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Spooky Action at a Distance: The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time—and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything Audiobook
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What is space? It isn’t a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it’s where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon—the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space—appears to be almost magical. Einstein grappled with this oddity and couldn’t quite resolve it, describing it as “spooky action at a distance.” But this strange occurrence has direct connections to black holes, particle collisions, and even the workings of gravity. If space isn’t what we thought it was, then what is it?
In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser sets out to answer that question, offering a provocative exploration of nonlocality and a celebration of the scientists who are trying to understand it. Musser guides us on an epic journey of scientific discovery into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers discovering galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang. Their conclusions challenge our understanding not only of space and time but of the origins of the universe—and their insights are spurring profound technological innovation and suggesting a new grand unified theory of physics.
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“Can two subatomic particles on opposite sides of the universe truly be instantaneously connected? Or, is any theory that predicts such a connection necessarily flawed or incomplete? Are the results of experiments that demonstrate such a connection being misinterpreted? Such questions challenge our most basic concepts of spatial distance and time. In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser beautifully navigates through the history, science and philosophy of these mind-boggling conundrums, and expounds cutting-edge thinking.”
— Mario Livio, astrophysicist and bestselling author of Brilliant Blunders and The Golden Ratio
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“An endlessly surprising foray into the current mother of physics’ many knotty mysteries, the solving of which may unveil the weirdness of quantum particles, black holes, and the essential unity of nature.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Accessible and imaginative…Clarity and humor illuminate Musser’s writing, and he adroitly captures the excitement and frustration involved in investigating the mysteries of our universe.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Modern physics is in the process of dismantling the very space all around us, and the universe will never be the same. In this engaging book, George Musser guides us through the thickets of science and philosophy and takes us to the brink of a very different view of the world.”
— Sean Carroll, author of The Particle at the End of the Universe; theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology -
“With clever metaphors and dry humor, acclaimed science communicator George Musser is the perfect tour guide on this wild ride through wormholes and emergent dimensions to the cutting edge of physics. This quest to understand the ultimate nature of space may forever transform how you think about the very fabric of reality.”
— Max Tegmark, physicist and author of Our Mathematical Universe -
“Locality has been a fruitful and reliable principle, guiding us to the triumphs of twentieth-century physics. Yet the consequences of local laws, in quantum theory, can seem ‘spooky’ and non-local—and some theorists are questioning locality itself. Spooky Action at a Distance is a lively introduction to these fascinating paradoxes and speculations.”
— Frank Wilczek, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics
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A Gizmodo Pick for Most Loved Science Books of 2015
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About George Musser
George Musser is an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor for Scientific American, and the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory. He is the recipient of an American Astronomical Society’s Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award and the 2011 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award. He has appeared on the Today show, CNN, NPR, the BBC, and more. He lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter. Follow him on Twitter at @gmusser.
About William Hughes
William Hughes is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. A professor of political science at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, he received his doctorate in American politics from the University of California at Davis. He has done voice-over work for radio and film and is also an accomplished jazz guitarist.