Review by Choice Review
Time has always been a mystery. Philosophers, theologians, and scientists (physicists) have pondered its nature, origin, and role in the universe. Time is in our intuition, in our experience, and certainly in our description of happenings in the physical world, in planetary orbits, and in biological evolution. Physicists describe phenomena as occurrences in space and time, and have synthesized the last two. When 19th-century thermodynamics classified changes as reversible and irreversible, it revealed that, contrary to Ovid, time does not cause changes, but changes cause time. In this interesting book, which is interspersed with personal anecdotes, physicist Barbour presents a careful analysis of the complex framework of current physics from a new and original perspective. Barbour argues that time, ultimately, will become irrelevant as an independent entity in our vision of the world. He shows that this change will result from the search for a theory that would unify general relativity and quantum mechanics. However, it seems more likely that such a unification will never occur. So, rather than usher in a new revolution, this book might very well establish the futility of a quest that cost Einstein and many others decades of fruitless research. These new insights will interest readers who know some 20th-century physics. Upper-division undergraduates and up. V. V. Raman; Rochester Institute of Technology
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This book's proposition, that time and motion do not exist, has incubated in Barbour's mind for more than three decades. During that period he earned his bread by translating Russian science journals, but apparently Barbour is no crank; physics journals have published various Barbour papers. But few physicists, Barbour acknowledges, embrace his thesis, willing though they are to discuss it. Allowing others to eavesdrop on that discussion is this work's best recommendation. Formidably challenging to laypeople, though clearly written, the text, compared with an indubitably popular treatment like About Time by Paul Davies (1995), presents a much higher degree of difficulty. Suffice it to know that underneath the awnings of modern physics--general relativity and quantum mechanics--Barbour focuses on his claim that ultimate reality is an idealized concept he calls "Platonia," the set of every possible configuration of matter, energy, space, and time. A similarly radical take on time was The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch (1997), patron interest in which could predict interest in Barbour's title. --Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Where does the time go? Independent physicist Barbour presents an unusual alternate to the standard way of viewing the four-dimensional universe (three spatial dimensions and time), beginning with how our perception of time is formed. Time, he says, does not exist apart from events: the motions of the sun and the stars, the mechanical movement of a clock. Rather than truly feeling the passing of time, we merely note changes in our surroundings, described by the author as a series of "Nows," like frames of a motion picture. Not only do Nows exist for the events that actually occur, but a large number of Nows represent alternate possibilities, inhabiting a land called Platonia. Which Nows become our perceived reality? The rule of thumb Barbour gives is, "only the probable is experienced." In the "macro" world, the author addresses determinism, Newtonian mechanics and the second law of thermodynamics as they relate to his theory of Nows. In the quantum mechanical realm, he ties his theory of time to the Schrodinger Equation in its various forms. Throughout, the author accompanies his theories not with complex equations but rather with elegant (if sometimes convoluted) diagrams. If these theories sound intriguing, readers already familiar with the Wheeler-DeWitt and Schrodinger equations, eigenstates and wave functions may appreciate this unique perspective. Ultimately, however, Barbour's attempts to "simplify" physics, in particular quantum mechanics, will confuse as many readers as they enlighten. 20 illustrations. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Barbour is a research physicist who works without formal ties to the academy. Here, he presents his thesis that time and motion do not exist; they are illusions. The first portion of the book is rather philosophical in tone, but most of the work is concerned with the struggle to resolve the disparities among classical physics, quantum mechanics, and general relativity. Barbour argues that the omission of time from the foundations of physics will enable scientists to achieve a unified theory of physics. At the moment many physicists have not accepted this remarkable viewpoint; it seems to be a desperate expedient to resolve a set of problems that may yet be solved by other means. Even so, this is a book that deserves serious study and consideration. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.ÄJack W. Weigel, formerly with Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
