How Physics Confronts Reality
Einstein was Correct, but Bohr Won the Game
Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Physics, Quantum Theory, Other Sciences, History
| Author: | Roger G Newton | ISBN: | 9789814338523 |
| Publisher: | World Scientific Publishing Company | Publication: | July 28, 2009 |
| Imprint: | WSPC | Language: | English |
| Author: | Roger G Newton |
| ISBN: | 9789814338523 |
| Publisher: | World Scientific Publishing Company |
| Publication: | July 28, 2009 |
| Imprint: | WSPC |
| Language: | English |
This book recalls, for nonscientific readers, the history of quantum mechanics, the main points of its interpretation, and Einstein's objections to it, together with the responses engendered by his arguments. Most popular discussions on the strange aspects of quantum mechanics ignore the fundamental fact that Einstein was correct in his insistence that the theory does not directly describe reality. While that fact does not remove the theory's counterintuitive features, it casts them in a different light.
Context is provided by following the history of two central aspects of physics: the elucidation of the basic structure of the world made up of particles, and the explanation, as well as the prediction, of how objects move. This history, prior to quantum mechanics, reveals that whereas theories and discoveries concerning the structure of nature became increasingly realistic, the laws of motion, even as they became more powerful, became more and more abstract and remote from intuitive notions of reality. Newton's laws of motion gained their abstract power by sacrificing direct and intuitive contact with real experience. Arriving 250 years after Newton, the break with a direct description of reality embodied in quantum mechanics was nevertheless profound.
Contents:
- Some Quantum History
- Rules and Interpretations
- Einstein's Defection
- From Atomism to Real Particles
- Laws of Motion
- Fields
- New Particles and Their Quantum Origins
- Atoms, Inside and Out
- Methods and Underpinnings
Readership: Academics and students in physics and the general public.
Key Features:
- The book corrects the mostly erroneous discussions on strange aspects of quantum mechanics such as entanglement
- Because quantum mechanics does not deal directly with reality, Schrödinger's famous cat is shown not to be in the predicament usually presented
- The important contribution of John Bell, who established experimental tests of classical versus quantum mechanical explanations, is discussed
This book recalls, for nonscientific readers, the history of quantum mechanics, the main points of its interpretation, and Einstein's objections to it, together with the responses engendered by his arguments. Most popular discussions on the strange aspects of quantum mechanics ignore the fundamental fact that Einstein was correct in his insistence that the theory does not directly describe reality. While that fact does not remove the theory's counterintuitive features, it casts them in a different light.
Context is provided by following the history of two central aspects of physics: the elucidation of the basic structure of the world made up of particles, and the explanation, as well as the prediction, of how objects move. This history, prior to quantum mechanics, reveals that whereas theories and discoveries concerning the structure of nature became increasingly realistic, the laws of motion, even as they became more powerful, became more and more abstract and remote from intuitive notions of reality. Newton's laws of motion gained their abstract power by sacrificing direct and intuitive contact with real experience. Arriving 250 years after Newton, the break with a direct description of reality embodied in quantum mechanics was nevertheless profound.
Contents:
- Some Quantum History
- Rules and Interpretations
- Einstein's Defection
- From Atomism to Real Particles
- Laws of Motion
- Fields
- New Particles and Their Quantum Origins
- Atoms, Inside and Out
- Methods and Underpinnings
Readership: Academics and students in physics and the general public.
Key Features:
- The book corrects the mostly erroneous discussions on strange aspects of quantum mechanics such as entanglement
- Because quantum mechanics does not deal directly with reality, Schrödinger's famous cat is shown not to be in the predicament usually presented
- The important contribution of John Bell, who established experimental tests of classical versus quantum mechanical explanations, is discussed
