{"id":520,"date":"2025-08-26T00:13:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T00:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulfleisher.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2025-08-26T00:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T00:13:35","slug":"waves-in-an-impossible-sea-by-matt-strassler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulfleisher.com\/?p=520","title":{"rendered":"Waves in an Impossible Sea by Matt Strassler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Waves in an Impossible Sea\u00a0<\/em>by Matt Strassler is one of the best science books for lay readers that I\u2019ve ever read\u2014and I\u2019ve read a\u00a0lot<\/em>\u00a0of \u2018em.\u00a0 The topic of quantum field theory is, and will forever remain, far beyond my abilities and understanding.\u00a0 The idea that fields (whatever they are) fill the cosmos at both the smallest and the largest possible dimensions exceeds my comprehension.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I loved reading\u00a0Waves in an Impossible Sea\u00a0<\/em>which is both beautifully written and highly informative. \u00a0I read the latter half of the book in small bites to give myself time to ruminate, and I\u2019ll definitely want to go back and read sections again, as Strassler suggested.
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Strassler is a theoretical physicist who currently teaches at Harvard, and he clearly uses what he\u2019s learned as a teacher as he makes the quantum world more accessible to the rest of us.\u00a0 As a retired public-school educator, I particularly appreciated his orderly, step-by-step explanations, gradually building our understanding. \u00a0He begins with accessible examples from the everyday world whenever possible, and keeps us informed of where he plans to proceed within the text.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 11, an exploration of wave phenomena in the sphere of sound and music especially resonated with me. \u00a0Years ago, colleagues and I developed and taught a multidisciplinary instructional unit for my gifted middle schoolers on the science and art of sound and music.\u00a0 It was one of my favorite units to teach; I discovered new things about the world each time I taught it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Among many other activities, my students and I learned about how sound waves (and waves in other media) work. We demonstrated compression waves with a slinky stretched out on the floor.\u00a0 We sent waves traveling down the slinky and watched them reflect and echo back when they arrived at one end. \u00a0We generated waves from both ends of the slinky and watched them pass through one another and continue traveling, just as we can hear sounds from multiple sources simultaneously.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used a long rope on the floor to produce standing waves, as described in Strassler\u2019s text.  The kids discovered that working to produce higher harmonics that higher frequencies required more energy to produce.  They experienced this increase in energy directly, because they were the ones working up a sweat.  I also had them connect the mass of a vibrating object with its pitch\u2014and then understand that in terms of Newton\u2019s laws of motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also built a \u201csound cannon\u201d –essentially a drum–with a cardboard cylinder we tightly sealed on one end with a piece of Tyvek.  We lit a candle and pointed the open end of the drum at the base of the flame.  When we sharply tapped the Tyvek, students could see the flame flicker, or even get blown out if the tube was aimed just right.  Students could see direct evidence that sound made the air move, even if it was invisible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We even calculated the speed of sound in air by synchronizing the sharp claps of a clave echoing off the back wall of our school building from a known distance.\u00a0 I was amazed at the level of accuracy (usually within 5-10%) my students managed to achieve with such a crude method.\u00a0 I believe this technique is analogous to measuring light or gravitational waves with an interferometer. \u00a0Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t think of that analogy until I read Strassler\u2019s book this summer, years after I retired from the classroom.\u00a0 I would have loved to have had this book as a resource as I planned my lessons, to extend the scope of the unit\u2019s content, and my own depth of understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waves in an Impossible Sea <\/em>is enlightening, mystifying and entertaining.  After all, we apparently live in, and are part of, a quantum universe.  Strassler\u2019s book will expand your understanding of the cosmos and even help you feel right at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read Matt Strassler’s blog here: https:\/\/profmattstrassler.com\/blog<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waves in an Impossible Sea\u00a0by Matt Strassler is one of the best science books for lay readers that I\u2019ve ever read\u2014and I\u2019ve read a\u00a0lot\u00a0of \u2018em.\u00a0 The topic of quantum field theory is, and will forever remain, far beyond my abilities and understanding.\u00a0 The idea that fields (whatever they are) fill the cosmos at both the …<\/p>\n

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