Waves in an impossible sea : how everyday life emerges from the cosmic ocean
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-357) and index.

"At this very moment, we are moving through space at 130 miles per second, and yet we don't notice at all. Nothing slips and falls off the kitchen table as the Earth spins, and our bodies aren't catapulted against random buildings and trees by the planet orbiting the Sun. We, and everything around us, move at the same rate, so we simply don't notice the force that propels us through space. Nor do we notice the strangest fact of all, that we and everything around us ripple through the universe like whitecaps on the ocean, emerging from the cosmic backdrop and yet moving through it as though the backdrop wasn't even there. Indeed, whether it be through our senses of sight and touch, through our ability to drink soda on an airplane, or through navigation apps on our phones, we are constantly engaging with these peculiar aspects of the cosmos, even though we rarely recognize it. In Waves in an Impossible Sea, theoretical physicist Matthew J. Strassler explains how our lives, every day and every moment, are shaped by the core tenants of physics that make up the universe. Examining big picture concepts, like motion, mass, waves, fields, quanta, the Higgs field, and the quantum world, Strassler relates these theories to our ordinary lives. Ultimately, concludes Strassler, we humans are integrated into the universe - one might well say we are a part of it, an instantiation of the cosmos in action - rather than merely outsiders living inside it. Accessible and profound, Waves in an Impossible Sea offers a crash course in everything from the theory of relativity to the Higgs field, relatable to anyone who has ever rode in a car or laid in bed"--