The Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone (OIP) - Hardcover

Ford, Kenneth W

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674013425 ISBN 13: 9780674013421

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Common sense tells us that matter doesn't vanish into thin air, a particle and a wave have little in common, and good knowledge leads to good prediction. Yet when we move beyond the range of everyday experience and into the world of quantum physics, things prove to be very different: particles of matter can be annihilated, waves and particles are two faces of matter, and the outcome of some experiments is completely unpredictable. As Kenneth Ford shows us in The Quantum World, the laws governing the very small and the very swift defy common sense and stretch our minds to the limit. Drawing on a deep familiarity with the discoveries of the twentieth century, Ford gives an appealing account of quantum physics that will help the serious reader make sense of a science that, for all its successes, remains mysterious. He tells a good story while depicting both the subatomic world and the world of physics research as lively places populated by highly interesting characters. At the core of this book are the "big ideas" of quantum physics, including granularity (matter and some of its properties, like energy, are "lumpy"), wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, the nature of bosons and fermions, and superposition and entanglement (an atom can be in two or more states of motion at once). With strikingly clear writing, and with engaging illustrations by Paul Hewitt, The Quantum World imparts a sense of wonder and a knowledge of the strange laws governing the atoms, nuclei, and fundamental particles that inhabit the quantum world.

About this title

About the Author

Kenneth W. Ford is retired director of the American Institute of Physics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0674013425
• ISBN 13: 9780674013421
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288