The Nile on eBay The Quantum Story by Jim Baggott
Utterly beautiful. Profoundly disconcerting. Quantum theory is quite simply the most successful account of the physical universe ever devised. The pursuit of its implications has been the driving motivation of physicists for 100 years. Jim Baggott traces the story, the personalities and the rivalries, through 40 turning-point moments.
FORMATHardcover LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description
The twentieth century was defined by physics. From the minds of the world's leading physicists there flowed a river of ideas that would transport mankind to the pinnacle of wonderment and to the very depths of human despair. This was a century that began with the certainties of absolute knowledge and ended with the knowledge of absolute uncertainty. It was a century in which physicists developed weapons with the capacity to destroy our reality, whilst at the sametime denying us the possibility that we can ever properly comprehend it. Almost everything we think we know about the nature of our world comes from one theory of physics. Thistheory was discovered and refined in the first thirty years of the twentieth century and went on to become quite simply the most successful theory of physics ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the twenty-first century technology that we have learned to take for granted. But its success has come at a price, for it has at the same time completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at the level of its most fundamental constituents.Rejecting thefundamental elements of uncertainty and chance implied by quantum theory, Albert Einstein once famously declared that 'God does not play dice'. Niels Bohr claimed that anybody who is not shocked by the theoryhas not understood it. The charismatic American physicist Richard Feynman went further: he claimed that nobody understands it.This is quantum theory, and this book tells its story.Jim Baggott presents a celebration of this wonderful yet wholly disconcerting theory, with a history told in forty episodes -- significant moments of truth or turning points in the theory's development. From its birth in the porcelain furnaces used to study black bodyradiation in 1900, to the promise of stimulating new quantum phenomena to be revealed by CERN's Large Hadron Collider over a hundred years later, this is the extraordinary story of the quantum world.
Notes
A single volume history of the development of quantum theory, placing the theory into its historical and social context.
Author Biography
Jim Baggott graduated in chemistry in 1978 and completed his doctorate at Oxford three years later. He was a lecturer in chemistry at the University of Reading. He left Reading to pursue a business career, where he first worked with Shell International Petroleum Company and then as an independant business consultant and trainer. He maintains a broad interest in science, philosophy, and history, and writes on all of these subjects. His previous titles includeBeyond Measure (OUP, 2004) and A Beginner's Guide to Reality (Penguin, 2005).
Table of Contents
Part I: Quantum in Action1: An Act of Desperation: Berlin 19002: Independent Energy Quanta: Bern 19053: Quantum Numbers and Quantum Jumps: Manchester 19134: Wave-particle Duality: Paris 19235: Strangely Beautiful Interior: Helgoland 19256: A Late Erotic Outburst: Swiss Alps 19257: The Self-rotating Electron: Leiden 1925Part II: Quantum Probability and Quantum Uncertainty8: Quantum Probability: Göttingen 19269: The Whole Idea of Quantum Jumps Necessarily Leads to Nonsense: Copenhagen 192610: Uncertainty Principle: Copenhagen 192711: The Copenhagen Interpretation: Copenhagen 192712: Complementarity: Lake Como 1927Part III: Quantum Interpretation13: Gedankenexperiment: Brussels 192714: An Absolute Wonder: Cambridge 192715: A Certain Unreasonableness: Brussels 193016: A Bolt from the Blue: Copenhagen 193517: The Paradox of Schrödinger's Cat: Oxford 1935Part IV: Quantum Fields18: Crisis: Shelter Island 194719: Quantum Electrodynamics: Oldstone 194920: Gauge Symmetry and Gauge Theories: Princeton 195421: Three Quarks for Muster Mark: Pasadena 196322: The Higgs Mechanism: Edinburgh 1965Part V: Quantum Particles23: Electro-weak Unification: Harvard 196724: Deep Inelastic Scattering: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 196725: Asymptotic Freedom and Quantum Chromodynamics: Harvard 197326: The November Revolution: Brookhaven and SLAC 197427: The W and Z Bosons: CERN 198328: Completing the Picture: Fermilab 1994Part VI: Quantum Reality29: Hidden Variables: Princeton 195130: Bell's Theorem: Geneva 196431: The Aspect Experiments: Paris 198232: Beating the Uncertainty Principle: Albuquerque 199133: Three-photon GHZ States: Vienna 200034: Reality, Whether Local or Not: Vienna 2007Part VII: Quantum Gravity35: That Damned Equation: Princeton 196736: The First Superstring Revolution: Aspen 198437: The Quantum Structure of Space: Santa Barbara 198638: No Consistency Without Contingency: Durham 199539: The Second Superstring Revolution: Los Angeles 199540: Resolving the Impasse: CERN 2008EpilogueQuantum TimelineName IndexSubject Index
Review
`A highly original and engaging account of the most important theory in science.'Jim Al-Khalili`Jim Baggott's survey of the history of the emergence of the twentieth century's most enigmatic but successful theory is a delight to read. It is clear, accessible, engaging, informative, and thorough. It illuminates an important, revolutionary era of modern science and the varied personalities behind it.'Peter Atkins`[A] wonderful histiry of the scientists and ideas behind quantum mechanics... The basic history behind the quantum revolution is well known, but no one has told it in quite such a compellingly human and thematically seamless way.'Publishers Weekly`Jim Baggott's inspired -- and inspiring -- idea of presenting the history of quantum physics in terms of 40 key moments works both an an introduction for the uninitiated and as a refresher for anyone who thinks they know the story. Even familiar stories come up fresh in these juxtapositions. Great to dip in to!'John Gribbin
Promotional
The most successful account of the physical universe ever devised.
Long Description
The twentieth century was defined by physics. From the minds of the world's leading physicists there flowed a river of ideas that would transport mankind to the pinnacle of wonderment and to the very depths of human despair. This was a century that began with the certainties of absolute knowledge and ended with the knowledge of absolute uncertainty. It was a century in which physicists developed weapons with the capacity to destroy our reality, whilst at the sametime denying us the possibility that we can ever properly comprehend it. Almost everything we think we know about the nature of our world comes from one theory of physics. Thistheory was discovered and refined in the first thirty years of the twentieth century and went on to become quite simply the most successful theory of physics ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the twenty-first century technology that we have learned to take for granted. But its success has come at a price, for it has at the same time completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at the level of its most fundamental constituents.Rejecting thefundamental elements of uncertainty and chance implied by quantum theory, Albert Einstein once famously declared that 'God does not play dice'. Niels Bohr claimed that anybody who is not shocked by the theoryhas not understood it. The charismatic American physicist Richard Feynman went further: he claimed that nobody understands it.This is quantum theory, and this book tells its story.Jim Baggott presents a celebration of this wonderful yet wholly disconcerting theory, with a history told in forty episodes -- significant moments of truth or turning points in the theory's development. From its birth in the porcelain furnaces used to study black bodyradiation in 1900, to the promise of stimulating new quantum phenomena to be revealed by CERN's Large Hadron Collider over a hundred years later, this is the extraordinary story of the quantum world.
Review Text
`A highly original and engaging account of the most important theory in science.'Jim Al-Khalili`Jim Baggott's survey of the history of the emergence of the twentieth century's most enigmatic but successful theory is a delight to read. It is clear, accessible, engaging, informative, and thorough. It illuminates an important, revolutionary era of modern science and the varied personalities behind it.'Peter Atkins`[A] wonderful histiry of the scientists and ideas behind quantum mechanics... The basic history behind the quantum revolution is well known, but no one has told it in quite such a compellingly human and thematically seamless way.'Publishers Weekly`Jim Baggott's inspired -- and inspiring -- idea of presenting the history of quantum physics in terms of 40 key moments works both an an introduction for the uninitiated and as a refresher for anyone who thinks they know the story. Even familiar stories come up fresh in these juxtapositions. Great to dip in to!'John Gribbin
Review Quote
"The basic history behind the quantum revolution is well-known, but no one has ever told it in such a compellingly human and thematically seamless way." -Publishers Weekly "Baggot shines...Those with a jones for physics will not be disappointed...Quantum theory may deny us the possibility of properly comprehending physical reality, but Baggott's account is smart and consoling." -Kirkus Reviews "The history is as complex and involved as the theory itself, and Jim Baggott's history-through-vignettes approach brings out a wealth of fascinating detail about the personalities, philosophies and rivalries that guided its course...there are many good moments to be had." -New Scientist
Feature
The century-long story of the greatest theory of modern physicsCaptures the wonderment of the quest, and the personal rivalries involvedTells the story through forty turning-point developments and discoveriesFrom Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Heisenberg, right up to the Large Hadron Collider - the first book to tell the whole Quantum story
New Feature
Part I: Quantum in Action 1. An Act of Desperation: Berlin 1900 2. Independent Energy Quanta: Bern 1905 3. Quantum Numbers and Quantum Jumps: Manchester 1913 4. Wave-particle Duality: Paris 1923 5. Strangely Beautiful Interior: Helgoland 1925 6. A Late Erotic Outburst: Swiss Alps 1925 7. The Self-rotating Electron: Leiden 1925 Part II: Quantum Probability and Quantum Uncertainty 8. Quantum Probability: Gottingen 1926 9. The Whole Idea of Quantum Jumps Necessarily Leads to Nonsense: Copenhagen 1926 10. Uncertainty Principle: Copenhagen 1927 11. The Copenhagen Interpretation: Copenhagen 1927 12. Complementarity: Lake Como 1927 Part III: Quantum Interpretation 13. Gedankenexperiment: Brussels 1927 14. An Absolute Wonder: Cambridge 1927 15. A Certain Unreasonableness: Brussels 1930 16. A Bolt from the Blue: Copenhagen 1935 17. The Paradox of Schrodinger's Cat: Oxford 1935 Part IV: Quantum Fields 18. Crisis: Shelter Island 1947 19. Quantum Electrodynamics: Oldstone 1949 20. Gauge Symmetry and Gauge Theories: Princeton 1954 21. Three Quarks for Muster Mark: Pasadena 1963 22. The Higgs Mechanism: Edinburgh 1965 Part V: Quantum Particles 23. Electro-weak Unification: Harvard 1967 24. Deep Inelastic Scattering: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 1967 25. Asymptotic Freedom and Quantum Chromodynamics: Harvard 1973 26. The November Revolution: Brookhaven and SLAC 1974 27. The W and Z Bosons: CERN 1983 28. Completing the Picture: Fermilab 1994 Part VI: Quantum Reality 29. Hidden Variables: Princeton 1951 30. Bell's Theorem: Geneva 1964 31. The Aspect Experiments: Paris 1982 32. Beating the Uncertainty Principle: Albuquerque 1991 33. Three-photon GHZ States: Vienna 2000 34. Reality, Whether Local or Not: Vienna 2007 Part VII: Quantum Gravity 35. That Damned Equation: Princeton 1967 36. The First Superstring Revolution: Aspen 1984 37. The Quantum Structure of Space: Santa Barbara 1986 38. No Consistency Without Contingency: Durham 1995 39. The Second Superstring Revolution: Los Angeles 1995 40. Resolving the Impasse: CERN 2008 Epilogue Quantum Timeline Name Index Subject Index
Details ISBN0199566844 Author Jim Baggott Publisher Oxford University Press Year 2011 ISBN-10 0199566844 ISBN-13 9780199566846 Format Hardcover Media Book Short Title QUANTUM STORY Language English DEWEY 530.120 Publication Date 2011-02-24 Imprint Oxford University Press Place of Publication Oxford Country of Publication United Kingdom Series Oxford Landmark Science Subtitle A history in 40 moments UK Release Date 2011-02-24 NZ Release Date 2011-02-24 Edited by Jean Orsoni Birth 1955 Position Instructor Qualifications QC Alternative 9780198784777 Illustrations Two 8pp black and white plate sectionn, approx 35 b/w line drawings Audience General AU Release Date 2011-02-23 Pages 506 We've got this
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