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The Jazz of Physics

The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe

Contributors

By Stephon Alexander

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Apr 26, 2016
Page Count
272 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780465098507

Price

$13.99

Price

$17.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $13.99 $17.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $18.99 $24.99 CAD

A spectacular musical and scientific journey from the Bronx to the cosmic horizon that reveals the astonishing links between jazz, science, Einstein, and Coltrane

More than fifty years ago, John Coltrane drew the twelve musical notes in a circle and connected them by straight lines, forming a five-pointed star. Inspired by Einstein, Coltrane put physics and geometry at the core of his music.

Physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander follows suit, using jazz to answer physics' most vexing questions about the past and future of the universe. Following the great minds that first drew the links between music and physics-a list including Pythagoras, Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Rakim — The Jazz of Physics reveals that the ancient poetic idea of the "Music of the Spheres," taken seriously, clarifies confounding issues in physics.

The Jazz of Physics will fascinate and inspire anyone interested in the mysteries of our universe, music, and life itself.

Stephon Alexander

About the Author

Stephon Alexander is a professor of physics at Brown University and the 2020 president of the National Society of Black Physicists. He is also a jazz musician and released his first electronic jazz album with Erin Rioux. The author of Jazz of Physics, Alexander lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Learn more about this author