Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics

Amazon.com
What are little physicists made of? Geons, Black Holes & Quantum Foam, in John Wheeler's science autobiography. To the rest of us, getting excited over the properties of atomic nuclei and the forces that hold invisible particles together may seem eccentric, to say the least. But physicists hold the secrets of the universe in their heads, and they have a special place in human history. Einstein, Bohr, Fermi, Oppenheimer--their names are inextricably linked with the mysteries of the atom. Wheeler, among the most creative physicists of our time, tackled questions related to the nature of space, time, and gravity alongside his more well known colleagues. Renowned as a teacher, Wheeler worked with student Richard Feynman to imagine a subatomic world where particles move backward in time. With fellow physicist and former student Ken Ford, Wheeler has crafted an engaging look at the eye of the 20th-century physics hurricane. There's a lot of physics in this book, which may put off those shy of its terminology and abstractions, but the stories and photographs of the men and women who know the atom will help readers see the humanity in science, and the warmth and passion of its practitioners. This is a remarkable history of one man's part in revealing the underlying nature of everything. --Therese Littleton


From Library Journal
The lives of the key figures in 20th-century physics have been copiously documented in dozens of biographical and historical works. Somewhat unusually, Wheeler, perhaps best known for having coined the term black hole, chose to write his own story. The results are personal (but not especially insightful) and informative (but not especially revealing). He begins with his account of the discovery of fission and the Manhattan Project, which has been retold so many times that his anecdotes supply nothing new. Likewise, his remembrances of subsequent research into electromagnetic and gravitational fields, conducted against the backdrop of the Cold War, are honest and poignant but quite familiar to readers of this genre. Wheeler is best at explaining the significance of his own work in lay terms, and he gives an enticing view of his latest vision of physics, in which "everything is information." A rigorous scientific biography would do more justice to his career. Recommended, with reservations, for academic and larger public libraries.?Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, FLCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Michael Riordan
People who wish to understand the dynamics behind this emergence will find this book worthwhile reading.


From Scientific American
Wheeler, an eminent Princeton physicist, is the originator of the first and third terms in this book's title and the man who gave the second its push into the language. They reflect the breadth of his interests and accomplishments in physics. "Geon" incorporates g for "gravity," e for "electromagnetism" and -on as the word root for "particle" and identifies a "hypothetical entity, a gravitating body made entirely of electromagnetic fields." A voice from the audience at a talk Wheeler gave in 1967 suggested "black hole" as a name for what he had discontentedly called a "gravitationally completely collapsed object." He immediately recognized the term's felicity and adopted it. At another time, pondering gravitation and general relativity, he found himself "forced to invent the idea of 'quantum foam,' made up not merely of particles popping into and out of existence without limit, but of space-time itself churned into a lather of distorted geometry." Wheeler describes these and many other concepts in physics with characteristic clarity and salts his tale with many fine anecdotes about his encounters with other famous physicists, Lyndon Johnson and American railroads.


From Booklist
Debating ideas with Einstein, making the first atomic and hydrogen bombs, fathoming the secrets of black holes, receiving commendation (and censure) from presidents--Wheeler has claimed the prerogatives of genius for more than 60 years. As that genius shines through the pages of this remarkably candid autobiography, it illuminates the singular role of the research scientist in our turbulent century. For Wheeler knows from the rarest of personal experiences how quickly the breakthroughs of a few theorists can transform the destinies of entire nations. Yet he recounts his life not as some condescending Olympian but rather as a fallible human still struggling (in his eighty-fourth year) to make sense of it all. The same honesty delivers renowned colleagues--Bohr, Oppenheimer, Teller, Fermi, Rabi, and even Einstein--as oft-vexed mortals, not omniscient gods. These mere mortals somehow collaborated to produce a science of wonders: quasars, wormholes, quantum shifts, and time distortions. Wheeler explains such concepts with refreshing clarity, shearing away the formulas that daunt the uninitiated. Still, in the end, he leaves the reader not with tidy explanations but with unsettling questions: Why does the quantum exist? And why have the quantum's gyrations created the universe we inhabit? An essential acquisition for libraries with even modest holdings in scientific biography. Bryce Christensen


American Scientist, March/April 1999
The book gets off to a cracking start. Half a dozen pages in we have met Bohr, Fermi, Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman and Gamow.


Choice, R.L. Stearns, January 1999
Wheeler's book is much more than an autobiography, since it provides a fascinating look, from, his unique perspective, at much of the important physics from the 1930s to the present as well as interesting comments on the physicists involved in that work....In this well-written book, the physics and physicists that are described will interest not only physicist at all levels but non-scientists as well, since the book is clearly presented for the general reader.


Book Description
The autobiography of one of the preeminent figures in twentieth-century physics. He studied with Niels Bohr, taught Richard Feynman, and boned up on relativity with his friend and colleague Albert Einstein. John Archibald Wheeler's fascinating life brings us face to face with the central characters and discoveries of modern physics. He was the first American to learn of the discovery of nuclear fission, later coined the term "black hole," led a renaissance in gravitation physics, and helped to build Princeton University into a mecca for physicists. From nuclear physics, to quantum theory, to relativity and gravitation, Wheeler's work has set the trajectory of research for half a century. His career has brought him into contact with the most brilliant minds of his field; Fermi, Bethe, Rabi, Teller, Oppenheimer, and Wigner are among those he's called colleagues and friends. In this rich autobiography, Wheeler reveals in fascinating detail the excitement of each discovery, the character of each colleague, and the underlying passion for knowledge that drives him still.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

A mixture of Wheeler's life and Wheeler's physics. This book is half John Wheeler's life and half his physics. If you are interested in the people, you can skim through the physics. If you are interested in the physics, you can skim through the people. (If you are interested in both, so much the better.) The book provides a good way to have a look at many of the principal physicists of the twentieth century, including Wheeler himself, and a good way to learn a lot of mind-stretching modern physics, even if you have no background in the subject. -- Kenneth W. Ford  — Norton Publishers


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices