2. Theoretical physics, like music, starts with harmony but then tries to move on

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. Prologue: The greatest monument and a road map for a quest 1
5. PART I Our physical world 15
6. 1. Matter and the forces that move it 17
7. 2. The rise of the classical field 22
8. 3. Time unified with space 34
9. 4. The geometry of spacetime 47
10. 5. The rise and fall and rise of particles 56
11. Recap of part I 65
12. PART II The road to quantum field theory
13. 1. Getting the best deal: from least time to extremal action 69
14. 2. Global versus local 80
15. 3. Enter the quantum 84
16. Recap of part II 99
17. PART III Becoming a quantum field theorist
18. 1. How to become a quantum field theorist (almost) instantly 103
19. 2. Origin of forces: range and exchange 112
20. 3. Attraction or repulsion: a mysterious but all important sign 123
21. Recap of part III 135
22. PART IV A universe of fields
23. 1. Everybody is a field: Dirac set the electron free 139
24. 2. Theoretical physics, like music, starts with harmony but then tries to move on 149
25. 3. Quantum electrodynamics, perturbation theory, and cultural taboos 162
26. 4. The road to gauge theory 173
27. Recap of part IV 181
28. A well-deserved rest 183
29. PART V Quantum field theory and the four fundamental interactions
30. 1. Antimatter! 187
31. 2. Too strong and too mean but ultimately free 192
32. 3. The weak and the electroweak interactions Addendum to chapter V.3 211
33. 4. Grand unification 243
34. 5. Gravity and curved spacetime 261
35. 6. Quantum gravity: The Holy Grail of theoretical physics? 279
36. Recap of part V 295
37. VI Quantum field theory is more intellectually complete than quantum mechanics
38. 1. A question of identity 299
39. 2. Exclusion, inclusion, and quantum statistics 312
40. 3. Intellectual completeness 324
41. Recap of part VI 329
42. Parting comments and some unsolicited advice 331
43. Timeline 345
44. A short list of mathematical symbols 347
45. Bibliography 351
46. Index 353