In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
Quantum theory is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power or nuclear weapons, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering. In Search of Schrodinger's Cat tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth stranger than any fiction. John Gribbin takes us step by step into an ever...
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It is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power or nuclear bombs, no lasers, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering -- at all. Now John Gribbin tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth far stranger than any fiction. He takes us step-by-step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place -- requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time-travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrodinger's Cat -- a search for quantum reality -- as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today -- quantum physics.
AcknowledgmentsviiIntroductionxvPrologue: Nothing Is Real1Part 1The QuantumChapter 1Light7Waves or Particles?Wave Theory TriumphantChapter 2Atoms19Nineteenth-Century AtomsEinstein's AtomsElectronsIonsX RaysRadioactivityInside the AtomChapter 3Light and Atoms33The Blackbody ClueAn Unwelcome RevolutionWhat Is h?Einstein, Light, and QuantaChapter 4Bohr's Atom51Jumping ElectronsHydrogen ExplainedAn Element of Chance: God's DiceAtoms in PerspectiveChemistry ExplainedPart 2Quantum MechanicsChapter 5Photons and Electrons81Particles of LightParticle/Wave DualityElectron WavesA Break With the PastPauli and ExclusionWhere Next?Chapter 6Matrices and Waves101Breakthrough in HeligolandQuantum MathSchrodinger's TheoryA Backward StepQuantum CookeryChapter 7Cooking with Quanta123AntimatterInside the NucleusLasers and MasersThe Mighty MicroSuperconductorsLife ItselfPart 3... And BeyondChapter 8Chance and Uncertainty155The Meaning of UncertaintyThe Copenhagen InterpretationThe Experiment With Two HolesCollapsing WavesComplementarity RulesChapter 9Paradoxes and Possibilities177The Clock in the BoxThe "EPR Paradox"Time TravelEinstein's TimeSomething for NothingSchrodinger's CatThe Participatory UniverseChapter 10The Proof of the Pudding215The Spin ParadoxThe Polarization PuzzleThe Bell TestThe ProofWhat Does It Mean?Confirmation and ApplicationsChapter 11Many Worlds235Who Observes the Observers?Schrodinger's CatsBeyond Science FictionBeyond Einstein?A Second LookBeyond EverettOur Special PlaceEpilogue: Unfinished Business255Twisted Space-TimeBroken SymmetrySupergravityIs the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation?Inflation and the UniverseBibliography277Index291
