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Matt Strassler
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Waves in an Impossible Sea: How Everyday Life Emerges from the Cosmic Ocean Kindle Edition

by Matt Strassler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 85 ratings
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A theoretical physicist takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey—found in "no other book" (Science)—to discover how the universe generates everything from nothing at all: "If you want to know what's really going on in the realms of relativity and particle physics, read this book" (Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe).

In Waves in an Impossible Sea, physicist Matt Strassler tells a startling tale of elementary particles, human experience, and empty space. He begins with a simple mystery of motion. When we drive at highway speeds with the windows down, the wind beats against our faces. Yet our planet hurtles through the cosmos at 150 miles per second, and we feel nothing of it. How can our voyage be so tranquil when, as Einstein discovered, matter warps space, and space deflects matter?
 
The answer, Strassler reveals, is that empty space is a sea, albeit a paradoxically strange one. Much like water and air, it ripples in various ways, and we ourselves, made from its ripples, can move through space as effortlessly as waves crossing an ocean. Deftly weaving together daily experience and fundamental physics—the musical universe, the enigmatic quantum, cosmic fields, and the Higgs boson—Strassler shows us how all things, familiar and unfamiliar, emerge from what seems like nothing at all.
 
Accessible and profound, Waves in an Impossible Sea is the ultimate guide to our place in the universe.
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  1. Print length
    444 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Basic Books
  5. Publication date
    March 5, 2024
  6. File size
    5923 KB
  7. Page Flip
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Editorial Reviews

Review

To my knowledge, no other book presents this modern understanding of the nature of matter and energy at a level accessible to the motivated nonscientists...the writing style itself is engaging and conversational....[an] excellent book. Overall, I found Waves in an Impossible Sea to be a unique and valuable addition to the library of anyone who wants to understand both the modern world of quantum field theory and the role the Higgs field plays in shaping the laws of nature.  I recommend it strongly."―Don Lincoln, Science

“It's not easy to convey the ideas of modern physics without any equations, but also without compromises, making sure every statement is precisely correct. Matt Strassler does it better than anyone I've ever read. If you want to know what's really going on in the realms of relativity and particle physics, read this book.”―Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe

“Matt Strassler has been one of the deepest thinkers in fundamental physics and quantum field theory for the past three decades. It is a cause for celebration to see him combine his penetrating insights together with a brilliant flair for beautifully clear and simple non-technical explanations, to produce a true masterpiece with this book. I have never seen its equal and don't expect I ever will.”―Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study

“This extraordinary work, reminiscent of the genius of Feynman, will awaken your sense of wonder and unveil the enchantment that surrounds our physical world. From the moment I delved into this captivating masterpiece, I found myself spellbound. It is a mesmerizing odyssey that will forever change how you perceive the world.”―Stephon Alexander, author of Fear of a Black Universe

“There is a particular zing you get from good explanations, and Matt Strassler knows how to deliver them. This book is a rare attempt by a noted particle physicist to convey the core concepts out of which the world is constructed in language that truly anyone can understand. Matt says he was motivated to write the book by the many egregious explanations he had read about how the Higgs field generates the masses of elementary particles—and indeed, his version delivers the zing I’ve long sought.”―Natalie Wolchover, senior editor, Quanta Magazine

"Matt Strassler succeeds triumphantly in conveying the fascination of the physical reality that underpins our  world of atoms and stars. His distinguished expertise, combined with an entertaining and lucid writing style, enable him to lure readers into a ‘deeper dive’ than most physicists attempt when addressing a general readership -- and to do this without distortion. He conveys the essence of the deep structures that underpin our natural world in an engaging and accessible way. This book deserves wide readership."
 ―Professor Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

"In this illuminating book, theoretical physicist and writer Strassler....delivers a deep understanding of the Higgs boson and the Higgs field...Strassler delivers a comprehensive background in a reader-friendly and enjoyable review of mass, energy, waves, fields, and quantum mechanics."―Booklist

“Strassler is a competent guide to complex topics, but most impressive is his approach to simpler concepts—mass, energy, light—where observation and common sense have been misleading…. Strassler is an imaginative thinker and capable writer… A fine introduction to the cosmos.”―Kirkus

“A mind-bending investigation of ‘how the most esoteric-seeming physics affects every aspect of human existence.’… enlightening science.”―Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Matthew Strassler is a theoretical physicist, blogger, and writer whose research often takes him to the Large Hadron Collider. An associate of the Harvard University Physics Department and a former member of the Institute for Advanced Study, he was previously a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington, and Rutgers University. He lives in rural Massachusetts.  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C9ZPQJ64
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (March 5, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 5, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5923 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 444 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 85 ratings

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Matt Strassler

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
85 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeff
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Explanation of Quantum Field Theory for Non Scientists
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024
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I have read many books and articles directed at the general public (me) attempting to explain Quantum Mechanics and contemporary physics. This is by far the best book I have read explaining how quantum field theory works. Strassler introduces the term “phibs“ for how others attempt to explain the Higgs boson and other aspects of quantum physics. I have read those explanations and now understand why they are false and leave the wrong idea about how quantum fields work. Strassler also does an excellent job of describing what is and is not known. What a wonderful teacher!
11 people found this helpful
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Frequentraveler
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this book immensely!
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024
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A great book for physics lovers and curious people.
One person found this helpful
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A reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Repetitive but up to date
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2024
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Three main negatives. (1) The writing is often repetitive, even within the span of a paragraph or a few. So, one is forced to ask whether anything is new/different in the repeats (it’s not), which is maddeningly confusing. Repeating for no apparent reason is a violation of the implicit contract between writer and reader. (2) Where’s the discussion of doublets, gauge theory, Lie algebras and groups, and so forth? Trying to avoid math has made the presentation here “simpler than is possible.” (3) As a result, some of the main pieces of the subject are omitted or reduced to passing mentions—for example, W+, W-, Z0, the actual definitions of boson and fermion, the role of neutrinos.

Five main positives. (1) What is explained is eventually explained quite clearly. That was Strassler’s stated goal, and he succeeds. (2) The book explains the role of kinetic energy as the source of most of the mass of a proton or neutron—see pp. 118-119. (3) At the end of the book one has an up-to-date picture of what is currently known vs. not known, and of what is currently being investigated. This is a real win and made me glad that I read the book. (4) Strassler maintains an admirable neutrality about current hypotheses such as string theory (likewise supersymmetry, if one goes off to his website). I was pleased to see this. (5) The book has extensive endnotes, which provide useful breadcrumbs to further information. These five positives add up to a lot.

The book covers the Higgs field, and Higgs boson, at length.

There is a good glossary, which could be more wide-ranging, and a good index. A bibliography for further info would be nice.

I think that readers who are not freaked out by a fair amount of (well-explained) math — even if they do not have a strong math background — would probably find Bruce Schumm’s book, “Deep Down Things,” to be considerably more satisfactory. But Schumm’s book is now twenty years old, so I think that following it up with Strassler’s book would be useful to get a picture of the current state of the research.
6 people found this helpful
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Nichael
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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This is truly an amazing book.
In short, the book is an accessible, “non-technical” (i.e. “equation-free”) attempt to survey the basic ideas of Quantum Field Theory [QFT].

There are, of course, many excellent books that attempt to do this. But Strassler’s particular genius is his ability to find the perfect, precise way to explain these various aspects of QFT in a way that, while it is accessible[*], is still as accurate as possible. That is not dumbed-down in a way that all too often leaves the reader with a simple, but misleading, “sense” of understanding the topic at hand.

[In his Introduction, Strassler coins the wonderful word “phib” (= “Physics Fib”) I.e. a simplification which is usually well-meaning, typically quite entertaining and/or appealing —and which is often the result of space or editorial constraints— but which is ultimately misleading or confusing.

As one famous example —which Strassler discussed during a recent episode of Sean Carroll’s podcast— there is the famous “Angelina Jolie/Margaret Thatcher in a crowded room” explanation for “why the Higgs Boson imparts mass to elementary particles”. Again an explanation which, while it appears in many popular discussion of the topic and which may be appealing, is not only confusing, but is misleadingly wrong.]

This book is highly recommended.

[* Well, “accessible” assuming the reader is willing to put in a reasonable amount of effort. ;-) )
3 people found this helpful
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Janet
5.0 out of 5 stars Still hard to understand.
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
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A very difficult subject that reads like a mystery story, but the clues are more like red herrings than anything else. The fibs about the Higgs Bosun did a lot of damage that even a good book like this can’t really fix. Will have to reread it sometime to see what I missed. He does warn us that rereading some sections would be necessary, and he is right.
One person found this helpful
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js001
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024
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This is a very well-written, thought-provoking description of modern physics. Well worth the read.
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Top reviews from other countries

Mumtaz Khan
5.0 out of 5 stars Complex concepts explain in easy and simple way
Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2024
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I found is most useful to understand fields and waves. The writer has full command over the subject and explain what other donot tell. I expect more from Matt because he is the only person who explain in simple and real way the design of the universe.
In the next edition of the book, I would like to be added the following:
About role of spacetime continuum
How boson interaction create forces of nature
About momentum
About interaction of particals
A word of conservation of energy , charge, spin and momentum
Overall very intersting, very informative experience
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John McAndrew
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterly and awe-inspiring
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2024
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Overall, I found the book did a great job in minimizing the maths and technical jargon, concentrating instead on the key ideas that are very clearly explained and laid out. But these ideas aren't trivial and required me thinking about them for a few hours and days because they are... very strange and difficult to believe sometimes. Everything, including us, are vibrations in cosmic fields that extend throughout the universe; and professional theoretical physicists respect this current theoretical idea.

More technical notes are available at the back via numbered references sprinkled throughout each chapter. For a first read, this was great for maintaining my overall initial read, yet still offering more technical text for future re-reads.
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Marees
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun tour of the basic concepts of particle physics
Reviewed in India on March 30, 2024
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School Physics had separate chapters for Light, Sound, Electricity, Magnetism etc. but never a single generic chapter for Waves, Fields etc.

Matt Strassler makes amends in his book. He takes us on a fun tour of some of the fundamental concepts in Physics.

The chapters are organized into following neat sections:
MOTION
MASS
WAVES
FIELDS
QUANTUM
HIGGS
COSMOS

explaining Higgs field was his original motivation;
But book is about what we know today based on last 125 years (from the time of Einstein's birth until today) of scientific research in physics:

what is the big picture?
How does it all fit together?

(then it’s easy to explain what the Higgs field is)

In his own words: The goal of this book was to strip away, as much as possible, the things that don’t matter to our ordinary daily existence and focus on the things that do. And try to tell a story, which certainly doesn’t explain all of particle physics by any means, but walks a path that takes the reader through all of the things that they would need to know to start from scratch and come out the end with a sense for how the universe works and how we fit in it.

He says:
"I hope that I’ve provided a path for a reader who is curious but willing to take the time that it requires to understand subjects that aren’t hard just because 'physics is hard'. They’re hard because the universe is hard. It’s hard for me. I can’t make it any easier than it is for me."

I highly recommend this as a starting book on particle physics to any interested reader !!!
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maci
4.0 out of 5 stars Phew! made it through
Reviewed in Canada on April 23, 2024
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This author has a great blog that I've followed for some time
hence the purchase of his book..
He tries to explain a very complex, anti-intuitive concept with
real-world analogies. Some work, some don't. I will admit to
have a better understanding of fields after this read but must
admit.. the understandings come and go. Great gift for your
local astronomer - cosmic enthusiast.
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Sumit Kumar
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, good presentation, unnecessarily long, price too high
Reviewed in India on April 16, 2024
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I bought this book after reading the praise from many leading physicists I trust.

Positives: The book's idea is excellent, and the concepts presented and the order of ideas are also good. A curious reader will enjoy it.
Negative: It seems too repetitive and poorly edited. The price is too much for what you get.

I am sure the author can do a great job in next books.
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