Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality - Softcover

Kumar, Manjit

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393339882 ISBN 13: 9780393339888

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011

Synopsis

“A lucid account of quantum theory (and why you should care) combined with a gripping narrative.”―San Francisco Chronicle

Quantum theory is weird. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren’t shocked by quantum theory, you didn’t really understand it. For most people, quantum theory is synonymous with mysterious, impenetrable science. And in fact for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly written account of this fundamental scientific revolution, focusing on the central conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. This revelatory book takes a close look at the golden age of physics, the brilliant young minds at its core―and how an idea ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. 16 pages of photographs

About this title

About the Author:

Manjit Kumar has degrees in physics and philosophy and has written for Slate, The Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, and New Scientist. He lives in London.

From AudioFile:

Perhaps not to the casual listener's taste, Kumar's history of the development of quantum theory and the weight of work that has been undertaken to explain these difficult phenomena is a wonderful experience for lovers of physics. In this audiobook, complicated scientific theorems and, at times, almost mind-bendingly complex discussions regarding elements, atomic weights, experiments, and chains of formulae are easily dealt with by Ray Porter, who demonstrates a relaxed familiarity with technical matter. Porter re-creates the lives and times of the great scientists Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, and Ernest Rutherford, among others, who played their parts in the advancement of this dynamic new physics. QUANTUM offers almost 15 hours of solid science for devotees of the subatomic world. B.D.J. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0393339882
• ISBN 13: 9780393339888
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448