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Index
Halftitle page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
About the Author
Prologue: An Irresistible Longing to Understand the Secrets of Nature
Part I: Foundations
1. The Laws of Physics are the Same for Everyone
2. There’s No Such Thing as the Force of Gravity
3. Why Nobody Understands Quantum Mechanics
4. Mass Ain’t What it Used to be
5. How to Fudge the Equations of the Universe
Part II: Formulation
6. To Get There I Wouldn’t Start from Here
7. A Gift from the Devil’s Grandmother
8. Our Second or Third Guess Solved the Equations Exactly
9. I Used Every Available Key Ring in Verona
From loops to knots
From knots to weaves
From weaves to spin networks
10. Is There Really No Time Like the Present?
Part III: Elaborations
11. Gravitons, Holographic Physics, and Why Things Fall Down
12. Fermions, Emergent Particles, and the Nature of Stuff
13. Relational Quantum Mechanics and Why ‘Here’ Might Actually be ‘Over There’
14. Not with a BangThe ‘Big Bounce’, Superinflation, and Spinfoam Cosmology
15. Black Hole Entropy, the Information Paradox, and Planck Stars
16. Close to the EdgeThe Reality of Time and the Principles of the Open Future
Epilogue: Like Being Roped Together on a Mountain
Pursuing a quantum theory of gravity was always going to be a risky business, requiring great courage. Do you think this has paid off, on a personal level?
What about scientifically?
The most striking aspect of LQG is indeed its prediction that space itself is quantized. No other quantum theory of gravity predicts this. Would you say that this is your most satisfying achievement?
It seems that the only real hope for gaining empirical support for LQG and LQC lie in future astronomical and cosmological observations. But will there ever be a consensus in favour of one approach to quantum gravity over the others?
From recent experience it would seem that the main programmes in fundamental theoretical physics will require one, if not two, generations of theorists to work through to some conclusion. How does it feel to be working in an age in which you may never reach an answer?
The theoretical physics community remains polarized, but do you think there are prospects for a future reconciliation of strings and loops?
Glossary
Endnotes
Preface
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Laws of Physics are the Same for Everyone
Chapter 2: There’s no Such thing as the Force of Gravity
Chapter 3: Why Nobody Understands Quantum Mechanics
Chapter 4: Mass Ain’t What it Used to Be
Chapter 5: How to Fudge the Equations of the Universe
Chapter 6: To Get There i Wouldn’t Start from Here
Chapter 7: A Gift from the Devil’s Grandmother
Chapter 8: Our Second or Third Guess Solved the Equations Exactly
Chapter 9: I Used Every Available Key Ring in Verona
Chapter 10: Is There Really no Time Like The Present?
Chapter 11: Gravitons, Holographic Physics, and Why Things Fall Down
Chapter 12: Fermions, Emergent Particles, and The Nature of Stuff
Chapter 13: Relational Quantum Mechanics and Why ‘Here’ Might Actually be ‘Over There’
Chapter 14: Not With a Bang: The ‘Big Bounce’, Superinflation, and Spinfoam Cosmology
Chapter 15: Black Hole Entropy, The Information Paradox, and Planck Stars
Chapter 16: Close to The Edge: The Reality of Time and the Principles of the Open Future
Bibliography
Art Credits
Index
Higgs
The Quantum Story
Origins
Planck
Physics
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