Quantum Physics: A First Encounter: Interference, Entanglement, and Reality - Hardcover

Scarani, Valerio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198570473 ISBN 13: 9780198570479

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2006

Synopsis

Quantum physics is often perceived as a weird and abstract theory, which physicists must use in order to make correct predictions. But many recent experiments have shown that the weirdness of the theory simply mirrors the weirdness of phenomena: it is Nature itself, and not only our description of it, that behaves in an astonishing way. This book selects those, among these typical quantum phenomena, whose rigorous description requires neither the formalism, nor an important background in physics.
The first part of the book deals with the phenomenon of single-particle interference, covering the historical questions of wave-particle duality, objective randomness and the boundary between the quantum and the classical world, but also the recent idea of quantum cryptography. The second part introduces the modern theme of entanglement, by presenting two-particle interference phenomena and discussing Bell's inequalities. A concise review of the main interpretations of quantum physics is provided.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Valerio Scarani
Group of Applied Physics
University of Geneva
20, rue de l'Ecole de Medecine
CH-1211 Geneva 4 Switzerland

Rachael Thew (Translator)
rue caroline 36
1227 Les Acacias
Switzerland

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198570473
• ISBN 13: 9780198570479
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144