The Law of Physics

Now out of print.  Please see new edition The Substance of Spacetime: Infinity, Nothingness, and the Nature of Matter ISBN 978-0-9802088-4-9

Over the past century, physics has become increasingly and alarmingly difficult to represent in concrete physical terms. Whether it's spacetime curvature, the superposed and probabilistic states of matter or, more recently, the eleven dimensions of string theory, scientists have reluctantly conceded that the cosmos is radically different from the comfortable and mechanistic model handed down by Isaac Newton. As Richard Feynman famously quipped, "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't." But does it have to be this way? In The Law of Physics, Ryan asks a simple question: Is there an interpretation of existing empirical observations that simultaneously acknowledges the great success of the standard models, but also paints an intuitive, comprehensible, and above all physical picture of the universe? In other words, can Newtonian sobriety be injected back into the dizzying world of string theory? Ryan believes the answer is yes.