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Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)

by Jim al-Khalili (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Phoenix; Reprint edition (13 May 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1841882380
ISBN-13: 978-1841882383
Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 18.8 x 2.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 21,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories:

#13 in	Books > Science & Nature > Physics > Quantum Physics > Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
#16 in	Books > Science & Nature > Physics > Theoretical Physics
#53 in	Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Popular Maths

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Product Description

Quantum mechanics is the most fundamental scientific theory known to man. It underpins modern science and technology and even provides us with a blueprint for reality itself. And yet it has been said that if you think you understand it, you quite clearly don't. But is quantum physics really so unknowable? Is reality really so strange? And just how can cats be half alive and half dead at the same time? This book untangles the weirdness of the quantum world, explains the theories, explores their consequences and presents a cutting-edge guide to the current state of the science.

About the Author

Dr Jim al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist and senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of Surrey. He has twice been nominated for the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Award for the Public Understanding of Science and is the Institute of Physics Schools and Colleges lecturer. He is the author of BLACK HOLES, WORMHOLES AND TIME MACHINES and has appeared on Radio 4's LEADING EDGE and the BBC's TOMORROW'S WORLD and HORIZON programmes.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quarks, strangeness & charm!, 2 Jan 2007

By	Paul Davies (South Yorks, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I will admit that the title of this book grabbed me straight away. Having been self-studying quantum physics and evangelistically telling friends and anyone who would listen about the wonderful world of the sub-atomic, i thought a general reader on the subject would be good for 'summing up' etc.

In this regard Al-Khalili does not disappoint. The historical progress of thought from the world of classical (Newtonian) physics through the golden age where physics and philosophy walked uneasily hand-in-hand during the 1920's and 30's and the rise to prominence of the 'greats' of theoretical physics - Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Einstein, Bohr, Pauli, et al - is very well and clearly documented and engagingly presented.

The vibrancy of the crashing principles and ideas of quantum mechanics and the birth of subatomic theory is fascinating in itself, but it is Al-Khalili's sheer enthusiasm for the truly strange nature of the universe at the quantum level that is most infectious. This can often lead to hints of "no, look how weird this is!" but for the most part, the ideas are clearly presented and logically presented without resorting to jingoism and tenuous metaphor.

The only place the book really falls down is in its layout in this edition. Often very key principles are interrupted by small fly out boxes or spin-off articles within a chapter which can lead your train of thought to go "ooh, hang on, i better read that, it looks interesting" which can really wreck your train of thought on the main chapter text.

These articles are always interesting and are often practical examples of current research into matters being discussed within the chapter, often by prominent current researchers - it's just the layout that suffers a little.

If you are looking for a good introduction to quantum superposition, wavefunction, subatomic structure, the nature of energy and particles, quantum tunnelling, uncertainty principle, non-locality, relativity etc then this book is a very good place to start.

Strangely, my friend is reading Brian Greene's book "The Fabric of the Cosmos" at the mo and so the interruptions are often longer than just having to avoid interim articles as discussion flips between singularity and unification at the quantum level, so i shouldn't be so hard on Dr Al-Khalili really!

A good investment, particularly for the new quantum agers who are currently entralled by Doctor Who!

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaves one with that all-pervading sense of awe that the very existence of "anything at all" should rightly provoke in us., 1 Aug 2007

By	Philip Mayo - See all my reviews

This is an extremely interesting book and, considering the subject matter, very accessible. The author present the ideas and theories of the Quantum world without, as I think some other writers do, ascribing an almost "black magic" side to the subject. This temptation to sensationalise I find in some writers on Quantum Mechanics (QM) who tend to present themselves practically as high-priests, allowing us, the uninitiated, a glimpse of the wonders that lie beyond our comprehension, but not necessarily beyond theirs. So, well done! to the author, Jim Al-Khalili, for avoiding that irritating style.

Also, I was very interested to learn that Schr�dinger's famous thought-experiment about the dead / alive cat, dealing with one of the weirder aspects of Quantum Theory - the collapse of the wave function into actuality only on observation or measurement - was proposed by Schr�dinger as a rebuttal of that theory, on the basis that he considered the notion of the cat being simultaneously alive and dead as being absurd. As do I. All other books that I have read to date on QM discuss Schr�dinger's cat as one of the many bizarre realities of QM rather than as being a warning sign that the theory is incomplete.

The world, the universe, matter, time and space are all exceedingly strange things. We can only perceive them, or anything else, through our senses. Undoubtedly much lies "out there" that our senses do not perceive. We have, and can have, only a glimpse of reality. It is therefore virtually impossible for us, even in principle, to fully understand how it all works. But work it undoubtedly does. Science is a search for the explanation and continually seeks the Holy Grail of physics, the Grand Unified Theory or the Theory of Everything, a quest which may never succeed. G�del's theorem tells us that in principle an "entity" cannot be fully explained from within itself, only from without; so to explain the universe we will need to view things from outside the universe - a tough proposition!

But we can have fun as best we can. Newtonian physics, Special Relativity, General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and String Theory are progressions, additions and/or refinements to previously held "certainties". We must remember well that previous certainties have always eventually been found wanting in small or large part. And Quantum Mechanics is simply a theory that fits extremely well many experimental observations and predictions. That's all. And for me, the very fact that it is so mathematically precise denies it the "black magic" aspect that many who write about it seem to relish promoting above all else. The weirdness of the experimental observations of the workings of QM is, in my view, due to our current lack of understanding of the physical process at work.

Quantum Mechanics is a truly fascinating subject and is treated wonderfully well in this fine book, on a par to my mind with the also excellent "Quantum Reality", by Nick Herbert.

I highly recommended Mr Al-Khalili's work which informs us beautifully while avoiding sensationalism. And when we finish his book we are left with that all-pervading sense of awe that the very existence of "anything at all" should rightly provoke in us.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all makes sense now!?, 17 Jul 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed (Hardcover)

The best book on this subject I have read. The author makes the concepts easy to understand with excellent explanations and examples. This book is not bogged down with obscure formula, which is all too common to book of this subject. The authors writing style is relaxed and often very witty. I for one will be reading more books by enthusiastic and knowledgeable author

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, lavish and highly readable guide to quantum mechanics
I found 'Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed' to be both more comprehensive AND more accessible than any other book I've read on this subject. Read more

Published 4 months ago by S. Malpas

4.0 out of 5 stars Does anybody really understand Quantum Mechanics?
Does anybody really understand Quantum Mechanics? I wonder, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Graham Mccarthy

5.0 out of 5 stars A quantum leap in my understanding of a tricky subject
As other reviewers have pointed out, "Quantum: A guide for the perplexed" is a superbly readable and entertaining introduction to the field of quantum mechanics. Read more

Published on 17 Sep 2007 by Simon

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative.
This is a good introduction for the general reader. Well presented, it does also have useful diagrams. Read more

Published on 26 Jul 2004 by BassGuitarHeaven

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Clear Interesting Book on Quantum Mechanics
i thought that this book was, with exception of a few places one of the most interesting academic novels i have read recently. Read more

Published on 4 Nov 2003 by schoenhs

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