Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe

Leon M. Lederman and Christopher T. Hill

When scientists peer through telescopes at the distant stars in outer space or use gigantic particle-accelerators to analyze the smallest components of matter, they find that the same laws of physics govern the whole universe at all times and all places. Physicists recognize that the eternal, ubiquitous constancy of the laws of physics is symmetry. Symmetry is now seen to be the basic underlying principle that defines the laws of nature, and controls the entire universe. This all-important insight is one of the greatest conceptual breakthroughs in modern physics and is the basis of contemporary efforts to discover a grand unified theory, such as superstrings, to explain all the laws of physics.

Nobel Laureate Leon M. Lederman and theoretical physicist Christopher T. Hill explain the supremely elegant concept of symmetry and all its profound ramifications to art, music, and life on Earth, from the smallest shards of matter, the quarks and leptons, to the universe at large. This eloquent and accessible popular science book not only clearly describes concepts normally reserved only for physicists and mathematicians, but also instills an appreciation for the profound beauty of the universe’s inherent design.

Central to the story of symmetry is an obscure, ascetic, and unpretentious, but extremely gifted German mathematician named Emmy Noether. Though still little known to the world, she impressed no less a scientist than Albert Einstein, who praised her “penetrating mathematical thinking.” In one of her earliest works she proved that the law of the conservation of energy is connected to the idea of symmetry and time, and thus laid the mathematical groundwork for what may be the most important conceptual revolution of modern physics.

Lederman and Hill reveal concepts about the universe, based on Noether’s work, that are largely unknown to the public and have wide-reaching implications in connection with the Big Bang, Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and many other areas of physics. Through ingenious analogies and illustrations, they bring these astounding notions to life. This book will open your eyes to a universe you never knew existed.

Leon M. Lederman, Nobel Laureate (Aurora, IL), is the Resident Scholar for the Great Minds Program of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Director Emeritus of the Fermi National Accelerator laboratory, the Pritzker Professor of Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the author of the highly acclaimed The God Particle.

Christopher T. Hill, Ph.D. (Batavia, IL), is a leading theoretical elementary-particle physicist, Senior Staff Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and a former CERN Associate. He has authored over 100 papers in theoretical physics and cosmology.

450 pages (illustrations) ISBN 1-59102- 242-8 Hardcover: $29

In the left margin in a highlighted box below the picture of the front cover will be:

Nobel Laureate Leon M. Lederman and theoretical physicist Christopher T. Hill

reveal astonishing concepts about the universe that have never been described

for a popular audience before.