Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manj

The Nile on eBay   Quantum by Manjit Kumar

Manjit Kumar's epic history of the band of young men and their challenging theories which changed the way we see the very building blocks of our world.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself.In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird.In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it.While 'Quantum' sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in 'Quantum', Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. 'Quantum' is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

Notes

The dramatic story of one of the most important and challenging scientific theories of the twentieth century, set in the context of the great social and economic upheavals of the period. Kumar's powerful history shows how a small band of young, mostly German scientists developed a theory which baffled fellow scientists and ignited one of the most ferocious intellectual debates of the century. Popular science.

Author Biography

Manjit Kumar was the founding editor of Prometheus, a journal that covered the arts, sciences and humanities, and has written for various publications including the Guardian, the TES and the Irish Times. He is the co-author of Science and the Retreat from Reason, an adapted chapter of which Michael Frayn described as 'the clearest account I've read yet of the development of quantum mechanics'. He lives in north London with his wife and two sons.

Review

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2008

Prizes

Short-listed for BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2009

Long Description

For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird.In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. While 'Quantum' sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in 'Quantum', Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. 'Quantum' is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

Review Quote

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2008

Description for Sales People

Gives a dramatic history of quantum theory, a fundamental scientific revolution and the divisive debate at its core. This book shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. It focuses on the conflict between Einstein and Niels Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science.

Details ISBN1848310358 Author Manjit Kumar Pages 464 Year 2009 ISBN-10 1848310358 ISBN-13 9781848310353 Format Paperback Subtitle Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality Place of Publication Duxford Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 530.12 Media Book Series Icon Books Language English Publication Date 2009-04-02 Replaced by 9781848314146 Short Title Quantum UK Release Date 2009-04-02 AU Release Date 2009-04-02 Publisher Icon Books Imprint Icon Books Audience General NZ Release Date 2009-06-28 Illustrations Illustrations We've got this

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