The Gravity of Math

“This book explores the many ways that concepts, techniques, and tools of geometrical reasoning have contributed to the physics of gravitational theory. A consistent theme of the book is the dynamic interplay between mathematicians and physicists, as they approach the questions of gravitational theory using their own ideas and approaches but often playing their ideas off one another.”–Bill Satzer, Mathematical Association of America Reviews“With plenty of current experiments and active mathematics research branching out from general relativity, this book is sure to please a wide audience”.–Emily J. Olson, Notices of the AMS“A systematic, up-to-date, and astonishingly readable account of the evolution of the concept of gravity, as told from a mathematical perspective. This book is remarkably lucid, as well as engaging; its prose is elegant and jargon-free. Readers will learn that when an apple falls to the ground under the influence of gravity, much of that descent - and its subsequent impact - stems from the power of mathematics.” –Hung-Hsi Wu, University of California at Berkeley“The narrative flows beautifully, and the anecdotes bring the characters to life.”–Sayan Mitra, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign“The best account on the crucial role played by mathematics in the formulation and development of general relativity that I have read so far.” –Sergiu Klainerman, Princeton University“A captivating and comprehensive journey through the mathematics of gravity and its unresolved puzzles from the Big Bang to the formation of black holes. There are no better authors to tell the story than the brilliant mathematician Shing-Tung Yau and the exceptional science writer Steve Nadis. A must-read.”–Avi Loeb, New York Times-bestselling author of Extraterrestrial“A splendid rendition of one of our greatest scientific sagas, including the most recent instalments: this story of general relativity describes the mind-blowing union of gravitation and geometry, deftly weaving math and mass. A book on gravity that readers will fall for.”–Karl Sigmund, author of The Waltz of Reason“This book will leave you amazed at how brilliant human thought discovered the intimate connection between the falling of an apple on Earth and the existence of a massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. With superb technical explanations and polished prose, this book illustrates how real mathematical physics can give even the most imaginative science fiction some pretty stiff competition for excitement.”–Paul Nahin, University of New Hampshire“With clarity and finesse, Nadis and Yau chronicle the deep connections between mathematics and physical reality, from Einsteinian relativity to string theory. The Gravity of Math offers a literary treat for anyone looking for lucid explanations of the deep principles underlying contemporary physics.”–Paul Halpern, author of The Allure of the Multiverse

Steve Nadis, a contributing editor to Discover magazine and a contributing writer to Quanta, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shing-Tung Yau is a mathematics professor at Tsinghua University and professor emeritus at Harvard University. The recipient of the Fields Medal, National Medal of Science, and a MacArthur Fellowship, he lives in Beijing.

This is the fifth book that Nadis and Yau have written together.