Vector A Surprising Story of Space, Time, & Mathematical Transformation

A celebration of the seemingly simple idea that allowed us to imagine the world in new dimensions - sparking both controversy and discovery. Vector takes readers on an extraordinary, five-thousand-year journey through the human imagination. The stars of this book, vectors and tensors, are unlikely celebrities. Yet Robyn Arianrhod shows how they enabled physicists and mathematicians to think in a brand-new way. These include James Clerk Maxwell when he ushered in the wireless electromagnetic age; Einstein when he predicted the curving of space-time and the existence of gravitational waves; Paul Dirac, when he created quantum field theory; and Emmy Noether, when she connected mathematical symmetry and the conservation of energy. Today, you' re likely relying on vectors or tensors each time you pick up your mobile phone, use a GPS, or search online. In Vector, award-winning science writer Robyn Arianrhod shows the genius required to reimagine the world - and how a clever mathematical construct can dramatically change discovery' s direction.