Book Details
Full Title: The Quantum Universe (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
Publisher: Da Capo Press
11 chapters + epilogue + index
Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012
Hardcover, 256 pages
Review
Two British physicists, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, have joined together to explain the way the rules of quantum physics holds our universe together. This is a follow up to their great book on relativity, Why Does E=mc2? (And Why Do We Care?).
Like in their previous book, this is an accessible book on complex modern physics topics, but it doesn't shy away from the mathematics either. The math doesn't really ever move beyond something that requires just a high school level of algebra and geometry can keep up with.
If you haven't jumped ship at the prospect of some mathematical discussions, though, this will provide a broad understanding of the major scientific principles at the heart of quantum physics. They don't make any attempt to gloss over the complexities of the theory, but rather embrace the effort to explain it in as much nuance as possible to a lay audience.
This is one of the best, most comprehensive and accessible books on quantum physics that avoids all of the mumbo-jumbo and goes straight for the scientific description. I would most recommend this for someone who's had introduction to basic physics concepts, and has had high school algebra and geometry, but wants to understand quantum physics now. For a complete lay reader, with no real science or math background, this book may be a tad much.
The Book's Science
As mentioned above, the book focuses on quantum physics, but what exactly does that entail? They begin historically, discussing the discovery of radioactivity, and then moving into the related discovery of photons. This leads fairly naturally into a discussion of the double slit experiment and wave particle duality.
This is the point where things start to get dicey, because the authors then begin to explain what a particle means in quantum physics. To do this, they have to introduce the role of probability. See, in quantum theory, each particle is also described as a wave of probabilities. To explain this, Cox and Forshaw describe all of space being filled with little clocks, with the probability being determined by the direction and length of the clock hand.
While this is a nice shorthand, by the end of the book, this gets rather tedious. The book is sophisticated enough that I think they could used the clock metaphor but then switched over to using the terminology of vectors. Still, the clock metaphor gets the idea across fairly well, so it certainly serves the purpose it intended.
Once probability is explained, the authors go on to discuss the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which completes the foundation for the real purpose of the book. From here on out, they're able to explain the more observable features of the universe, such as:
- The quantum structure of atoms
- How transistors work
- How the Higgs boson creates mass
- What happens when stars die
In the midst of all of this, they also work in some discussion of how even empty space contains energy. Who could ask for anything more?
Noteworthy Quotes
... lest we get too dazzled by the underlying simplicity of the Universe, a word of caution is in order: although the basic rules of the game are simple, their consequences are not necessarily easy to calculate. Our everyday experience of the world is dominated by relationships between vast collections of many trillions of atoms, and to try to derive the behavior of plants and people from first principles would be folly. Admitting this does not diminish the point - all phenomena really are underpinned by the quantum physics of tiny particles.
... the job of a theory of Nature is to make predictions for quantities that can be compared to experimental results.
A good scientific theory specifies a set of rules that determine what can and cannot happen to some portion of the world.
... we need to describe a spread-out wave that is also a point-like electron, and one possible way to achieve this is to say that the electron sweeps from source to screen following all possible paths at once.
The ability to follow through the consequences of a particular set of assumptions carefully, without getting too hung up on the philosophical implications, is one of the most important skills a physicist learns.
The ability 'not to ask too many questions' is a necessary skill in physics because we have to draw the line somewhere in order to answer any questions at all; no system of objects is perfectly isolated.
It is possible to make mistakes in ignoring things because there might be some crucial detail that we miss. If this is the case, we'll simply get the wrong answer and have to reconsider our assumptions. This is very important, and goes to the heart of the success of science; all assumptions are ultimately validated or negated by experiment. Nature is the arbiter, not human intuition.
Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the technological application of semiconductor materials revolutionized the world.
This is scientific progress; the gradual and careful construction of a legacy of explanation and prediction that changes the way we live. Ant this is what sets science apart from everything else. It isn't simply another point of view - it reveals a reality that would be impossible to imagine, even for the possessor of the most tortured and surreal imagination. Science is the investigation of the real, and if the real seems surreal then so be it.
One million proton-proton fusion reactions generate roughly the same amount of energy as the kinetic energy of a mosquito in flight or a 100 watt light-bulb radiates in a nanosecond.
