Quantum Physics for Poets

Lederman demonstrates his insight into the workings of quantum theory by finding analogies that can only be described as brilliant. The few poets I know might not learn enough to explain the subject to others - but they should get an appreciation for the comprehensiveness of quantum theory in its realm - and perhaps for the beauty that lies in perfection, the exceptional precision with which even experiments that were designed to invalidate or at least challenge quantum theory turned out instead to prove it correct. Poets, laymen, and physicists alike can expect Lederman to show them new ways to look at the nature of quantum theory and, in turn, at how quantum theory describes nature. "Quantum theory for poets" is educational, mind-expanding, and over wide stretches fun to read.

The absolute best book on quantum physics for non-scientists ever written. Easy to understand, no equations, and sprinkled with humor. It starts out with the physics discoveries of the 18th century and moves the reader gently into the mysteries of the quantum world. As a scientist myself I have never really accepted quantum physics as reality. This book made a believer of me!

My only regret with this book is that is was not available when I was taking college physics. It should be a required reading BEFORE jumping into a calculus based quantum physics course. The way the author builds on history to explain current theories provides tremendous insights that somehow never got made in college; connect-the-dots in modern test based curriculum's never seem to drive home the development process that got us to where we are now in our understanding of the quantum world. This is a must read for anyone in science.

An interesting and well-written explanation to a "poet" of the quantum physics. I admit to having taken physic courses at Houston U. and Univ. of Southern California and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in which quantum mechanics played some part as well as detailed courses on traditional physics. I have also read "The God Particle" by Leon Lederman so there is some background there. To really begin to understand quantum physics one must be able to do the math since the english language is not sufficient for explanation but from the lay person's standpoint this book is one of the best illustrations for those of us who are not all that familiar with calculus and probability formulae. Leon Lederman who is an experimental physicist of great fame comes with humor, knowledge, and insight into ways to illustrate very complex ideas to the reader. Also he is able to soothe one's anxiety over a lack of intuitive understanding of quantum physics by periodically mentioning that no one really completely understands the science....even the brightest of theoretical and experimental physicists. He combines historical figures and their accomplishments with the evolution of quantum theory and reinforces his points with how they arrive at their conclusions. This is a book that goes into just enough detail to enlighten but does not smother with the very heavy explanations that might be in a textbook. The book educates the reader enough to grasp many of the main points of quantum physics but certainly cannot explore all of the science in great depth. A good read, a thoughtful presentation but one needs to read more and learn some of the math and revise the strictures of intuitive thinking.

An interesting book that contains a ton of amusing analogies while sticking to the subject of bring quantum mechanics to a more "relatable" level, with regards to the general public. It can also be useful to those already exposed to the subject, more in the mathematical sense, since it gives another perspective that'll make you want to go back and review certain topics in another light.

This topic is highly non-intuitive. The authors set the historical contexts and clearly explain most of the mystery. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand quantum physics, which has been so spectacularly successful in explaining the physics at the atomic and subatomic scales. Most of this understanding is used to develop the technology that elevates our standard of living.

It’s well written for people like me - history enthusiasts with curiosity about how Quantum physics works.

I received the book today and the front cover over the hardback book is scratched and semi damaged. The rest seems new, i didnt notice any torn pages. Semi disappointed that when a new book is ordered the cover should be new too.

Timely and great condition, the book has been great! Thank you so much for the quality service and will absolutely consider this seller for future purchases. Very communicative as well!Thank you

Too bad; the kindle version is a very sloppy job, with poor kerning, missing words. basically unreadable. I wish i had a refund.

Die theoretische Physik des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde durch zwei große Revolutionen, die Relativitätstheorie und die Quantenmechanik, geprägt, dabei ging letztere wohl mit dem bisher tiefgreifendsten Paradigmenwechsel im Verständnis der Physik einher. Nach Werner Heisenbergs 'Epiphanie' Erlebnis auf Helgoland, und den Entdeckungen von Erwin Schrödinger und Paul Dirac, waren die Physiker n unglaublich kurzer Zeit -- in den Jahren 1925-27 – in der Lage, die seltsamen Phänomen der Atomphysik, insbesondere die verwirrenden Muster der Spektrallinien, im wesentlichen zu verstehen. Dem gegenüber ist die Interpretationen der Quantenmechanik bis heute umstritten, dies und Äußerungen, wie etwa von Niels Bohr "Wer über die Quantentheorie nicht entsetzt ist, der hat sie nicht verstanden", fördern den 'Mythos' der Quantenmechanik, der jeden Versuch, eine allgemein verständlichen Darstellung der Quantenmechanik zu schaffen, zu einer Gratwanderung werden lässt – die beiden Autoren haben damit aber bereits durch ihre langjährigen Physik Vorlesungen für Studenten der freien Künste, reichlich Erfahrung gesammelt.Leon Lederman ist Experimentalphysiker, für die Entdeckung des Myon- Neutrinos erhielt er 1988 gemeinsam mit Melvin Schwartz und Jack Steinberger den Nobelpreis für Physik; sein bekanntestes populär wissenschaftliches Buch ist 'The God Particle' (1983), in dem er die Hintergründe des (damals) geplanten Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) schildert und erläutert. Gemeinsam mit Christopher Hill verfasste er bereits 'Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe' und später 'Beyond the God Particle'.Die Autoren folgen mit ihrer Darstellung im wesentlichen der Geschichte der Quantenphysik: Plancks Quantenhypothese zur Erklärung der Strahlung schwarzer Körper, Einsteins Erklärung des lichtelektrischen Effekts, Heisenbergs Unschärferelation, dem Erfolg der QM beim Verständnis des Periodensystem der Elemente; sie scheuen aber auch nicht vor der Besprechung komplizierterer Konzepte zurück, wie Diracs See, der Entdeckung von Antiteilchen und Feynmans Pfadintegralen, verschränkten Zuständen, dem ERP Paradoxon und der Bellschen Ungleichung, den quantenmechanischen Grundlagen der Festkörperphysik, Quantenfelder, Bosonen und Fermionen, den Problemen der Quantisierung der Gravitation und den Versprechungen der Stringtheorie; sie erwähnen die Kopenhagener Deutung der QM, die Einstein Bohr Debatten, ebenso wie Hugh Everettes viele Welten Interpretation.Lederman und Hill gelingt es, ein fassettenreiches Bild der Quantenmechanik zu entwerfen, die anspruchsvolle Materie wird ohne unnötige technische Komplikationen entwickelt aber nirgends über- simplifiziert; das macht 'Quantum Physics for Poets' zu einem der wundervollsten populären Bücher zu QM, dazu tragen auch die Metaphern bei, die die Autoren zur Erklärung verwenden: etwa der QM als Konstruktion einer Theorie der Quadratwurzel von Wahrscheinlichkeiten, oder Spinoren als Quadratwurzeln von Vektoren; ebenso beeindruckend sind die Ausführungen zu Feynmans Interpretation von Antiteilchen als Teilchen, die in der Zeit zurück wandern.Im Anhang erklären die Autoren den quantenmechanisch intrinsischen Begriff des Spin, für Leser, die sich ein Quäntchen mehr Technik zutrauen, näher, und zeigen, wie aus dem Identitäts- Prinzip für quantenmechanischen Teilchen (Austausch Symmetrie), die Existenz der beiden Teilchenarten der Bosonen und Fermionen und ihrer grundlegenden Eigenschaften abgeleitet werden kann.

Quite an interesting read, with a slightly different take on some of the standard info about quantum weirdness. The captions to some of the graphs though, were incomprehensible without a lot more pondering than the 'poet' readers might want to do (or me come to that!) - totally out of sync with the text. I get the distinct (though maybe unfair) impression from this and a previous book I recently read by LL that he is more than a little proud of his achievements, which left a slightly bad impression on me, though not really a criticism of his material..But the main reason for the 3* rating is that although the book is given as being published in 2011 (and there is no copyright page at the beginning of the book to date it from that - VERY unusual, I thought), right near the end he says things like"Among the perceived obstacles to quantum computing is sensitivity to outside noise" - in fact the whole section, including that on cryptography seems to predate the work over the last 4/5 years in these fields (including experiments to turn noise into an advantage, and initial (slightly!) practical results);"supersymmetry may be detected in experiments within the next few remaining years of the Fermilab Tevatron" (it shut down in 2011);And then the real (apparent) giveaway - "yet all computer science, as realised in the best computer available in the year 2000 ..." - I don't think I saw any date quoted in the text that was any later than that.So my impression is that the material had been written some years earlier and then dusted off to make a more up-to-date publication - if that's wrong then the editing has been a bit shoddy.In summary, a good book for 'poets' looking for an initial introduction, but a bad (and misleading, perhaps?) one for anyone looking for a more recent update of the field, a la 2011. As I don't like being 'hoodwinked', I have given it a low rating.

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