Visions of discovery : new light on physics, cosmology, and consciousness / edited by Raymond Y. Chiao [and others]
"World-leading researchers, including Nobel Laureates and rising young stars, examine some of the most important and fundamental questions at the forefronts of modern science, philosophy, and theology, taking into account recent discoveries from a range of fields. This fascinating book is ideal...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge ; New York :
Cambridge University Press,
2011.
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Table of Contents:
- Part I. Illumination: The History and Future of Physical Science and Technology: 1. A short history of light in the Western world / John L. Heilbron; 2. Tools and innovation / Peter L. Galison; 3. The future of science / Freeman J. Dyson; 4. The end of everything: will AI replace humans? Will everything die when the universe freezes over? / Michio Kaku
- Part II. Fundamental Physics and Quantum Mechanics: 5. Fundamental constants / Frank Wilczek; 6. New insights on time symmetry in quantum mechanics / Yakir Aharonov and Jeffrey Tollaksen; 7. The major unknowns in particle physics and cosmology / David J. Gross; 8. The major unknown in quantum mechanics: Is it the whole truth? / Anthony J. Leggett; 9. Precision cosmology and the landscape / Raphael Bousso; 10. Hairy black holes, phase transitions, and AdS/CFT / Steven S. Gubser
- Part III. Astrophysics and Astronomy: 11. The microwave background: a cosmic time machine / Adrian T. Lee; 12. Dark matter and dark energy / Marc Kamionkowski; 13. New directions and intersections for observational cosmology: the case of dark energy / Saul Perlmutter; 14. Inward bound: high-resolution astronomy and the quest for black holes and extrasolar planets / Reinhard Genzel; 15. Searching for signatures of life beyond the solar syste,: astrophysical interferometry and the 150 km Exo-Earth Imager / Antoine Labeyrie; 16. New directions for gravitational wave physics via 'Millikan oil drops' / Raymond Y. Chiao; 17. An 'ultrasonic' image of the embryonic universe: CMB polarization tests of the inflationary paradigm / Brian G. Keating
- Part IV. New Approaches in Technology and Science: 18. Visualizing complexity: development of 4D microscopy and diffraction for imaging in space and time / Ahmed H. Zewail; 19. Is life based on laws of physics? / Steven Chu; 20. Quantum information / J. Ignacio Cirac; 21. Emergence in condensed matter physics / Marvin L. Cohen; 22. Achieving the highest spectral resolution over the widest spectral bandwidth: precision measurement meets ultrafast science / Jun Ye; 23. Wireless non-radiative energy transfer / Marin Soljačić
- Part V. Consciousness and Free Will: 24. The big picture: exploring questions on the boundaries of science - consciousness and free will / George F. R. Ellis; 25. Quantum entanglement: from fundamental questions to quantum communication and quantum computation and back / Anton Zeilinger; 26. Consciousness, body, and brain: the matter of the mind Gerald M. Edelman; 27. The relation between quantum mechanics and higher brain functions: lessons from quantum computation and neurobiology / Christof Koch and Klaus Hepp; 28. Free will and the causal closure of physics / Robert C. Bishop; 29. Natural laws and the closure of physics / Nancy L. Cartwright; 30. Anti-Cartesianism and downward causation: reshaping the free-will debate / Nancey Murphy; 31. Can we understand free will? / Charles H. Townes
- Part VI. Reflections on the Big Questions: Mind, Matter. Mathematics, and Ultimate Reality: 32. The big picture: exploring questions on the boundaries of science - mind, matter, mathematics / George F. R. Ellis; 33. The mathematical universe / Max Tegmark; 34. Where do the laws of physics come from? / Paul C. W. Davies; 35. Science, energy, ethics, and civilization / Vaclav Smil; 36. Life of science, life of faith / William T. Newsome; 37. The science of light and the light of science: an appreciative theological reflection on the life and work of Charles Hard Townes / Robert J. Russell; 38. Two quibbles about 'ultimate' / Gerald Gabrielse.