Nothingness

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Much Ado About Nothing

NOTHINGNESS: The Science of Empty Space
By Henning Genz
Perseus Books

It's a fascinating question to which Henning Genz dedicated this book: "Can there be space independent of things?" This translation of the 1994 book by the German physics professor and popular science author, does require a reader with more than passing interest and some patience for the finer points of physics to appreciate this scientific meditation.

Don't be timid if you're not a physics wiz (I'm no wiz, and I'm mathematically challenged), Genz's writing style is clear and his presentation of the progression of philosophers' ideas on the existence or nonexistence of the vacuum in nature is a satisfying exercise. The text is generously sprinkled with illustrations which illuminate both general and key points. Genz also makes good use Einstein's legacy, his gendanken experiments (thought experiments) to visualize circumstances not easily created in the real world. And Genz carries you along into the future as he generates excitement for experimental results from the new generation of sophisticated particle accelerators.

To get along in the world, most of us accept matter is real, but empty space, Ganz convinces, is something of which we can't be sure. Once we've explored the idea of the shape of the universe and the origin of matter, Ganz shows us that we reach a point where language limits us, and perhaps, our minds limit us to understanding all the mysteries of existence.

Of the many ideas discussed, my favorite concept is the Higgs field, - a state in which formerly nonexistent particles can pop into the universe. Sure, there's more to it than that, but, like, wow. It made me go dig up the button I bought years ago, "Who needs fantasy when you have physics?" This book reminded me it deserves to be kept in sight.

Nothingness: The Science of Empty Space...
Henning Genz
Perseus Books. Reading, Massachusetts
1998
ISBN 0-7382-0061-1