The Frontiers of Physics

The Frontiers of Physics (January 2006)
Special Editions

Price: $7.95

Things get weird--spectacularly so--at the borderlands of physics. The rarefied realms described mathematically and sometimes glimpsed in experiments are all the more extraordinary for not being the mere products of someone's hyperactive imagination.

For instance, string theory's equations imply that the universe contains six extra dimensions, which are too tiny to have yet been detected. Some physicists also see innumerable theoretical universes in their equations. And although we perceive space and time as being continuous, quantum principles imply that, in fact, at the very smallest scales they actually come in pieces. The effects of this discrete structure could be revealed in experiments in the near future.

Intellectual enrichment aside, it might be tempting to think that none of what scientists are learning by probing the frontiers of physics truly matters in our everyday lives. Not so. As just one example, consider general relativity, which explains how gravity results from bends in the fabric of spacetime itself. To be accurate, commonplace GPS receivers--which calculate location using a constellation of orbiting satellites--must take the effects of general relativity into account.

In the pages of this special edition, we invite you to take an armchair journey through our curious universe, with our scientist authors as tour guides. You're in for a mind-boggling treat. --The Editors

Cover; The Frontiers of Physics; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Strange Places; The Frontiers of Physics; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Letter from the Editor

Table of Contents; The Frontiers of Physics; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

The Dawn of Physics beyond the Standard Model; The Frontiers of Physics; by Gordon Kane; 8 Page(s)

The Standard Model of particle physics is at a pivotal moment in its history: it is both at the height of its success and on the verge of being surpassed

The Search for Relativity Violations; The Frontiers of Physics; by Alan Kostelecky; 10 Page(s)

To uncover evidence for an ultimate theory, scientists are looking for infractions of Einstein's once sacrosanct physical principal

Solving the Solar Neutrino Problem; The Frontiers of Physics; by Arthur B. McDonald, Joshua R. Klein and David L. Wark; 10 Page(s)

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory has solved a 30-year-old mystery by showing that neutrinos from the sun change species en route to the earth

The Mysteries of Mass; The Frontiers of Physics; by Gordon Kane; 8 Page(s)

Physicists are hunting for an elusive particle that would reveal the presence of a new kind of field that permeates all of reality. Finding that Higgs field will give us a more complete understanding about how the universe works

The String Theory Landscape; The Frontiers of Physics; by Raphael Bousso and Joseph Polchinski; 10 Page(s)

The theory of strings predicts that the universe might occupy one random "valley" out of a virtually infinite selection of valleys in a vast landscape of possibilities

The Future of String Theory: A Conversation with Brian Greene; The Frontiers of Physics; by George Musser; 6 Page(s)

The physicist and best-selling author demystifies the ultimate theories of space and time, the nature of genius, multiple universes, and more

Atoms of Space and Time; The Frontiers of Physics; by Lee Smolin; 10 Page(s)

We perceive space and time to be continuous, but if the amazing theory of loop quantum gravity is correct, they actually come in discrete pieces

A Cosmic Conundrum; The Frontiers of Physics; by Lawrence M. Krauss and Michael S. Turner; 8 Page(s)

A new incarnation of Einstein's cosmological constant may point the way beyond general relativity

Information in the Holographic Universe; The Frontiers of Physics; by Jacob D. Bekenstein; 8 Page(s)

Theoretical results about black holes suggest that the universe could be like a gigantic hologram

That Mysterious Flow; The Frontiers of Physics; by Paul Davies; 6 Page(s)

From the fixed past to the tangible present to the undecided future, it feels as though time flows inexorably on. But that is an illusion