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

Vector takes readers on an extraordinary 5000-year journey through the human imagination. The stars of this book, vectors and tensors, are unlikely celebrities. Yet mathematician and science writer Robyn Arianrhod shows how they enabled physicists and mathematicians to think in a brand-new way. They inspired James Clerk Maxwell to usher in the wireless electromagnetic age; Albert Einstein to predict the curving of space-time and the existence of gravitational waves; Paul Dirac to create quantum field theory; and Emmy Noether to connect 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, Robyn Arianrhod shows the genius required to reimagine the world — and how a clever mathematical construct can dramatically change discovery’s direction.

About the Author:  Robyn Arianrhod has a PhD in the theory of general relativity and taught mathematics at Monash University; she’s currently an Affiliate in Monash’s School of Mathematics. She writes about maths and science for the interested general reader — her books have been translated into several languages and shortlisted for national literary awards, and her articles have appeared in various outlets, including Best Australian Science Writing.