Customer Reviews

Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the follow on to In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, which was a laymen's introduction to the complexities of Quantum behavior. I strongly recommend you read that book first to get a general introduction to the amazingly different world of behavior below the level of about one hundred nanometers or 200 atoms. At that level the rules change profoundly. So much so that we do not seem to even understand quantum behavior but we do understand the effects of quantum behavior. That is, as Feynman described it in QED we can measure and predict with astonishing precision (accurate to the thickness of a hair measuring between two points one in New York and one in Los Angeles) what happens but we cannot explain why.

Gribbin seeks to create a deeper understanding of the principles of quantum behavior and the why of it. Gribbin explains elegantly why all this matters: "the interactions of electrons with one another and with electromagnetic radiation determine almost everything about the world around us . . . All of chemistry is explained by quantum physics . . . biological life depends upon the behavior of complex molecules such as proteins and DNA, which is also chemistry and also depends ultimately on the quantum properties of electrons".

If you want to have a better understanding of the most powerful area of basic knowledge for the early 21st century you should read these three books and Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. If after you get through it and it doesn't make sense then you are on the right track. You will, however, be closer to understanding quantum dynamics which will be as important for the first half of the 21st century as physics was in the 20th or electromagnetic theory and the internal combustion engine were for the second half of the 19th.

Gribbin does his best to make this subject both interesting and understandable and I recommend his two books to anyone willing to take the time to stop frequently to think about the amazing ideas they have encountered.

Although I'm not really a math/physics type person, I enjoy the popular books on the subject and have read a number. John Gribbin's book Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality was a little harder for me to get into, but there was a fair amount of new-at least to me-material. Part of the problem was that the author tended to repeat himself. Although if I plowed onward I usually discovered his purpose in doing so. Part of the problem is that he covers a lot.

The book has a fairly extensive history of the who's who of physics, starting with the early Greek philosophers for whom experiment was largely impossible (even the thermometer is a fairly new invention) to the likes of Galileo and Newton (for both of whom experiment was an imperative). The section on Modern Times is interesting in that it shows where thinking has gone wrong as well as right, and shows the interconnectedness of research in physics, one break through or thought experiment leading to further advances. I certainly found the degree to which Einstein was beholding to previous theorists surprising; he has become such an icon, that he seems to stand alone, head and shoulders above the rest. Just the idea that scientific understanding had reached a level at the turn of the century that the discovery of relativity was "ready" to be made was a surprise to me. It makes even more obvious that advances have their "time" and that much in science and technology moves forward in lock step.

In Desperate Remedies the author discusses in greater depth the various interpretations of quantum theory including, for instance, the well known Copenhagen Interpretation, David Bohm's pilot wave theory, and the many worlds theories, putting them into perspective and describing how each is different from the others and how each stands up to experiment. He has his own biases, but he is fairly up front with it, explaining his reasons for them. To those with a greater background in physics and/or math, this may seem arrogant, but to those of us who haven't a clue, it's helpful.

One of the benefits of the last chapters was that Dr. Gribbin points out clearly that all of the theories about "reality" are just paradigms that allow their authors to draw conclusions, design experiments and test results. He also points out that these same paradigms can confine thinking, confusing the metaphor with the described phenomenon, or channel thinking so much that experiments are designed to find certain things while neglecting other things. I thought his own idea of combining all of these theories and sifting out the relevant portions of each to make a master theory an interesting one.

The bibliography is fairly extensive and annotated, which allows the interested to follow up on some of the areas of interest, whether particular theories or biographies. Most of these are quite current, from the 80's and 90's, the oldest being 1873 and 1934 (Tyndall, On light; and Dunne, An Experiment with Time.)

I'm not sure I'd advise the first time dabbler to start with this book. I think it might be too confusing to start with, but it would definitely be a good one for those with at least some background in the genre. I agree with another reviewer; read 10, then go on to this one. The Universe Next Door: The Making of Tomorrow's Science by Marcus Chown, Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe by Martin J. Rees, Matter Myth by John Gribbin, and P. C. W. Davies, and About Time by P. C. W. Davies might interest the beginner.

I won't pretend that this book is for everyone. It's not. It helps if you've read the initial book in this series, and it helps a lot if you read about science extensively. You will need a frame of reference, but don't get too comfortable with it, because it will be snatched away from you.

John Gribbin follows "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat" with a book that is even more important. While he points out that no one will ever really understand quantum phisics, I must say that this book at least gives you an understandable look at it.

It's hard to overstate the value of "Schrodinger's Kittens" but if you've read "Cat" then you must read this. If you haven't, well then, go read "Cat," and then get this book.

Gribbin makes quantum physics as clear as it can be made to those who don't know all the math. He makes you wish you did, but you don't really need it. But he also adds an excitement that I never believed possible in a book on physics, or on a topic of this type, including my own.

You won't really understand quantum physics after reading this book (because it's beyond human understanding) but you will surely appreciate it more than you do now. That's as good as can be said about any book in this subject.

I wish I could do as well in my books. Thanks, John.

This books attempts three things: (1) a non-technical introduction to quantum mechanics, by historical background, analogy, and descriptions of predicted phenomena; (2) descriptions of a number of relatively recent experiments elucidating the "mysteries" of quantum mechanics; and (3) a critical summary of various interpretations. As a popular introduction I would not recommend this book over superior accounts such as Nick Herbert's "Quantum Reality." Despite the fact that Herbert's book is substantially older, the basic theory is still the same. Descriptions of experiments are very poorly written, and many lack diagrams that would make them faster to read and easier to understand. The interpretative section is extremely poorly written and self-indulgent. It does give extensive space to "many-worlds" interpretations, but these have largely fallen out of favor among physicists. In any event, Gribbin is a shallow writer, and fails to convey many of the philosophical nuances -- or, for that matter, to connect the interpretations to the experiments in a clear and easily comprehensible way. His final twist (relative to other popular works) is the introduction of an interpretation incorporating the quantum "backwards" wave. This is an extremely interesting addition to the interpretive literature. Gribben butchers his description, but if you've have a solid course in QM already under your belt, you'll get it.

All in all this book, this book, which probably had considerable promise in its initial proposal to the publisher, fails in execution. I notice, however, that competition in this market has thinned in recent years, so it may still be a viable alternative for readers looking for a popular text that is relatively up-to-date.

It's a great book for getting a rough handle on some of the popular quantum interpretations, but Gribbin fails to explain some critical theories. In some parts he leaves the reader a bit confused, while going to deeply in some of the historical/ mechanical stuff, boring the readers in other parts. "In Search of Schroedinger's Cat" was much better. I'd recommend other authors (like Feynman) for explanations of quantum theories.

Ok, its not Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. Its not Feynman either. But John Gribbin is a polymath who has a unique insight into many things scientific.

This book is no different and an easy to follow account of quantum physics follows within. You need to read more than one book to get a full understanding of what is know as Quantum Electrodynamics. Try 10 - and you'd be getting near. This would be one of my 10. I like his coloring in of the characters involved at the time, Boltzmann, Faraday, Maxwell, Davy, Michelsom. Morley, Lorentz. He also takes Einstein a little off the pedestal on which he unfortunately rests. Einstein was lazy, used other peoples work and should not be the byword for science - that belongs to Maxwell, Feynmann, Heisenberg or Young. If you are thinking of buying this book - and you genuinely want all the pieces of the quantum puzzle - buy this - it fills in yet another part of this complex issue

This book is all over the place. For instance, it contains a useful potted history of light from ancient Greeks times, an interesting discussion of whether physics provides us with direct knowledge of reality or just models of it, and a nice discussion on the use of analogies. But the title suggests it is going to give us useful insights into quantum reality, and in that it does not succeed. The quantum story is lost in the technicolor fog of the other material that Gribbin explores.

In this sequel to his equally foggy first book on quantum mechanics, Gribbin (mostly) dismisses the many World interpretation that he supported in his prequel. He now (kind of) pushes "Cramer's transactional interpretation".

Cramer's what? You might well ask. Cramer has hardly set the world of physics on fire. Gribbin himself seems half hearted about Cramer's interpretation. He sets up a nasty (thought!) experiment for the kittens to endure, and puts off explaining it for 150 pages This is a very clunky attempt to build suspense, and a quick and dirty way to insert the filler material. He gets back to the kitten experiment in the last few pages, produces a far too hurried explanation of it, and produces a real damp squib of a finish.

Throughout, Gribbin dismisses the Copenhagen interpretation without sufficient explanation. It's essential, in a book of this nature, to give the best account of your main opposition. Then you dismantle it using your best arguments against it. Gribbin doesn't do this, he just dismisses Copenhagen and gets on with the "gosh, wow" stuff. The lay reader deserves to be treated better.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with two stars, the philosophical and historical stuff was quite good and well written. But the book fails to deliver on the promise of the title, the promise of explaining quantum mechanics properly so that the lay reader can see how it impacts on his or her vision of reality. Unforgivable.

This books claims that Transactional's (or Cramer's) interpretation of quantum mechanics has solved all the mysteries of the theory. I'm not sure that the author would hold the same opinion ten years after that (the book is dated 1996).

In fact, there is growing consensus today that the right interpretation is so called "decoherence". For a comparison of interpretations, look for Interpretation_of_quantum_mechanics in Wikipedia

Anyway, as is always the case with Gribbin's books, reading is insightful. The travel is worth the reading, although the final conclusion may be wrong. Only the final chapter (even only part of it) is devoted to explain Cramer's interpretation.

John, we'd very much like to have another book like this, but devoted to the "decoherence" approach!

This book does a great job of describing the principles of quantum mechanics and problems introduced by its notions. Gribbin does a great job of building a mystery of what may be possible (i.e. the unified field theory, a.k.a. the theory of everything). However, the book comes short of delivering upon its promise. Gribbin and the editor basically rifle through proposed theories and solutions of various physicists and ultimately say regarding these theories "I kind of like it" or "I don't like it." There is no in-depth probing of the theories, but glib judgments. The book, in those sections, has an unpleasant effect of reading like a transcript of a dilettante grad student running his mouth in a campus cafe. There are better written, and more elegantly explored books than this book. Kaku's books deserve a special mention, and for its simplicity, Hawkings' "Black Holes and Baby Universes".

Gribbin's book is strong in introduction, but seems tofall short in properly addressing theissues of the quantum theory itself. The introduction is extremely good: one is drawn into important historical advances in theoretical physics, particularly in the study of light. Unfortunately, the transition to quantum theory is quite abrupt, and the author does not make good use of this material. It seems that the historical study of light was written almost independently of the section addressed to quantum mechanics. One is left with a hazy conception of Quantum Theory.