The Infinity Puzzle

Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe

By: Frank Close

Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley

The second half of the 20th century witnessed a scientific gold rush as physicists raced to chart the inner workings of the atom. The stakes were high, the questions were big, and there were Nobel Prizes and everlasting glory to be won. Many mysteries of the atom came unraveled, but one remained intractable: what Frank Close calls the "Infinity Puzzle".

The problem was simple to describe. Although clearly very powerful, quantum field theory - the great achievement of the 1930s - was making one utterly ridiculous prediction: that certain events had an infinite probability of occurring. The solution is known as renormalization, which enables theory to match what we see in the real world. It has been a powerful approach, conquering three of the four fundamental forces of nature, and giving rise to the concept of the Higgs boson, the now much-sought particle that may be what gives structure to the universe.

The Infinity Puzzle charts the birth and life of the idea, and the scientists, both household names and unsung heroes, who realized it. Based on numerous firsthand interviews and extensive research, the book captures an era of great mystery and greater discovery. Even if the Higgs boson is never found, renormalization - the pursuit of an orderly universe - has led to one of the richest and most productive intellectual periods in human history. With a physicist's expertise and a historian's care, Close describes the personalities and the competition, the dead ends and the sudden insights, in a story that will reverberate through the ages.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2011 Frank Close (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An engrossing history that's also accessible for a general audience." (Publishers Weekly)

The other side of Science

The Infinity Puzzle is about science, but much more about the politics, personalities, and history of science, and only a little about the theory and technology of science. This is largely an analysis of history associated with the theories of renormalization and the Higgs boson. This book seems intended for an audience consisting mainly of those who will decide who should get the next few Nobel prizes. This was not uninteresting, but was not at all what I expected. It is illuminating to see the minutia of who said what to whom and when. No matter how many people are involved with the development of a theory, only three may be included for a single Nobel prize. Scientist, as a theory develops, sometimes years before any Nobel will be awarded, begin to subtlety position themselves for consideration for those three spots. There was not very much about the details of renormalization or the Higgs field. This was interesting but not my favorite cup of tea.

Physics, with the drama of an Opera

Professor Close clearly explains how quantum physics, in its quest for answers about the the universe, is at its foundation a story about questions and personalities. At the most advanced levels of professional study, the competition for publication and prizes takes on collaboration, conflict, and at times ego struggles that are similar to those found in the most compelling operas. All this, and then, as often happens, politics "makes or breaks" scientific advancements. Professor Close wrote this shortly before the existence of the Higgs Boson particle was experimentally proven, decades after Peter Higgs theoretically identified the existence of the fundamental particle.

Terrific overview of QED, QCD, and QFD

Oxford physicist Frank Close carefully traces the advance of our understanding of matter and the forces they feel, from the ideas of Newton to the development of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. He describes in clear language the problems arising in the accepted physical models and how they were solved. He deftly explains complex ideas using easy to understand analogies. I've listened to several books that delve into these topics, and I think Close has done the best job of clarifying, at least for me, the bewildering concepts behind symmetry breaking, and gauge invariance. I thought this book was fascinating and I recommend it very highly to young physicists or oldsters like me who are interested in finding out more about the cosmos.

read this only if you know the history

If you could sum up The Infinity Puzzle in three words, what would they be?

I would recommend this first and formost to journalists. It delves in to the politics of the nobel almost as much as the science. It may be hard to follow without prior reading. "The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics was Reborn" really is the best source on audible. It is long but complete.

Overall I really liked this book as it filled in parts of the story from another person's perspective, sometimes firsthand.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Infinity Puzzle?

"Feynman cut in: “When I invented all this 25 years ago ." awesome.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Cowley – was your favorite?

huh?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

who writes these questions?

Excellent

Any additional comments?

Listened to it on audio -very good - starting to understand the whole attempt to join the very large with the very small, including quantum gravity, and the "perturbatively non-renormalizable" (or asymtoptically unsafe) infinities involved.
I am re-reading it on Kindle, bits at a time, to try to understand and retain it better.