Customer Reviews

The Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone

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4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the best book on quantum physics that I've ever read. What Kenneth Ford, retired director of the American Institute for Physics, set out to do (and I think largely accomplishes) is to make the world of the quantum (somewhat!) accessible to the general reader. Using a minimum of mathematics and a maximum of analogy and explanation expressed in a direct and readable style, Ford brings the "eerie theory" (p. 247) as close to the everyday mind as might be possible. Part of the reason for the book's success is that Ford had high school seniors at Germantown Academy carve "up the book among themselves and" provide "valuable (and unvarnished) feedback."

But let's face it, even great physicists, entirely enmeshed in the difficult mathematics of QM--people who have devoted their lives to understanding the quantum world--can't answer John Wheeler's famous question: "How come the quantum?" The problem is not so much that the quantum world is complicated or that the math is difficult. The problem is that the "reality" of QM is fundamentally at odds with our everyday experience.

Some of the ideas such as superposition, entanglement, fundamental probability, exclusion, and the famous uncertainty principle discovered by Werner Heisenberg, to mention just a few, are completely alien to our experience as human beings. In this regard I am reminded of the saying from Eastern religion that the world is not as we think it is. The world we see is a representation constructed by our minds in collaboration with our senses, honed through the ages by the evolutionary experience so that what we see and hear and feel and taste and smell and especially "understand" is conditioned by our need to survive. We do not see x-rays or radio waves or individual atoms, nor do we know intuitively that atoms are mostly empty space, nor do we appreciate that the colors we see are really just inside our heads, our way of apprehending the differing wave lengths of light coming from the objects in the world, not something intrinsic to those objects.

Et cetera, one might say. So vast is the world and so tiny can things be (but not tinier than the Planck limit!--or so it is postulated) and so remote from our day-to-day needs that until recent times the extremes had no relevance for us. But everything has changed. Lasers, computers, nuclear reactors (and bombs) stem from knowledge of things impossible to see and even impossible to visualize or to fully appreciate. The technology works, the math rings true, and our world is changed for the better, for the worse, but regardless, changed forever.

But how much can the average educated person with no mathematic training learn about QM? Is it a hopeless case? Certainly the complexities presented in this book just in terms of the number of particles and their properties are formidable. I would have to take notes and construct charts and review and re-review in order to keep the particles straight in my mind. (Ford provides a particle appendix with four tables that helps.) But even so, I would not understand quantum mechanics. However I think there is something wonderful in what I do learn and appreciate. Namely, that the world really is not as we think it is. Such knowledge ushers in feelings of humility and awe and leads to a greater appreciation of how amazing everything is.

Implicit in Ford's presentation is the idea that quantum mechanics is not complete. He writes, "Many physicists believe that some reason for quantum mechanics awaits discovery." (p. 99) The implication is that something more fundamental underpins QM, and when that is discovered our understanding will be perhaps complete, or (more likely, I suspect) a whole new world of mystery will be opened to us. The fact that relativity and QM are yet to be completely reconciled, and that gravity does not fit into the equations of QM, fairly cries out for a larger theory.

Most important for me and I think for most people interested in QM are its philosophic and even religious implications. Facile ideas of gods that talk to humans only through the words of ancient books, or of gods that cannot do their will in the world except through the work (sometimes malicious) of humans, or gods that communicate with no inkling of anything beyond the Age of Bronze, dissipate like fairy tales when one contemplates the world of the very large and the very small. In particular, when I think about the idea that the entire universe was once (before the Big Bang) stuffed into a mathematical point, I am led to wonder what could be contained within the relatively vast expanse of a particle as defined in QM. Who is to say there cannot be worlds within worlds within worlds?

Anyway, I believe that even a cursory or hurried reading of this book will prove valuable to the interested reader, and for those with the time and energy to study Ford's presentation, a lot more can be gained even for the non-mathematical.

I've always wanted to learn more about quantum physics, so I figured I would start with a book that was for "Everyone." Me defenitely being that "Everyone" and not having a very strong background in the subject, I thought this book would fit me perfectly. However, about 30 pages in, I realized I was quickly being left behind by Kenneth Ford. He starts out at a good pace in the first few pages, explaining the kinds of measurements in quantum physics and also a little bit of the history behind the field, but then he becomes increasingly technical, referrencing terms unknown to the average layman without prior explanation. Sometimes I realized that these explanations did exist in an abbreviated manner farther along in the book, so many times I found myself searching for terms in the index and jumping around to put everything together.

Basically, I think this book might be great for people who already have an intermediate understanding of quantum physics and have heard of the terminology at least once. But the rest of us "everyonish" people who come with less experience on the subject might find that it might be possible to gain a good understanding of quantum physics reading this book but only after some dedicated work on our part. Personally, I think I will buy a more quantum-physics-for-dummies kind of book first and then move on to this one.

This book is pure pleasure. It reads a bit like an adventure story as the author explains how the concepts of the quantum theory were developed to make sense of experimental results in the subatomic realm. The author's engaging style makes quantum theory seem almost easy! This book is by far the best effort to bring the meaning of quantum theory to the nonscientist that I have read

I'm a mathematical retard, but this book is making sense!! If you are a visual person, who is better able to figure 'things' out if you can 'see' them, get this book. I'm an English major, but this book is helping me to 'see' quantum theory!!

I enjoyed it, but then again, I'm a quantum physics major. It really deals more with particle physics to begin with, and only later brings quantum into sight. I still thought it was easy reading, though, and still entertaining. It kept my attention. However, for an easy introduction into quantum physics, I still feel that Jim Al-Khalili's book "Quantum" is a better read.

Three themes are intertwined throughout this book:

1. Historical and biographical data on the men who, over about 50 years, discovered and described the weird world of quantum phenomenon and particle physics. The use of common sense had to be suspended during these investigations.

2. Accurate and intimidating descriptions of the particles and their interactions. I think it was Richard Feynman who said something like, "If I want to know the particulars about one of these particles, I know where to look it up."

3. Running commentary on how the quantum world works.

Of the three, the first is well-done and interesting, the second is relentless but necessary (for the career physicist), and the third is simply brilliant. It explains in clear language why the quantum world is so unlike the common sense world we thought we lived in. Difficult concepts come alive - such as wave/particle duality, the exclusion principle, the uncertainly principle, symmetry, and entanglement, or as Einstein called it, "spooky action at a distance." Unless you live like a Mennonite or are on a boy scout campout, quantum physics technologies effect the way you live your daily life - the internet even grew out of early efforts of physicists to keep each other more immediately informed about advances in particle physics. For non-physics majors, consider reading on despite lack of total understanding or you might bog down in details. As the point of view changes, concepts are restated and you'll get another try at it. This stuff is weird!

This is a great book that I highly recommend for any physicist who wants to brush up on particle physics and quantum phenomena, any undergrad or grad student in physics, or any other scientist types who are persistent enough to really want a handle on this fascinating but difficult subject.

In this book, Mr. Ford shows an uncanny ability to explain the most obscure concepts of Quantum physics in a clear way. Do not misunderstand me, this book requires some knowledge in the basics of physics but you do not have to be a quantum physicist to follow the argument.
The only negative comment I have is that I found the pages on Dark Energy incomplete since there is no explanation on what the 1A supernova is, or how this simple concept sets the theoretical underpinning for the remapping of huge areas of the known universe and for the very recent discovery of the accelerated expansion. This is an area where cosmology and quantum are touching now in an interesting, bizarre way and I would have given a whole chapter to the topic.
The author makes a great effort in explaining the world of quarks, waves and particles. The wave function of a particle is difficult to grasp and its effect, for example, on the different energy levels of the electron more so. The book is best, in my view, in these difficult chapters.
Finally, I have learned to understand Feynman diagrams and in particular the relationship between particles, antiparticles and the time vector. Thank you, Mr. Ford. This is a great book for the interested reader.

I love reading; and as of lately I've found that I want to read more material that will enrich my life or possibly expand my mind. I've been lucky enough to find knowledge in both works of fiction and non-fiction. I won't say I'm a prude when it comes to what I read; but I will say that I hope what I choose to read will either entertain me or teach me (preferably both). As I'm sure is the case with many of you ... I find myself with less and less time available for reading; so these days I've been trying to make reading an issue of quality over quantity. With that said, It's my belief that you can find knowledge in something as simple as a Fiction Thriller book if it makes you think and engages you. The same can be said about non-fiction such as the book "The Quantum World". Often with books like this if an author isn't careful then they can end up creating a dull lecture aimed only at those that share their intelligence on the subject "matter" (no pun intended). Nothing is worse than reading something that makes you feel like you've just walked in on a conversation between 2 or more colleagues who each understand what the other is saying. It's almost as if you are stuck trying to decipher the foreign language they are speaking because they refuse to talk on a level that they deem beneath them.

With all of that said ...

For years I've wanted to read about Quantum Physics and try to understand what it's all about; and thankfully I chose Mr. Ford's book as my first foray into the subject. I'll probably never fully grasp Quantum Physics because it is not my life's work; but Mr. Ford's words will forever serve as the reason I plan on reading more about this fascinating subject. I picked it up this book to gain knowledge; and because of this book I have a much better understanding of what QP is about. I also have a new found respect for the minds that practice in this field. In my opinion Kenneth Ford has done something that is hard for any author, instructor, or knowledgeable person to do ... He's simplified his subject and explained it in a manner that anyone can understand. Not only does this book inform; it is my belief that it entertains as well. His descriptions carry real world comparisons to fully explain its QP equivalent; and some of them will blow your mind just to think about them. The Quantum World is a good choice for those who have an interest in what QP is all about. Even more, however, it is a MUST READ for anyone entertaining the idea of following QP as their life's work.

If you are reading this review you will obviously fit into one of these two groups. Do yourself a huge favor and start with this book. I did, and I'm much wiser for doing so.

I agree with my fellow top 50 reviewer, Dennis Littrell, that this is one of the best, and possibly THE best, book on quantum mechanics for the layman ever written. I also disagree with the spotlight review by the person from Ecuador that the book is a terrible one. No doubt this reader is one of those elitists for whom any book that attempts to be accessible to the non-scientist or non-specialist and doesn't have enough math to dazzle a David Hilbert is simply pandering to the ignorant and benighted. Yeah, well, when this reviewer wins his Nobel Prize maybe he can cop an attitude like that and make it stick. But I doubt he has.

But getting back to the book, since my fellow Top 100 reviewer has pretty much said it all, I just wanted to say that I thought Ford's explanations of Feynman diagrams were the easiest and clearest to understand that I had seen yet. I've seen several other treatments but I always felt I wasn't really getting the whole thing, and Ford managed to explain it in a way that the layman can understand. Ford's explanations of many other quantum phenomena are equally clear and concise.

By the way, although not a physicist, I'm not exactly a novice when it comes to science, and I see no problems with books like this. My masters and doctoral work were in neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, and theoretical and mathematical neurobiology and biophysics, but that is not the same as being a real physicist, so the full mathematical treatments would be too difficult for me too, although I have also read more advanced books on quantum theory that require far more math. But books like Ford's also do a service for scientists who were trained in other fields like myself who, although not untutored when it comes to physics and math, don't have the time to become as adept as a true physicist on all the theoretical details. Ford's book does that very well, and the previous comments by the other writer are pretty much totally off-base. And as you can see from the other reviews here, most are quite positive.

I know nothing of the quantum world so I picked up this book and to my amazement, I can actually understand most of it so far. I haven't read all of it yet, but its basically and introduction into the field and the author breaks down what he's talking about into examples so you understand it. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in quantum physics, physics, or even science. Very interesting book.