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| The Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone | 
 enlarge | Author: Kenneth W. Ford
Creator: Diane Goldstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.00
Buy New: $10.50
You Save: $8.50 (45%)
Buy New/Used from $9.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  (25 reviews)
Sales Rank: 19242
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 067401832X
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.12
EAN: 9780674018327
ASIN: 067401832X
Publication Date: October 15, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Physics June 9, 2008
I have found this book very easy to read and understand. It is great for people who want to know things regarding physics without a 'gob' of formulas to be confused with.
 Review By a Non-Physicist October 29, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
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.
A Good Book for Non-scientists September 17, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I found this book to be very interesting. The only minor drawback is the intense focus on the many kinds of sub-atomic particles (Hadrons, Fermions, Leptons, Pions, W particles, etc.), but I really liked the way the information was presented. A good book for the non-scientist. Makes the completely complicated quantum theory quasi-understandable, if not fathomable. I think it was Neils Bohr you said that something like "anybody who claims to understand quantum mechanics really doesn't", as it is weird science based on probabilities. Not many equations in the book; a few in the footnotes.
A good introduction to Quantum Physics September 8, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a good and readable introduction to Quantum Mechanics with a good collection of questions at the end that will be handy for educators (an answer manual is available to them). The quantum world is so far away from our daily experience that it should not surprise us that the concepts we use in classical physics such as defined trajectories, particles, waves, exact position, etc. get blurred in the quantum world. However, there are fascinating experiments, the best known is the double slit experiment, that show us the weirdness of the quantum, epitomized in the famous Wheeler's question: "How come the quantum?".
The quantum world is fundamentally probabilistic. For example, you do not who whether a specific atom of a radioactive substance will disintegrate in the next second, the only thing you can know is the probability that it will decay.
The book also traces the history of the main discoveries in particle physics and has a good number of photos of the main characters.
To conclude: anybody not familiar with QM and who wants to acquire a minimum scientific culture about one of the two main revolutions in physics of the XXth century (and the one that has had the widest impact in our modern economy) needs to read this book.
I particularly enjoyed the explanation of alpha and beta radioactivity and the discussion on CP violation, "the reason we are here", according to Nobel Prize winner Val Fitch. On the other hand, I missed some clarifications that will confuse the lay reader: why neutrinos are not their own antiparticles or how come there are 8 gluons if there are nine pairs of colour/anticolour. On the other hand, the important Uncertainty Principle is only discussed on page 213, whereas it is mentioned several times before in the book.
Very accessible, but all over the place August 28, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Emit one photon at a certain point, then detect it at another point. In between, that one photon has traveled EVERY POSSIBLE PATHWAY between the two points. The location where you detect it is determined by probability, not certainty.
This book blew my mind, as I had left physics behind over a decade prior. It was very accessible, but disjointed. I suppose it is difficult to compose a flowing narrative about a subject that no one truly understands. Credit Ford for helping us learn, even if we have to keep flipping back and forth to remind ourselves what leptons and bosons and fermions are.
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