The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth's Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy is a readable non-fiction book exploring both physics and geography, specifically how the most extreme geographical locations can help provide insight into the new frontiers of particle physics.
Structure of The Edge of Physics
Ananthaswamy's book begins with a brief prologue introducing his journey and its origins before providing an overview of the places and science projects he visits.
The prologue should be helpful to readers who are unsure if this book is for them. Like the remainder of the book, the prologue is easily understandable by the lay reader and has a chatty, friendly tone combining hard science with his person experiences in the various locations where the boundaries of the universe are being defined.
Each chapter of The Edge of Physics highlights a visit to one extreme place, from Mount Wilson in California to the CERN Large Hadron Collider straddling the French-Swiss border.
First Reaction to The Edge of Physics
Ananthaswamy's The Edge of Physics is easier to read than Leon Lederman's The God Particle, although its explanations of the experiments and science being conducted is not as in-depth, yet The Edge of Physics remains both interesting and informative.
The descriptions of the places the author visits are better than his explanations of the science being conducted there. The explanations of physics should be understandable to most readers with a college degree and for those entirely unfamiliar with modern physics there are two clearly written appendices near the back of the book.
The Edge of Physics is unlike many other science books because it looks at the building blocks of science, the implications on science of experiments and projects currently being conducted and theories currently being explored, how the experiments are being conducted and new theories are being developed, and where this is all taking place around the globe. With this focus on location Ananthaswamy is forced to occasionally tackle the subject of climate change and global warming as some locations, once perfect for the expensive science experiments and projects constructed there, are now less than perfect due to environmental changes outside the scientists and prinicipal investigators' control.
This exploration of where the science is being conducted is of special interest because many, if not all of the experiments Anil Ananthaswamy visits are, in some manner, exploring where Earth, our solar system, and our galaxy belong in the universe (and possibly where our universe belongs in the multiverse).
Recommend Reading
The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth's Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy is recommended for the following audiences and readers:
- High school seniors considering majoring in science
- Physics majors
- Fans of The God Particle
- Anyone interested in extreme travel
- Readers curious about the Large Hadron Collider
Publication Information
Ananthaswamy, Anil. The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth's Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe. 322 pages. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2010). ISBN: 978-0-618-88468-1
Tracey Carter - Tracey holds a B.A. in English from Hood College and is an avid reader, educator, blogger, and aspiring librarian.
Join the Conversation