Bankrupting Physics

Bankrupting Physics

Author: Alexander Unzicker

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2013-07-30

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1137365420

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An award-winning scientist argues that theoretical physics has become too abstract and calls for science to return to the experimental method The recently celebrated discovery of the Higgs boson has captivated the public's imagination with the promise that it can explain the origins of everything in the universe. It's no wonder that the media refers to it grandly as the "God particle." Yet behind closed doors, physicists are admitting that there is much more to this story, and even years of gunning the Large Hadron Collider and herculean number crunching may still not lead to a deep understanding of the laws of nature. In this fascinating and eye-opening account, theoretical physicist Alexander Unzicker and science writer Sheilla Jones offer a polemic. They question whether the large-scale, multinational enterprises actually lead us to the promised land of understanding the universe. The two scientists take us on a tour of contemporary physics and show how a series of highly publicized theories met a dead end. Unzicker and Jones systematically unpack the recent hot theories such as "parallel universes," "string theory," and "inflationary cosmology," and provide an accessible explanation of each. The auhors argue that physics has abandoned its evidence-based roots and shifted to untestable mathematical theories, and they issue a clarion call for the science to return to its experimental foundation.


Bankrupting Physics

Bankrupting Physics

Author: Sheilla Jones

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2021-07

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13:

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Physicists are announcing major discoveries with remarkable frequency, suggesting to the public that the billions of dollars spent on enterprises such as the Large Hadron Collider are producing important results. When the Higgs boson was finally announced, the media hailed it as another victory in the quest to crack the code of the universe. Yet, if one takes a clear-eyed look at the state of modern science, it becomes apparent that none the fundamental questions of physics that troubled Einstein, Dirac and Schrödinger have been solved. But that hasn't stopped top physicists from repeatedly promising a "Theory of Everything", based on concepts such as 'parallel universes', 'strings and branes' in 'extra dimensions, and 'chaotic inflations'-without any evidence whatsoever. This not only qualifies as wishful thinking, but worse, it means surrendering the scientific method upon which the success of physics has flourished since the time of Galileo. Alexander Unzicker and Sheilla Jones present an eye-opening account of the current state of affairs, and point out why some popular ideas are closer to Intelligent Design than science. Engaging and provocative, their critique takes on the most popular theories of science today while vividly describing just how fascinating the cosmos can be. In Bankrupting Physics, Unzicker and Jones raise a clarion call for physics to return to the successful principles from whence it came.


Bankrupting Physics

Bankrupting Physics

Author: Alexander Unzicker

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2013-07-30

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1137278234

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The recently celebrated discovery of the Higgs boson has captivated the public's imagination with the promise that it can explain the origins of everything in the universe. It's no wonder that the media refers to it grandly as the "God particle." Yet behind closed doors, physicists are admitting that there is much more to this story, and even years of gunning the Large Hadron Collider and herculean number crunching may still not lead to a deep understanding of the laws of nature. In this fascinating and eye-opening account, theoretical physicist Alexander Unzicker and science writer Sheilla Jones offer a polemic. They question whether the large-scale, multinational enterprises actually lead us to the promised land of understanding the universe. The two scientists take us on a tour of contemporary physics and show how a series of highly publicized theories met a dead end. Unzicker and Jones systematically unpack the recent hot theories such as "parallel universes," "string theory," and "inflationary cosmology," and provide an accessible explanation of each. They argue that physics has abandoned its evidence-based roots and shifted to untestable mathematical theories, and they issue a clarion call for the science to return to its experimental foundation.


Not Even Wrong

Not Even Wrong

Author: Peter Woit

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2007-03-09

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 046500363X

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At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.


Farewell to Reality

Farewell to Reality

Author: Jim Baggott

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2013-08-06

Total Pages: 479

ISBN-13: 1453299149

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From acclaimed science author Jim Baggot, a lively, provocative, and “intellectually gratifying” critique of modern theoretical physics (The Economist). Where does one draw the line between solid science and fairy-tale physics? Jim Baggott argues that there is no observational or experimental evidence for many of the ideas of modern theoretical physics: super-symmetric particles, super strings, the multiverse, the holographic principle, or the anthropic cosmological principle. Unafraid to challenge prominent theorists, Baggott offers engaging portraits of many central figures of modern physics, including Stephen Hawking, Paul Davies, John D. Barrow, Brian Greene, and Leonard Susskind. Informed, comprehensive, and balanced, Farewell to Reality discusses the latest ideas about the nature of physical reality while clearly distinguishing between fact and fantasy, providing essential and entertaining reading for everyone interested in what we know and don’t know about the nature of the universe and reality itself.


Physics of the Future

Physics of the Future

Author: Michio Kaku

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2011-03-15

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 0385530811

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation details the developments in computer technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, space travel, and more, that are poised to happen over the next century. “Mind-bending…. [An] alternately fascinating and frightening book.” —San Francisco Chronicle Space elevators. Internet-enabled contact lenses. Cars that fly by floating on magnetic fields. This is the stuff of science fiction—it’s also daily life in the year 2100. Renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku considers how these inventions will affect the world economy, addressing the key questions: Who will have jobs? Which nations will prosper? Kaku interviews three hundred of the world’s top scientists—working in their labs on astonishing prototypes. He also takes into account the rigorous scientific principles that regulate how quickly, how safely, and how far technologies can advance. In Physics of the Future, Kaku forecasts a century of earthshaking advances in technology that could make even the last centuries’ leaps and bounds seem insignificant.


God and the New Physics

God and the New Physics

Author: P. C. W. Davies

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 1984-10-16

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0671528068

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Argues that the discoveries of twentieth-century physics--relativity and the quantum theory--demand a radical reformulation of the fundamentals of reality and a way of thinking, that is closer to mysticism than materialism.


Bankruptcy of Our Nation

Bankruptcy of Our Nation

Author: Jerry Robinson

Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group

Published: 2012-08-15

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0892217138

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First released at the beginning of America's economic crisis, Bankruptcy of our Nation has been almost prophetic in its assessment of the explosion of the gold market, the loss of AAA credit rating, foreclosures, "manufactured" numbers from the government reported by the media, and the fragile foundations of our national and internationally linked economies. Families are scared and more interested than ever in making sure they do all they can to survive whatever this fiscal crisis brings. This step-by-step process is one of that individuals can implement to diversify their savings and investments to help create multiple streams of income. Get solid and easy-to-understand assessments of America's financial position now and the pressures of a global economy that loom ahead so that you can make the critical decisions to protect yourself no matter what the uncertain future holds. Take control of your own fiscal future today!


The Mathematical Reality

The Mathematical Reality

Author: Alexander Unzicker

Publisher:

Published: 2020-01-29

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13:

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Alexander Unzicker is a theoretical physicist and writes about elementary questions of natural philosophy. His critique of contemporary physics Bankrupting Physics (Macmillan) received the 'Science Book of the Year' award (German edition 2010). With The Mathematical Reality, Unzicker presents his most fundamental work to date, which is the result of years of study of natural laws and their historical development.The discovery of fundamental laws of nature has influenced the fate of Homo sapiens more than anything else. Has modern physics already understood these laws? Many puzzles formulated by Albert Einstein or Paul Dirac are still unsolved today, in particular the meaning of fundamental constants. In this book, Unzicker contends that a rational description of nature must do without any constants.A methodological and historical analysis shows, however, that the underlying problem of physics is deep, unexpected and fatal: the concepts of space and time themselves, the basis of science since Newton, could be fundamentally inappropriate for the description of reality, although-or precisely because-they are so easily accessible to human perception.A new understanding of reality can only arise from mathematics. By exploring the three-dimensional unitary sphere, which could replace the concepts of space and time, the author presents a mathematical vision that points the way to a new understanding of reality.


The Higgs Fake

The Higgs Fake

Author: Alexander Unzicker

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781492176244

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"The book is a merciless critique of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and of the theoretical model on which the world's most expensive experiment is based. Unzicker, a German physicist and award-winning science writer, argues that the greatest physicists such as Einstein, Dirac or Schrödinger would have considered the "discovery" of the Higgs particle ridiculous. According to the author, the standard model has grown unbelievably complicated and doesn't solve any of the great riddles of physics. Moreover, with their increasingly intricate techniques, particle physicists are fooling themselves with alleged results, while their convictions are based on group-think and parroting. Altogether, the data analysis cannot be overseen by anybody"--