The Constants of Nature

The Numbers That Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe

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by John D. Barrow

Vintage Books: Random House

Due/Published March 2004, 368 pages, paper

ISBN 1400032253

New in paper (S04)

The constants of nature are the fundamental laws of physics that apply throughout the universe: gravity, velocity of light, electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. They encode the deepest secrets of the universe, and express at once our greatest knowledge and our greatest ignorance about the cosmos.

Their existence has taught us the truth that nature abounds with unseen regularities. Yet while we have become skilled at measuring the values of these constants, our inability to explain or predict their values shows how much we have still to learn about inner workings of the universe.

What is the ultimate status of these constants of nature? Are they truly constant? And are there other universes where they are different?

Barrow, a mathematician and cosmologist, discusses the latest thinking about these and many more issues in this book.