Paul Halpern ist Professor für Physik und Mathematik an der Universität of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

The fundamental conundrum in physics today is the incompatibility of Einstein's theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. To bridge the gap between the two theories, a number of physicists have posited novel solutions involving hyperspace dimensions beyond the four that we can perceive and, most recently, branes, or membranes that exist in the fifth dimension and beyond. This lively account describes, in plain language, the history of hyperspace theory.

Acknowledgments.Introduction: The Kaluza-Klein Miracle.1. The Power of Geometry.2. Visions of Hyperspace.3. The Physicist's Stone: Uniting Electricity, Magnetism, and Light.4. Getting Gravity in Shape.5. Striking the Fifth Chord: Kaluza's Remarkable Discovery.6. Klein's Quantum Odyssey.7. Einstein's Dilemma.8. Truth under Exile: Theorizing at Princeton.9. Brave New World:Seeking Unity in an Age of Conflict.10. Gauging the Weak and the Strong.11. Hyperspace Packages Tied Up in Strings.12. Brane Worlds and Parallel Universes.Conclusion: Extra-dimensional Perception.Notes.Further Reading.Index.

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The concept of multiple unperceived dimensions in the universe is one of the hottest topics in contemporary physics. It is essential to current attempts to explain gravity and the underlying structure of the universe. The history of how such an unfathomable concept has risen to prominence takes centre stage in The Great Beyond. The story begins with Einstein's famous quarrel with Heisenberg and Bohr, whose theories of uncertainty threatened the order Einstein believed was essential to the universe, and it was his rejection of uncertainty that drove him to ponder the existence of a fifth dimension.Beginning with this famous disagreement and culminating with an explanation of the newest "brane" approach, author Paul Halpern shows how current debates about the nature of reality began as age-old controversies, and will address how the possibility of higher dimensions has influenced culture over the past one hundred years (visiting the work of H.G. Wells, Salvador Dali and others).