Mysteries Of The Quantum Universe

Famous explorer Bob and his dog Rick have been around the world and even to the Moon, but their travels through the quantum universe show them the greatest wonders they've ever seen. As they follow their tour guide, the giddy letter h (also known as the Planck constant), Bob and Rick discover that the universe is bouncy, have crepes with Max Planck, talk to Einstein about atoms, visit Louis de Broglie in his castle, and hang out with Heisenberg on Heligoland. On the way, we find out that a dog - much like a cat - can be both dead and alive, the gaze of a mouse can change the universe, and a comic book can actually make quantum physics fun, easy to understand and downright enchanting.

In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible—and fascinating—to everyone. The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw’s contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way. There is a lot of mileage in the “weirdness” of the quantum world, and it often leads to confusion and, frankly, bad science. The Quantum Universe cuts through the Wu Li and asks what observations of the natural world made it necessary, how it was constructed, and why we are confident that, for all its apparent strangeness, it is a good theory. The quantum mechanics of The Quantum Universe provide a concrete model of nature that is comparable in its essence to Newton’s laws of motion, Maxwell’s theory of electricity and magnetism, and Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Quantum mechanics is a physical science dealing with the behaviour of matter and energy on the scale of atoms and subatomic particles / waves. It also forms the basis for the contemporary understanding of how very large objects such as stars and galaxies, and cosmological events such as the Big Bang, can be analyzed and explained. Quantum mechanics is the foundation of several related disciplines including nanotechnology, condensed matter physics, quantum chemistry, structural biology, particle physics, and electronics. The term "quantum mechanics" was first coined by Max Born in 1924. The acceptance by the general physics community of quantum mechanics is due to its accurate prediction of the physical behaviour of systems, including systems where Newtonian mechanics fails. Even general relativity is limited -- in ways quantum mechanics is not -- for describing systems at the atomic scale or smaller, at very low or very high energies, or at the lowest temperatures. Through a century of experimentation and applied science, quantum mechanical theory has proven to be very successful and practical. The foundations of quantum mechanics date from the early 1800s, but the real beginnings of QM date from the work of Max Planck in 1900. Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr soon made important contributions to what is now called the "old quantum theory." However, it was not until 1924 that a more complete picture emerged with Louis de Broglie's matter-wave hypothesis and the true importance of quantum mechanics became clear. Some of the most prominent scientists to subsequently contribute in the mid-1920s to what is now called the "new quantum mechanics" or "new physics" were Max Born, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, and Erwin Schrödinger. Later, the field was further expanded with work by Julian Schwinger, Sin-Itiro Tomonaga and Richard Feynman for the development of Quantum Electrodynamics in 1947 and by Murray Gell-Mann in particular for the development of Quantum Chromodynamics. The interference that produces colored bands on bubbles cannot be explained by a model that depicts light as a particle. It can be explained by a model that depicts it as a wave. The drawing shows sine waves that resemble waves on the surface of water being reflected from two surfaces of a film of varying width, but that depiction of the wave nature of light is only a crude analogy. Early researchers differed in their explanations of the fundamental nature of what we now call electromagnetic radiation. Some maintained that light and other frequencies of electromagnetic radiation are composed of particles, while others asserted that electromagnetic radiation is a wave phenomenon. In classical physics these ideas are mutually contradictory. Ever since the early days of QM scientists have acknowledged that neither idea by itself can explain electromagnetic radiation. Despite the success of quantum mechanics, it does have some controversial elements. For example, the behaviour of microscopic objects described in quantum mechanics is very different from our everyday experience, which may provoke some degree of incredulity. Most of classical physics is now recognized to be composed of special cases of quantum physics theory and/or relativity theory. Dirac brought relativity theory to bear on quantum physics so that it could properly deal with events that occur at a substantial fraction of the speed of light. Classical physics, however, also deals with mass attraction (gravity), and no one has yet been able to bring gravity into a unified theory with the relativized quantum theory.

A concise and engaging investigation of six interpretations of quantum physics. Rules of the quantum world seem to say that a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time and a particle can be in two places at once. And that particle is also a wave; everything in the quantum world can described in terms of waves—or entirely in terms of particles. These interpretations were all established by the end of the 1920s, by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and others. But no one has yet come up with a common sense explanation of what is going on. In this concise and engaging book, astrophysicist John Gribbin offers an overview of six of the leading interpretations of quantum mechanics. Gribbin calls his account “agnostic,” explaining that none of these interpretations is any better—or any worse—than any of the others. Gribbin presents the Copenhagen Interpretation, promoted by Niels Bohr and named by Heisenberg; the Pilot-Wave Interpretation, developed by Louis de Broglie; the Many Worlds Interpretation (termed “excess baggage” by Gribbin); the Decoherence Interpretation (“incoherent”); the Ensemble “Non-Interpretation”; and the Timeless Transactional Interpretation (which theorized waves going both forward and backward in time). All of these interpretations are crazy, Gribbin warns, and some are more crazy than others—but in the quantum world, being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.

Quantum mechanics stands as one of the most remarkable achievements of the 20th century, providing startling insight into the nature of matter and a spectacularly successful predictive theory. However, while the predictive ability of the quantum theory has been rigorously tested time and again, so that it now satisfies any criterion of reliability as a tool of scientific inquiry, fundamental difficulties remain with its interpretation. The Mystery of the Quantum World, Second Edition introduces the philosophical issues raised by the success of the quantum theory and lucidly outlines the different points of view adopted by various physicists striving to understand the meaning underlying the theories used every day. The author encourages you to see how the most successful of physical theories is relevant to issues outside physics. Revised and expanded, this edition includes a new chapter that introduces the most important of the recent developments in quantum theory. The authoritative selection of topics ensures that readers already familiar with the first edition of the book will extend their knowledge of quantum theory, and those with no previous knowledge acquire an insight into this fascinating world.

In this book, which has its origin in a series of radio broadcasts, Paul Davies interviews eight physicists involved in debating and testing quantum theory, with radically different views of its significance.

Pages 270. Illustrated. The incredible discoveries of quantum physics are completely upsetting the assumptions of classical science. Today the technique allows amazing achievements. For example, the first quantum computers with almost unlimited computing capabilities are being realized. Some support the real possibility of time travel. In addition to these innovations known to the general public, there are others less known but no less important. They are the novelties deriving from quantum studies, among which we can mention the "superposition of states" and the "quantum collapse". The "superposition of states" confirms that the same particle can be found simultaneously in two or more places. The theory of "quantum collapse" confirms that the behavior of matter can be decided simply by observation. These are not assumptions, but principles verified experimentally. This book does not only deal with these innovations, but gives much space to more advanced theories. These are theories announced but not yet confirmed. Furthermore, the book also evaluates the most risky theories, provided they are scientifically based. For example, the book talks about the multiverse, or theory of parallel universes, proposed by the physicist Hugh Everett. In the same way the book speaks of non-locality. It is a psychic space totally independent of the laws of classical physics. As a result of non-locality, elementary particles, located at astronomical distances, behave as if they were one. This book also talks about the latest research by Roger Penrose, an unbelieving physicist, and Stuart Hameroff. According to these two scientists the soul exists and can be identified with quantum fluctuations. These fluctuations have the ability to survive the physical death of the body. If really the "souls" are condensations of quantum fluctuations, we can formulate a question: will it ever be possible to devise instruments that allow dialogue with these fluctuations? The book exposes the research of established scientists but without using any mathematical formula. The theories are exposed in a simple and understandable way to everyone. In this way everyone can discover the unsuspected aspects of the reality in which we live. It is clear that quantum physics is decreeing the end of materialism and the beginning of a new cultural phase, based on the collaboration between spirit and matter.

Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.