Customer Reviews

The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Never-Ending Universe

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This is a good starting point for the individual interested in understanding quantum and relativity physics. The volume is divided between issues of the very small and of the very large, essentially those that are affected by quantum factors and the nuclear force and those that are subject to relativity and gravity.

Like John Burke's series "Connections," the author chooses select oddities from among the outcomes of these theories to show just how strange reality is at the level of the very small or very large, following up their meaning to everyday experience. In the former he briefly describes the uncertainty principle, the multiple universes theory, the multiple dimensions theory, the fabric of the "vacuum" of space, and the "spooky action at a distance" exhibited by particles. In the latter he discusses space-time, gravity, the speed of light, and some of the theories regarding the beginning of the universe.

Generally speaking I've gotten tired of yet another colorful way of presenting Einstein's theory of relativity, but Chown has show considerable restraint in presenting the material. His similes are well chosen and contribute the desired clarification of concepts without being an obvious attempt to be "different" from everyone else's. His primary stress is on the meaning of the theories to what the individual experiences as "real," and he does a good job of connecting the reader to the theories. I have read quite a few of the popular science books on these topics and still found a number of things made clearer by the author's discussion.

This would make a good edition for a high school library, even a good reading list entry for a physics or chemistry class. For those in general rather than "hard science," the book would provide some of the basic concepts of modern physics without the "pain" of the mathematics that necessarily goes along with actual physics classes. If educators started with The Quantum Zoo as part of their curriculum in late middle school, their students might actually be motivated to take on the more challenging courses later. I could definitely see it used in a general science college course for teachers, nurses, and others who want more out of their science education.

Wow! Somebody's finally done it - written a book about quantum theory and relativity for the average person that REALLY IS for the average person. In the foreword, Marcus Chown says he got fed up of books that promised to explain relativity and quantum physics to dummies - but that short-changed the reader and totally baffled him (and he's got a physics background!). He thought: there must be a better way to do this. So he's come up with his own unique explanations - one's I've never seen before - and they are utterly crystal clear. Chown asks: what is the one thing you need to know about quantum theory from which everything else follows logically? What is the one thing you need to know about relativity from which all else follows? And then he proceeds to lay it all out, step by elegant step. I can't tell you how blown away I am by this book. I never thought I'd understand this kind of stuff. Now I do! Chown is right. The ideas behind relativity and quantum theory are fundamentally simple. Anyone can understand them - as long as they've got a good teacher. And Chown is the best. Brilliant stuff!

This book is a gem. In less than 200 pages, Chown presents and explains the basics of relativity, quantum physics, and cosmology just about as clearly and understandably as possible. If you want to understand Schrodinger's wave function, uncertainty, why atoms don't collapse, how the sun really works, why quantum rules sort out bosons and fermions, and what we do and don't know about dark matter and dark energy, you coulnd't find a better source. Chown consistently amazes me with his brilliant analogies. For example, in explaining how relativity's spacetime replaced Newtonian absolute space and time, Chown writes, "Like shipwrecked mariners clinging to rocks in a wild sea, to make sense of the world we search desperately for things that are unchanging. . . . When we see the world from a high-speed vantage point, we see neither space nor time but the seamless enity of spacetime." Science writing doesn't get better than this.

Robert Adler, author of _Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation, Wiley & Sons 2002.

The best popular science book I have ever read is Marcus Chown's THE MAGIC FURNACE (read it - it's brilliant). That focused on people and ideas and was written with a novelist's eye for detail and anecdote. THE QUANTUM ZOO is principally about ideas. And what ideas! Quantum theory and relativity. I have to say I enjoyed it immensely. Chown has done it again. THE QUANTUM ZOO is quirky, clear, fun and - best of all - short. Normally, when I read a book on these kind of topics it's like swimming through syrup and I give up on page 497! Chown has given us the secret of the universe in 200-odd pages and made a more succesful stab at it than virtually anyone else I have read.

Chown has done the seemingly impossible. He has written a brief description of both quantum mechanics and relativity that is clear, concise, does not talk down to the reader and gives real insight, all without a single equation except for E=MC^2. My only quibble is with the title, which is somewhat misleading in that it implies that the book is about the various types of sub-atomic particles. This it definitely is not. It is instead divided in about equal proportions to discussions of the ideas behind quantum mechanics and relativity.

In the "real" world, the one we can see and feel, things are generally predictable. Rain doesn't fall from a cloudless sky, and the sun rises at the eastern horizon. Down in the invisible world of atoms and their components, things are less organised. The story doesn't flow like a good novel, it skips around, chapters are out of sequence, and the conclusions aren't just illogical, they're impossible. At least compared to what we're accustomed to. In this excellent - and much-needed work, Marcus Chown is able to make some sense of a rather poorly conceived tale.

As Chown is at pains to point out, understanding the universe's basic mechanisms doesn't come easily. He ought to know - he's been in the trade. Yet his close knowledge provides a solid foundation for explaining it. More important here, he enjoys a fine talent for turning complex issues into understandable and readable accounts. He shows us how these things work, succeeding admirably at the task. Predictability, he explains, isn't part of how the universe works. Thus, the reader must shed a few misconceptions about reality derived over the years and let Chown guide you through an unknown world. He's a talented writer and provides a wealth of tips to aid in the tour of the fascinating atomic realm. He's able to make sense of the seemingly chaotic story underlying the world we live in.

"What is light?" seems a straightforward question, but Chown describes how much effort has gone into making that definition. For centuries light was thought to be a wave. After all, it exhibits various frequencies [according to colour], can be "bent" by obstacles and so on. Yet, as the author reminds us, light's speed is finite - a critical point. Einstein demonstrated the flaws in thinking of light as a wave and, in Chown's words, you can "Say Good-bye to Certainty". To help bridge the gap between what is happening in the atomic realm and our world, he opens each chapter with a thought experiment exercise. Can you imagine a river flowing uphill? Chown challenges your thinking with that and similar scenarios, then goes on to demonstrate how such a phenomenon can occur.

As Chown goes on to explain, what we've learned about light can be applied to conditions within the atom. Light doesn't come from torches or burning embers in a simple, continuous manner. It emerges from jumping electrons which are prodded and poked by other forces and "microscopic" elements within atoms [Chown's use of "microscopic" throughout this book is slightly misleading - none of what he writes can be seen by a microscope. But continuous use of "sub-microscopic" would be boring.] The "jumping" is the hint of what quantum mechanics means - there is very little smooth, undisturbed and continuous action in the atomic world. Things may occur with seeming regularity, then quickly shift to another condition. This state of affairs, as Chown notes, applies across the cosmos. Predictability is abandoned and any semblance of a coherent narrative is lost. Read this and find out why you should learn something of quantum physics. It's a finer tale than Shakespeare. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Truth be told, I never really had a burning desire to understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but author Marcus Chown, a cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine, brings the subject within the mental grasp of laymen like myself with his new, compact primer. Addressing his thesis in conjunction with quantum theory, Chown smartly uses popular culture references and everyday objects as examples of the theories in action, for instance, stating that every breath I take has an atom once breathed out of Marilyn Monroe, or that one percent of the static experienced between channels of a television is radiation coming form the Big Bang. These are grand, fun statements, though I still find myself scratching my head on what they really mean, especially when he attempts to brings his level of discussion down to the microscopic world.

It helps that the author has divided the book into two major parts - quantum theory in "Small Things" and the broader scale of relativity and how it affects the entire universe in "Big Things". We are all aware of atomic structures from our high school science classes, but translating these images exponentially shows how difficult it is to explain the malleability of atomic particles no matter how creative the analogies. To be fair, the baffling subject of quantum mechanics would likely unhinge any science writer, and to Chown's immense credit, he comes closest in bringing it all to life.

He explains, for example, how tables, no matter how solid they look, contain lots of empty space between the atoms that make up their matter. In fact, his most helpful image is that if the empty space were squeezed out of all the atoms in our bodies, all of humanity would fit in the space occupied by a single sugar cube. Using a variety of sources from Einstein to physicist Richard Feynman to even "Star Trek", the author is able to show such mind-curdling concepts as how you age faster the higher up you are, and the faster you travel, the slimmer you get. Chown has put together a clever book which doesn't hit a physics home run but does make the previously untouchable topics of quantum mechanics and relativity just a little more tangible for the rest of us.

This is an interesting and non-mathematical introduction to quantum theory ("atoms and their constituents") and the general theory of relativity ("our picture of space, time and gravity"). These subjects are fiendishly difficult to understand, but Chown's use of many fresh explanations and analogies should help you get to grips with them. Chown has put in a great deal of effort to try and make these subjects as accessible as possible. As a result, this book has given me a much better understanding of these subjects; and far fewer headaches than the many other books, articles and documentaries I've encountered before.

At the moment, there's no free preview chapter on this site for the Quantum Zoo; but if you visit Chown's website at [...] you can sample a free chapter before making a decision.

Also, the review by Keith A.Nelson is not accurate. This book has ten chapters, the first six of which deal with quantum theory.

In `Quantum Zoo' popular science writer Marcus Chown tackles two of the most baffling subjects in the history of human attempts to understand the world around us through rational inquiry: quantum theory on the one hand and general relativity, on the other. Or perhaps that should be quantum theory on one hand and the other hand too!

First, Chown shrinks the reader down to the microscopic atomic world of quantum theory. Leave all of your assumptions at the door, they will avail you naught in the quantum world. Atoms being in two places at once - at least until we peak at them. Quantum theory isn't just hard. Learning the table of elements is hard, hitting a curve ball is hard, but the quantum world is entirely counterintuitive. Chown does an admirable job explaining this unpredictable and uncertain world to the uninitiated in the book's first 85 or so pages (including how `probability waves' explain why the same uncertainties do not apply to the macro world).

Chown deftly leads the reader through Einstein's special and general theories of relativity in the book's second half. Compared to quantum theory, space-time seems positively commonsensical; well, perhaps not quite - did Einstein really blast Newton's theory of gravity into the ether, so to speak? Sort of - Einstein's theory shows that gravity is really warped space, but Sir Isaac's 'inverse square law' still holds. See Almost Everyone's Guide To Science. Chown closes by explaining the Big Bang theory and exploring some of the unanswered questions.

`The Quantum Zoo' is an excellent introductory book for the general reader like this reviewer. In any book of this sort, the author faces the challenge of simplifying the material while still explaining the concepts rather than simply stating conclusions. The untutored general reader wants brevity and clarity, but clarity at times requires introducing complexity - in trying to do it all in just under 160 pages Chowns set himself quite a challenge. Chown mostly succeeds, although at times his explanations are too summary. The general reader interested in more detail on the Big Bang may wish to try Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe (P.S.).

This is a good, not great, attempt to help the layperson get a very basic foothold on the meaning of Quantum Theory. Unfortunately, the total lack of illustrations raises more questions that words can answer. For example: if a photon is a particle with mass, and he says that no body can reach the speed of light because it's mass will become infinite, how does a photon do it? The window reflection description also doesn't adequately describe the difference between a wave and a photon. Why can't a wave excite the electrons in the atoms of the glass as well as a photon can bounce off of them? Compare with the gold foil experiment. I need to talk to the author!