Denis Postle

FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE
By Denis Postle
‘It's not possible’, Denis Postle was told when he prepared to explain high-energy physics so
that the average layman would not only understand the most abstruse concepts, but would
be able to use them in the conduct of his daily life. Postle's inspiration proved greater than
even he anticipated. Avoiding ‘mathematics, he uses analogy, games such as cards and dice,
penetrating explanations, and an exposition so logical and clear that the intricacies of the
most complex of sciences suddenly evaporate. Plucking parallels from daily life, using
constructions such as a cardboard box and objects such as a wristwatch, reinforcing the
verbal exposition with brilliant illustrations - drawings, cartoons, photographs — Postle makes
every development of nuclear physics fit into an easily understood overall pattern.
After providing one of the basic building blocks for the investigation of the universe, Albert
Einstein spent the rest of his career seeking the proof for the beautiful, simple concept of the
unity of the universe. Frequently he said that the closer he came to his concept, the more
similar it was to basic religious beliefs. It is only now that this clarification of nuclear physics
illuminates Einstein's perception and, particularly with Eastem religious philosophy, shows
the identical conclusions.
FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE has its roots in a remarkable film, Shadows of Bliss, which was
shown twice on BBC television in 1972. The film was made by Denis Postle under the
auspices of CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Geneva). The film
provoked violently contrasting reactions among scientists and laymen alike, because the
author introduced analogies to bring home the facts to non-physicists, and expressed his
belief that there are parallels between Eastern philosophy and Westem science.
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