Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality PDF
Preview Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality
Praise for Quantum ‘An exhaustive and brilliant account of decades of emotionally charged discovery and argument, friendship and rivalry spanning two world wars. The explanations of science and philosophical interpretation are pitched with an ideal clarity for the general reader [and] perhaps most interestingly, although the author is admirably even-handed, it is difficult not to think of Quantum, by the end, as a resounding rehabilitation of Albert Einstein.’ Steven Poole, Guardian ‘The reason this book is, in fact, so readable is because it contains vivid portraits of the scientists involved, and their contexts…This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason…Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens.’ Nicholas Lezard, Paperback Choice of the Week, Guardian ‘Kumar is an accomplished writer who knows how to separate the excitement of the chase from the sometimes impenetrable mathematics. In Quantum he tells the story of the conflict between two of the most powerful intellects of their day: the hugely famous Einstein and the less well-known but just as brilliant Dane, Niels Bohr.’ Financial Times ‘Manjit Kumar’s Quantum is a super-collider of a book, shaking together an exotic cocktail of free-thinking physicists, tracing their chaotic interactions and seeing what God-particles and black holes fly up out of the maelstrom. He provides probably the most lucid and detailed intellectual history ever written of a body of theory that makes other scientific revolutions look limp-wristed by comparison.’ Independent ‘Quantum by Manjit Kumar is so well written that I now feel I’ve more or less got particle physics sussed. Quantum transcends genre – it is historical, scientific, biographical, philosophical.’ Readers’ Books of the Year, Guardian ‘Highly readable…A welcome addition to the popular history of twentieth- century physics.’ Nature ‘An elegantly written and accessible guide to quantum physics, in which Kumar structures the narrative history around the clash between Einstein and Bohr, and the anxiety that quantum theory “disproved the existence of reality”.’ Scotland on Sunday ‘It would be a rare author who could fully address both the philosophical and the historical issues – an even rarer one who could make it all palatable and entertaining to a general audience. If Kumar scores less than full marks it is only because of the admirably ambitious scale of his book.’ Andrew Crumey, Daily Telegraph ‘Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar is one of the best guides yet to the central conundrums of modern physics.’ John Banville, Books of the Year, The Age , Australia ‘By combining personalities and physics – both of an intriguingly quirky nature– Kumar transforms the sub-atomic debate between Einstein, Niels Bohr and others in their respective circles into an absorbing and…comprehensible narrative.’ Independent ‘In this magisterial study of the issue, Manjit Kumar probes beyond the froth and arcane arguments and reveals what really lies behind the theory and ultimately what it means for the development of science…Here we have an erudite work that takes the debate into new territory.’ Good Book Guide ‘Quantum is a fascinating, powerful and brilliantly written book that shows one of the most important theories of modern science in the making and discusses its implications for our ideas about the fundamental nature of the world and human knowledge, while presenting intimate and insightful portraits of people who made the science. Highly recommended.’ thebookbag.co.uk ‘This is the biography of an idea and as such reads much like a thriller.’ Ham & High ‘It is a revolution that, even if most people don’t fully realise yet, has changed the face of science – and of our understanding of the nature of reality – for ever. Beautifully written in a tour de force that covers the fierce debate about the foundations of reality that gripped the scientific community through the 20th century, this book also looks at the personal collision of thinking and belief between two of quantum theory’s great men, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr… This is the world of Alice down the cosmic rabbit hole. Take a peek.’ Odyssey , South Africa ‘Kumar brings us through the detail of the various advances, confusions and mistakes, and what emerges clearly is a picture of how science works as a great international collective effort.’ Irish Times ‘The virtue of Kumar’s book is that it takes us deeper than many and in doing so gives an insight into what we don’t know.’ spiked-online.com ‘A dramatic, powerful and superbly written history.’ Publishing News ‘A fresh perspective on the debate.’ Press Association ‘The most important popular science book published this year.’ Bookseller ‘A quite marvellous book…Manjit Kumar does a great job of weaving together the science, the history and the human drama of it all, to create a book that, by the standards of most science books, can only be described as a page turner…It’s hard to recommend this book too highly.’ top10.supersoftcafe.com ‘A superbly written history of the 20th century’s most challenging scientific revolution ’. Independent Bookseller’s Association Christmas Books Catalogue ‘Rich and intensively researched…this qualitative, narrative method is a great way to get your head around the most extraordinary and intellectually demanding theory ever devised. Kumar brings to life the wide spectrum of personalities involved in the development of the quantum theory, from the quiet and thoughtful Bohr, to the lively womanising Schrödinger…I had difficulty putting this book down.’ Astronomy Now ‘Accessible to the non-scientist…Quantum is a fine book in many ways.’ Socialism Today , April 2009 MANJIT KUMAR QUANTUM EINSTEIN, BOHR AND THE GREAT DEBATE ABOUT THE NATURE OF REALITY W. W. NORTON & COMPANY New York • London Copyright © 2008 by Manjit Kumar First American Edition 2010 All rights reserved For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kumar, Manjit. Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the great debate about the nature of reality / Manjit Kumar.—1st American ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN: 978-0-393-07829-9 1. Quantum theory—History—Popular works. I. Title. QC173.98.K86 2009 530.12—dc22 2009051249 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110 www.wwnorton.com W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT For Lahmber Ram and Gurmit Kaur Pandora, Ravinder, and Jasvinder
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