Paul Halpern

An update: The new book about particle colliders, the Large Hadron Collider and the search for unification is now available at: Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles

I'm pleased to announce a new book about particle colliders, the LHC and the search for unification: Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles by Paul Halpern Advanced praise for COLLIDER: "Professor Paul Halpern takes the reader on a stimulating odyssey on topics ranging from particle physics and dark matter to unexplored dimensions of space. The masterful Halpern likens the physicist's quest to the excavation of archaeologists who seek to uncover 'new treasures' as they unearth wondrous gems that lay hidden all around us. Buy this book and feed your mind!" —Dr. Cliff Pickover, author of Archimedes to Hawking and The Math Book "With clarity and a Sagan-esque gift for explanation, Paul Halpern traces the story of how physicists use immensely powerful machines to probe the deepest mysteries of existence. Halpern also conclusively debunks the ludicrous claims that the Large Hadron Collider and other high-energy physics experiments threaten to destroy anything—except our residual ignorance about the nature and workings of our wondrous universe." —Mark Wolverton, author of The Science of Superman and A Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer 'A gem. The prose sparkles, the descriptions are exquisitely understandable, and the narrative is just plain fun. This book will charm experts, students, and anyone interested in scientific exploration." —Catherine Westfall, Visiting Associate Professor of the History of Science at Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, and coauthor of Fermilab: Physics, the Frontier, and Megascience" "Paul Halpern has written a masterful account of particle accelerators and the theories they are constructed to investigate in a very accessible and engaging style. As the world's largest accelerator begins its search for the smallest particles, Halpern traces the human drive to find the ultimate building blocks of nature." —David C. Cassidy, professor at Hofstra University and the author of Beyond Uncertainty: Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb "If you ever wondered about the Large Hadron Collider and what's brewing in high energy physics and cosmology, Paul Halpern is a wonderful guide. His lively and engaging writing deftly interweaves the historical background, the current frontiers, and the latest scientific instruments, now poised to address so many profound questions." —Peter Pesic, author of Sky in a Bottle and Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature Report Post Edit/Delete Message

My book is aimed at several audiences: Those interested in the history of science, who enjoy learning about the lives of various scientists. It has a lot of fun and unique anecdotes that I found through archives and interviews. For example, I looked through the papers of Oskar Klein and found humorous letters he wrote while he worked with Niels Bohr. I describe how Klein drank with Pauli to the death of the five-dimension soon after the Dirac equation appeared. I note how Paul Ehrenfest in his letters, pleaded again and again with Einstein, Bohr and other physicists to visit his house to discuss ideas. I write about how the mathematician Kaluza described himself to Einstein as the "local Cinderella" and how he sang opera when he discovered his five-dimensional theory. How Charlie Chaplin, Einstein, and a neurosurgeon-turned-actor discussed higher dimensions and ghosts at Chaplin's estate. The book is also targeted at those who wish to learn the physical basis of relativity, quantum gravity, higher dimensions and unified field theories, in a descriptive way without mathematics. For that reason, I use a lot of analogies to describe these ideas. So, in short, it's for those who like their science with a dose of history--learning about the great thinkers and their controversial theories. Regards, Paul

OK, I'll accept that as a challenge:-) Here are some reviews of The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything: * Editorial Reviews: From Publishers Weekly: "Halpern masterfully creates word pictures to illustrate mind-bending scientific theories, and he paints highly detailed sketches of the scientists involved..." From the Author: "What strange new realms lie just beyond ordinary space and time? Could there be parallel universes, separated from us by the thinnest curtain, penetrable only by the invisible pull of gravity? Could the existence of higher dimensions unite all the forces of nature into a grand Theory of Everything? Many decades ago, Albert Einstein, Theodor Kaluza, Oskar Klein and other scientists dreamt of unification by means of unseen hyperspace connections. Their visions persisted throughout the horrors of the Second World War, when their desire for unity clashed with the utter chaos around them. Young researchers escaping Europe joined Einstein in his plan and worked beside him as he ceaselessly modified his ideas. Even from his deathbed, Einstein asked for pencil and paper in a vain attempt to complete his scheme. In recent years, Einstein’s dream has been brilliantly revived through string theory, supergravity, M-theory, brane worlds and other unified models. Scientists are now grappling with the possibility that the universe has as many as 11 dimensions. They are designing clever experiments with the hope of discovering hidden portals to neighboring domains. Join the bold quest to explore higher dimensions, parallel worlds and the ultimate theory of the cosmos." From the Inside Flap: "It is among the most elegant, radical, and tantalizing theories ever to be fashioned by the keen lathe of mathematical insight. For the better part of two centuries, the notion of higher dimensions beyond space and time has fueled the imaginations of scientists, writers, occultists, and more than a few con artists. By turns triumphed, mocked, and misinterpreted, the concept of unseen directions outside the range of our senses may now present the only path toward unifying all of the forces of nature into a single cohesive expression: a theory of everything. The best way to understand the substance and impact of this mind-bending idea is to start from the beginning. In The Great Beyond, the award-winning physicist, mathematician, and author Paul Halpern presents a comprehensive history of the foundations and development of this unfathomable yet irresistible construct. He traces the influence of multidimensional theory on science and society, profiling dozens of brilliant, idiosyncratic thinkers whose labors and insights have advanced, expanded, and popularized the theory. Readers will meet the mathematician who believed that geometry could explain the entire universe, the headmaster who imagined life in two dimensions, and the two theorists who independently discovered the "miracle" that forms the foundation of all modern multidimensional concepts. At the core of this fascinating tale is Einstein’s famous quarrel with Heisenberg and Bohr, whose theories of uncertainty threatened the order that Einstein believed was essential to the universe. Halpern explains how this discrepancy between these two well-established theories drove Einstein to ponder the existence of a fifth dimension, and how his attempts to devise a unified field theory have influenced modern efforts, including M theory and the brane approach. The Great Beyond will delight and astonish readers seeking a deeper appreciation of the most profound and controversial questions that confront modern science. From the Back Cover Praise for The Great Beyond: "A marvelous book--very clear, very readable. A brilliant introduction to the math and physics of higher dimensions, from Flatland to superstrings. Its greatest strength is a wealth of fascinating historical narrative and anecdote. I enjoyed it enormously." --Ian Stewart, author of Flatterland "A remarkable journey from Plato’s cave to the farthest reaches of human thought and scientific knowledge. This mind-boggling book allows readers to dream strange visions of hyperspace, chase lightwaves, explore Klein’s quantum odyssey and Kaluza’s cocoon, leap through parallel universes, and grasp the very essence of conscience and cosmos. Buy this book and feed your head." --Clifford Pickover, author of Surfing through Hyperspace "Halpern looks with a bemused eye at the wildest ideas currently afoot in physics. He takes us into the personal world of those who relish and explore seemingly outlandish notions, and does it with a light, engaging style." --Gregory Benford, author of Timescape About the Author PAUL HALPERN, Ph.D., is professor of physics and mathematics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship award for the research that ultimately resulted in The Great Beyond. Halpern’s previous books include Time Journeys, Cosmic Wormholes, and The Cyclical Serpent. Book Description The fundamental conundrum in physics today is the incompatibility of Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. To bridge the gap between the two theories, a number of physicists have posited novel solutions involving hyperspace dimensions beyond the four that we can perceive and, most recently, branes, or membranes that exist in the fifth dimension and beyond. This lively account describes, in plain language, the history of hyperspace theory. For more information from Amazon.com, including customer reviews: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/047146595X Hope that is sufficient:-) Regards, Paul

If I can take the liberty of mentioning my own book, which provides some of the history and background behind superstring and other higher dimensional models in the search for a quantum theory of all known forces: It's called: The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything by Paul Halpern Here's a link for more information: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/047146595X Regards, Paul

For anyone interested, I've just published a new book about the history of higher dimensions in physics. It chronicles the struggles by Einstein and others to pursue special and general relativity, then various attempts at a unified field theory of all known forces. It is full of interesting anecdotes, gathered from interviews with pioneering physicists such as John Wheeler and Bryce DeWitt. The book is called: The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything by Paul Halpern Here's a link for more information: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/047146595X Thanks, Paul

An intriguing topic indeed... The question of the meaning of higher dimensions has been a longstanding issue in physics. For the history of this debate, I refer you to my new book about dimensionality in physics. It describes the search for a multidimensional unified field theory, from the work of Einstein, Kaluza and Klein until the present (superstrings and branes). It is full of interesting anecdotes, gathered from interviews with pioneering physicists such as John Wheeler, Bryce DeWitt, Lisa Randall, Raman Sundrum and others. The book is called: The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything by Paul Halpern Here's a link for more information: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/047146595X Regards, Paul Halpern http://phalpern.com