亦即其幾何結構的一種表現。然而,要完成這項偉大的思想飛躍,Einstein 需要數位數學家的協助,其中包括 Marcel Grossmann。Grossmann 向他介紹了支撐其理論的幾何學架構。

在《數學的重力》中,Steve Nadis 與 Shing-Tung Yau 探討數學如何推動物理學的發展,有時甚至能預見物理學上的發現。他們檢視黑洞、重力波與大爆炸等現象,並提出疑問:那些完全由邏輯推導而來的數學敘述,為什麼能夠如此精確地描述我們的物理世界?

《數學的重力》深入且引人入勝地呈現數學的力量——它的延伸範圍就如同重力一般,可以一路抵達宇宙的邊界。

作者簡介

Steve Nadis, a contributing editor to Discover magazine and a contributing writer to Quanta, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Shing-Tung Yau is a mathematics professor at Tsinghua University and professor emeritus at Harvard University. The recipient of the Fields Medal, National Medal of Science, and a MacArthur Fellowship, he lives in Beijing.

This is the fifth book that Nadis and Yau have written together.

作者簡介(中文翻譯)

Steve Nadis 是《Discover》雜誌的特約編輯,也是《Quanta》的特約撰稿人,現居於麻薩諸塞州 Cambridge。

Shing-Tung Yau 是 Tsinghua University 的數學教授,也是 Harvard University 的名譽教授。他曾獲得 Fields Medal、National Medal of Science 與 MacArthur Fellowship,目前居住於北京。

這是 Nadis 與 Yau 共同撰寫的第五本書。