Parallel Universes - Hardcover

Wolf, Fred Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671660918 ISBN 13: 9780671660918

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1989

Synopsis

Explores the degree to which a belief in parallel universes shapes the thinking of contemporary physicists in areas as diverse as relativity, psychology, quantum mechanics, and cosmology

About this title

Reviews

Wolf's readers should get ready for a wild intellectual ride through the convoluted realms of quantum mechanics, relativity, black holes and imaginary time. The physicist ( Starwave ) is a strong proponent of the "many-worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics, and he launches a ferocious assault on conservative scientists who espouse the "Copenhagen" interpretation. Essentially, the debate hinges on the role of consciousness in measuring quantum events: Copenhagenists argue that a quantum measurement causes the "collapse" of a particle's probability wave, while Wolf claims the act of measuring actually causes the universe to split in two. The equations of relativity and quantum physics support both interpretations. Wolf describes what it would be like to travel through a black hole to a parallel universe; claims that the future must communicate with the present; answers the question of whether the universe had a radius before we started to measure it; and argues that schizophrenics may be in touch with parallel universes. Physics is becoming metaphysics. An enthralling, if somewhat wacky, read.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671660918
• ISBN 13: 9780671660918
• Binding: Board book
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320