Vector: A Surprising Story of Space, Time, and Mathematical Transformation

A celebration of the seemingly simple idea that allowed us to imagine the world in new dimensions – sparking both controversy and discovery.

Vector takes readers on an extraordinary, five-thousand-year journey through the human imagination. The stars of this book, vectors and tensors, are unlikely celebrities. Yet Robyn Arianrhod shows how they enabled physicists and mathematicians to think in a brand-new way.

These include James Clerk Maxwell when he ushered in the wireless electromagnetic age; Einstein when he predicted the curving of space-time and the existence of gravitational waves; Paul Dirac, when he created quantum field theory; and Emmy Noether, when she connected mathematical symmetry and the conservation of energy.

Today, you’re likely relying on vectors or tensors each time you pick up your mobile phone, use a GPS, or search online.

In Vector, award-winning science writer Robyn Arianrhod shows the genius required to reimagine the world – and how a clever mathematical construct can dramatically change discovery’ s direction.