In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality

Schrödinger's Cat #1

by John Gribbin

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 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 even 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, super conductors 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.

In Search of Schrodinger's Cat is a fascinating and delightful introduction to the strange world of the quantum - an essential element in understanding today's world.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Popular Science, Philosophy, History, Quantum Mechanics

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1984

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

um...

- i read this book
- i didn't read this book
- i read this book and didn't read this book
- i read this book in one universe and didn't in another
- this book didn't exist until i read it

gribbin's great because he won't dumb down but genuinely wants you to understand this stuff. and b/c he believes in time travel.
yay!

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading alone in my study in the night, when there was a movement behind me. "Miaow," someone said.

I looked behind me. A tabby was sitting, contentedly washing herself. "Hey! Where did you come from?" I asked.

"You can see me?" She beamed. "Whew! That's a load off my mind. I thought I might be dead."

I found this rather strange. "How can you talk to me if you are dead?"

"Well, I meant dead in this universe." She went on with her toilet.

I was a bit uneasy. Needless to say, talking cats appearing out of nowhere and speaking in riddles was not usual in my daily routine. I started eyeing my Stephen King collection uneasily. "Who are you?" I asked.

She winked. "Guess."

I scanned my bookshelves. Suddenly illumination lit up on me. "Bulgakov! The Master and Margarita!" I exclaimed.

The tabby's look was contemptuous. "Oh come on! - Do I look like a demon?"

"Okay..." I tried again. "The Cheshire Cat?"

My companion looked pained. "I am much better than that grinning idiot from a stupid children's book, I'll have you know."

"Okay, I'm stumped." I threw up my hands. "You tell me."

The tabby got up, swished her tail, arched her back and generally preened herself. "I am the one and only Schrodinger's Cat." She bowed her head, as though expecting applause.

"Schrodinger? I don't think I have met him. Does he live hereabouts?" I knew I had made a mistake the moment the question left my lips, because the cat's face darkened like thunder.

"You mean you don't know Schrodinger?" She hissed. "You ignoramus! He practically defined quantum theory. Oh, where do such fools like you come from?"

"Oh... Now I remember." I said. (I did only vaguely - but I wanted to save myself from getting scratched, which I seemed to be in imminent danger of.) "Wasn't he the famous quantum scientist?"

"Yes! He practically defined quantum reality. He left me in a box with a poison vial, a radioactive isotope, and a Geiger counter. If the counter detected any radioactivity, the poison vial would break and I would die. If it didn't, the vial would stay as it is and I would live." She beamed.

"Oh! How cruel!" I felt that this Schrodinger guy must be a bounder of the first water, famous scientist or not. "He must be reported to the SPCA!"

"Oh, you are an idiot!" The cat laughed. "Don't you see it was an experiment to question the Copenhagen Interpretation?"

I really resented being called an idiot, but did not want to aggravate this temperamental feline with the sharp claws. "What's that?"

"Well, it was all these scientists talking about wave/ particle duality - how subatomic particles behaved both like a wave and a particle, and changed into one or the other only upon observation. Schrodinger was dead against it. So he created me in the box - and I am both dead and alive until someone observes me... at what point, either the vial breaks or it doesn't, I either die or live." She said all this in one breath.

"That's stupid! You can't be dead and alive at the same time. In fact, you are very much alive now." I was indignant.

"Precisely." The tabby washed her paw. "I am either dead or alive. The same way with subatomic entities - they are either waves or particles. Or they are something else altogether which our puny imaginations can hardly comprehend." Her vocabulary was getting richer.

"Well, you are alive now." I reiterated.

"Hmm... Yes." My feline friend did not seem too sure of herself. "I guess so."

"You guess so?" I was flabbergasted. "My dear kitty, can't you feel yourself, hale and hearty?"

"I can." She looked up at the ceiling. "But John Gribbin says that in a parallel universe, I am dead..."

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is f******n awesome.

i read it in highschool and then again in college - because while you're reading it it's like having a really good teacher who holds your attention and makes you understand unusual ideas but as soon as you finish and put it down you're like "wait, how does that work again?" so for me at least, i have to be reading it to maintain that state of enlightenment. maybe after a certain number of reads it will stick - because i am not naturally good at this sort of subject.

this book explains generally the perplexing, mind-boggling, paradoxical principles of quantum physics while relating the history of discoveries leading up to and through it, including the discovery of the X-Ray.

I think this book is meant for laypeople, you don't need to understand any equations, but even for an expert, I think having the history laid out like this, and told in such a personable voice, must be interesting and helpful.

this book also led me to read other books about heisenberg and einstein.

it definitely make you think. yeah, it definitely makes you think.

[Shaimaa Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

لا ادرى ما هو الحال اذا كنت قد قرات هذا الكتاب منذ عشر سنوات مضت ؟!!
ربما كنت سافهم الكثير مما بدا لى كطلاسم اثناء دراستى الجامعية .. ربما كنا غيرت تخصصى الحالى .. ربما وربما..
جون جريبين ياخذك من يدك ليعلمك الكثير عن فيزياء الكم مع القليل جداً من المعادلات الرياضية .. اعترف بخجلى الشديد لاننى لم افهم الكثير لنسيانى موضوعات فيزيائية اساسية ، واصابتى بالحنق ايضاً لانه تقريبا توقفت دراستنا عند الفيزياء الكلاسيكية وتكلمت باستحياء شديد على مبادىء النظرية النسبية ومعادلة شرودنجر .. لاجد ان العالم يتحدث الان عن انواع من الجسيمات التى لم اسمع بها من قبل ..

انصح به بشدة لكل من كان تخصصه الحالى دراسة الفيزياء ، ولا عزاء لامثالى !!

[Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so to best describe this book, I need to first describe Schrodingers cat. Keep in mind that this an illustration of what Schrodinger saw as the problem with the Copenhagen idea of Quantum superposition. Imagine a box with a cat inside. A vial of a deadly chemical which will instantly kill the cat is placed inside with the cat, sealed so the feline is safe. A hammer is set up with a rig to smash the vial but only if the following occurs. A small amount of radioactive material is inside a geiger counter. If an atom inside decays, it triggers the hammer and the cat dies. If not the cat lives. The probability of the atom breaking down is equal to the probability of it remaining intact. According to the Copenhagen model, this would mean that the cat is both alive and dead inside the box until the atom is observed. It was a thought experiment, produced to ask "when does a Quantum model cease to be a mixture and become one thing or another?" If you were able to follow me on that, check this book out. Otherwise, this kind of thing may not be for you. I loved the information but the writing was a bit rough. That is to be expected of a science book.

[ريهام يوسف · Rating 5 out of 5]

اضافة للريفيو القديم
انا كل م اقرأ حاجة ف الفيزياء ، ايا كانت نسبية او ميكانيكا الكم او حاجة ملهاش علاقة بيهم ،
بفتكر الكتاب ده وبفتكر كل كلمة فيه وبكون عايزة افتحه وابص فيه و واخداه م مرجع ليا ، بس هو تايه وسط كتب التابلت :D
اي حد عايز يقرأ عن الفيزياء ، يبدأ ب الكتاب ده بجد


كتاب فخيم اوي الصراحة وتقيل ومليان اوي ويتوه ,, بس معتقدش ان في اخفّ منه يفهمك لو انت مش متخصص ف المجال ده ... لأنه ببساطة فيزياء رياضية وهو كده وبس

الكتاب ابتدا بأنه يشرح ازاي اكتشفوا الالكترون والفوتون والضوء كـ موجة وبعد كده اينشتين يثبت ان الضوء مكوّن من جسيمات كمية ,, بيشرح ازاي نظرية الكم تطورت وتطورت لحد م استقلت بنفسها وبقت ميكانيكا الكم .
هيشرحلك النسبية الخاصة والنسبيةالعامة , هيشرحلك قوانين نيوتن الي هى الفيزياء الكلاسيكية ...
بعد كده هتعرف ذرة بور الي متكونة من الكترونات ونواة متكونة من جسيمات
مرة واحده هتكتشف ان الذرة دي متكونة من 99.9% فراغ ,, واتصدم براحتك
مرة واحدة هتلاقي نفسك وسط جسيمات كتيييييير الي هى جسيمات وموجات ف نفس ذات الوقت ⇩⇩
لأنهم لما بيتعاملوا مع الشيئ ده كأنه جسيم ف التجربة بيتعامل كأنه جسيم عادي ، ولما يتعاملوه معاه ك موجة بيتعامل ك موجة ،، والعلماء مش عارفين يعملوا تجربة يجمعوا بيها بين صفات جسيم وصفات موجة.

تتخض مرة واحدة لما تلاقي ان الانجازات الي اتحققت بسبب نظرية الكم هى اصلا مبنية ع افتراضات, تحاول تاخد نفسَك، تكتشف ان عالم الكم ده مفيش حاجه اسمها واقعية والي تعرفه هو الي بتشوفه بس،

مرة واحدة تلاقي النظرية النسبية قفزت فالنص وعايزة تفرض نفسها ...

تشوف قطة شرودنجر وقد ايه دي تجربة ذهنية بسيطة، بس كوبنهاجن يطورها وتلاقي نظريات كتير اتبنت ع القطة.

تشوف نظرية العوالم المتعددة, تشوف الكون وهو مجرد ورقة شجرة ع الشجرة!

هتعدي ع كل ده وانت عارف انه كتاب علمي, بس لازم هتفكر بفلسفية شوية, ده فرض وفعل لا ارادي!!

توصل للخاتمة ولسا هتقول ياااا اخبرا هيقول حاجه خاتمة بسيطة وحلوة كده , تلاقي الكهرباء والجاذبية والديناميكا ومصطلحاتهم وجسيماتهم ...

وبتحاول تاخد نفَسَك ...

تقفل الكتاب وتحاول تجمّع الي قرأته ده , تفتكر انه متكلمش عن الكواركات ونظرية الاوتار , تفتكر ان لسا قدامك يامااا ...

بس انا بأفور الصراحة ,, التدريج الي ف الكتاب وانه بيرفعك ع السلم براحة مش هيخليك تتصدم , بس مرة واحده هتكتشف انك طلعت كل السلم ومتصدمتش فهتتصدم وانت بتكتب الريفيو بتاعك الصراحة :D :D

بس هتفهم وهتكره تعليمك لو لسا ف مدرسة زي حلاتي , هتكره مدرسينك , هتكره كتب المدرسة :3

دمتم لا واقعيين ..

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amidst a plethora of books purportedly dealing with "explaining Quantum Theory to the layman" this book stands apart, as well as taller, by virtue of two qualities: -
1. It's really really well written, even by the high standards of popular science set by the luminaries, and remains deliciously readable even after more than three decades since its publication.
2. It's unapologetically forthcoming, and NEVER tries to dumb down things in an effort towards becoming more "accommodating" and "plebian", which are the more euphemistic expressions for undervaluing the readers.

I literally rushed through the first two-third of the book, all along feeling a genuine regret fornthe fact that had I studied this book before embarking on my quest to become a Chemistry graduate, I could have appreciated the things a lot more, in the process picking up much more than a degree.
It was, however, the final third that made me sit up, and read & re-read things, only to understand them. That part dealt with actual state of quantum theory, and needs considerable conceptual clarity, which is not so easy to muster at my stage.

Nevertheless, if you want to get acquainted with the strange & beautiful world of quantum theory, this is indeed the best introduction that you can procure.

Highly Recommended, and happy reading.

[Abu Hasan محمد عبيد · Rating 5 out of 5]

هو واحد من أهم الكتب العلمية التي قرأتها لغاية اليوم
يمتاز بحسن ال��رض، والتسلسل التاريخي للأفكار، وسعة إطلاع مؤلفه على المادة التي يتناولها
كما أن ترجمته ممتازة

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gribbin seems to have a sound understanding of quantum mechanics, and his writing is rather well crafted, but sometimes I think he'd rather have been a historian than a physicist. The first half of the book is mostly intricate historical accounts of the key players of the story of quantum mechanics over the last century. Gribbin reveals the concepts very slowly, which might not be a bad thing, so this may seem a bit tedious at first. However, by the end, the concepts are clear and complete. At least up to the publication date anyway. Being somewhat new to these concepts, I'm not sure if I'm meshing too well with the opinions on parallel universes that Gribbin states at the end, and the illustrations are badly placed, only moderately insightful, and actually contradict the text in places. However, I enjoyed this immensely and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a low to no math introduction to quantum mechanics.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for science nerds, 3 stars for everyone else. An in depth discussion of the birth of quantum physics, where it is now and what it means for the future. Not much math and fairly accessible but not as easy to read as Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. I enjoyed it for the survey of physics giants in the early 20th century from Einstein to Heisenburg. The last 1/3 of the book were a series of explanations of experiments used to prove some of the theorems which were fascinating. I think a great deal of the genius was expressed in merely coming up with ways to prove ideas.

A pretty dense book if you aren't a nerd. I am so, lucky me.

[Bhavana Kilambi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Physics was one subject i was never good at during High school (not that i was great at any of the other subjects though but Physics was a nightmare). There were concepts which were totally ambiguous to me and went way above my head. This book not only clarified some of them but also instilled in me a deep interest in Physics.
In this book, John Gribbin gives a fabulous peek into the magical realm of quantum physics.

He begins with an explanation on the very basic unit of life - "the atom" and the various evolving attempts by scientists to give an accurate description of the structure of an atom (Including the various experiments leading to the discovery of protons, neutrons and electrons). He then explains the Planck's black body radiation and the famous two-slit experiment whose observations threw the entire scientific community into a state of utter ambiguity and disarray about the nature of electrons. Some more experiments later they discover the "photon" and the dual nature (particle and wave nature) of light and particles like electrons. This is followed by discoveries by Pauli (the Pauli exclusion principle), Heisenberg, Born and Schrondinger which strengthen the theory of quantum mechanics. A very interesting part of the book is on "time travel" which according to the author is possible (atleast theoretically) though it might have a lot of practical hurdles. He believes that parallel worlds do exist but not the way in which we imagine (in most of the sci-fiction books) where we can hop between the alternate universes but all the alternate universes according to quantum theory branch out based on the choices that the observer encounters. He also writes about the two different theories explaining the way things work in this universe - The "Copenhagen interpretation" where there are numerous possibilities of something happening but there is only one reality (in one world) and the rest are just virtual ghostly worlds which all collapse into one result when the observer actually observes the system. The "many-worlds interpretation" contradicts the Copenhagen interpretation in the sense it assumes all the possibilities to be equally real and exist in their own worlds with their own observers (us being one of them). All in all the entire quantum mechanics lies on the observer who observes the system. What happens when the observer is not looking is something that is not explained by the quantum theory (and can only be speculated). Finally, the search for Schrodinger's cat ends by the author using the many-worlds theory to testify the fact that the cat is in reality both dead and alive (in two separate, mutually exclusive worlds) but not either dead or alive. When the observer looks into the box, he forces one outcome , which is the cat is either dead or alive and the other possibility still exists in its own world with its own observer (which is as real as our universe). A very interesting theory but this is just the author's personal views i guess.

The author in the end also touches upon the theory of supersymmetry which is the latest field under study within the quantum community and deals with unifying matter (particles like electrons,protons, quarks etc) and force (the bosons like photons etc).

The entire book has been an amazing ride through the mindbogglingly unbelievable world of the sub-atomic particles and i cant say it better than Neils Bohr - "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not fully understood it".

[Srijan Chattopadhyay · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All science is either physics or stamp collecting"
-Ernest Rutherford.

The truth first, I don't have money to even buy stamps. I am the lamest of the laymen in science.

Having just wrapped the book up, my memory with innumerable sieves(I have forgotten the number) is nagging me to jot down my gleanings from this one.
In broad stroke, Mr. John Gribbin in this book narrates the beautifully bizarre story of Quantum physics.

The first 120 pages boil the pot handsomely by serving historical aspects like the nature of light, the emergence of electrons, radioactivity, the black body problem, and its unconventional solution that dealt the first blow to classical physics, breaking into the world of a Swiss patent clerk with his 4 papers, one of them being photoelectric effect -that was the proto platform of later quantum developments and so on.

In the middle, we are swiftly transported to the gate of quantum riding on Niels Bohr's atomic model (electrons in the joy of getting their hands on photon packets jump around the atom), Pauli's exclusion theory, Louis De Broglie's particle-wave duality (electrons act as set frequency wave on set shells just like ringing strings of a violin) and finally witness, according to sir Arthur Eddington, "The Jabberwocky" of science. Here, the immortal trio - Heisenberg, Dirac, and Schrodinger pave the way.

There rested mainly two theoretical swords or guns in the valley in the early upbringing of quantum.


According to the first of them, Copenhagen interpretations, Chance plays the chancellor or Chairman.
Randomness reigns supreme.
God has a nasty addiction to playing dice or you can just say God loves to take chances.
An Elizabethan male dramatist (or female?), unbeknownst to himself succinctly put this --"To be or not to be".
The famous boxed cat is undead. (not in a zombie way)


"what you see is what you get"
Your peek-a-bee will seal its fate. (dead or alive)

Your observation (at a subatomic level) is the modicum of truth-seeking, like a heavy-bottomed flashlight in the dark or that old hand-held camera, that will ensure a freeze frame of surety within this slithy, gyrating confederacy of indeterminacy.

Reality is a land of superimposed state or grave of cascading wave functions.

This implies that the cat or anything in the box is a wave function accompanied by myriad ghost realities that will collapse into a single reality (dead or alive cat) when you decide to see it. Till then it is undead.

Another theory, the MWI or Many World Interpretation is not big on uncertainty but hurls another outrageous curveball.
When you decide to open the box the world instantly splits into two with a dead cat in one and a purring and very much alive cat in another. The world you observe will make the result for you.

No. I am not messing around. This can be mathematically established. Hugh Everett did this in the 1950s.
Though this has many doubters, there is no doubt that this theory parented, and with the help of this, a bunch of writers, directors, and producers copyrighted and patented loads of cult-making science fiction books and movies.

Oh! The best thing about this theory is (to many) that God is not inclined here to play addictive games like dice.

In the last section the signature of a century-long debate, logic hurling, a plethora of thought experiments, and lots of recipes from the quantum cookbook grace the book. Without pulling any mathematical punches the author neatly explains lasers, masers, semiconductors, quantum computers, entanglement, and things of not-so-distant or far away future.

A subtle problem with this book seemed to me it's a little dated. Still, this is an enlightening launch pad for adventuring in the quantized unknown.

Happy reading.

[Mohammed Alsuayegh · Rating 2 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب يسرد مراحل نشأة وتطور الفيزياء الكمية تاريخيا، ويناقش نظريات العلماء وتجاربهم وأبحاثهم وخلافاتهم في تلك الفترة حتى يصل بك إلى التفسيرات الفيزيائية المحتملة التي يتباها علماء هذا العصر. ستتعرف على أبطال الميكانيكا الكمية واكتشافاتهم واستنتاجاتهم الغريبة خلال القرن الماضي.
عندما بدأت قراءة الكتاب كنت مستمتعاً لكن عندما قطعت شوطاً بدأت الأحداث والأسماء والنظريات والتواريخ تكثر وتتداخل ببعضها حتى فقدت التركيز!
كان من الأجدى للكاتب أن يبتعد عن التشويش والتفصيل قدر الإمكان ويحاول صياغة الموضوع في قالب أبسط حتى يكون أقرب إلى عامة القرّاء غير المتخصصين. والحق أن موضوعا معقداً كهذا الموضوع يصعب على الإنسان أن يستوعبه لأنه يخالف قوانين الفيزياء المتعارف عليها. ترجمة الكتاب إلى العربية كانت متميزة لأنها تمت على يدي باحثين عربيين متخصصين في نفس المجال.

[Sam Savelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to quantum physics. As a 'non-science' person, I can't say I followed everything but enough to give me a solid understanding for what it is and why it's so mystifying. The 'Many Worlds' theory, however, remains deeply unconvincing. I'm grateful that Gribbin caveats this chapter by acknowledging that it is more opinion than the rest of the book, although he does then proceed to continue in the same 'this is undeniably true' tone for the rest of the chapter.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this again after a few years so that when I give it to my girlfriend to read and EXPAND HER MIND I will be able to help guide her through it. So far, it has been a great intro to quantum mechanics. It's supposed to be for the layman, and it appears fairly basic, but I have some background, so it's hard for me to judge that.

EDIT:
Well, it wasn't as good as I remember it. Maybe it was the passage of time and the advancement of science, maybe it was my own further studies in the field, maybe it was own growth and change in preferences, or maybe I just things didn't notice the first time. Don't get me wrong; it's still good, and I don't regret having read through it, but Gribbin is certainly not the best writer out there on these subjects. I would recommend Brian Greene, but he always wants to throw a plug in for the wonders of string theory and how it will solve EVERY SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM EVER; IT WILL EVEN CURE CANCER AND OBESITY!!!! Even so, Greene's description of the basic science is unparalleled. If you want an introduction on these matters read the opening two-thirds of either of his books (The Elegant Universe or The Fabric of the Cosmos).
As for Gribbin, he has trouble pacing and keeping his writing consistent. He'll meander aimlessly and point out important subjects he'll describe later. Worst, his level of detail and required scientific background is horribly inconsistent. From a relatively simple, easy to follow, and well-suited for the layman explanation of the structure of the atom to his absurdly obtuse description of the most important experiment to confirm the predictions of quantum mechanics, he leaves the reader fighting to piece together his point.
The book does show its age at parts but his amazement at PCs and LASERs does not change the fact that they are awesome and stem from the study of quantum mechanics. A larger flaw is his matter-of-fact presentation of certain controversial theories as "yeah, that's the way it is; don't bother investigating further."
This book does have a lot of good information and does explain some aspects of quantum mechanics very well for someone with little experience, but he kind of unravels at the end.

[Katia N · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the first popular book about quantum physics I've read and I think I was lucky to start with it. As after I've read two more books and they both are much less aspirational for different reasons. This book gives very good overview of the theory and the history of the subject presenting all key personalities and milestones of its development.

Overall, probably not unexpectedly, it changes your perception of a huge variety of reality aspects. The most striking for me was thought about the history: "In this delayed choice experiment something we do now has an irretrievable influence on what we can say about the past. History at least for one photon depends upon how we choose to make a measurement… Philosophers have long pondered the fact that history has no meaning - the past has no existence - except in the way it is recorded in the present." I think it has become even more relevant in our media savvy days when wars are played and won more on screen than at the actual battles fields. It feels surreal to find the natural phenomenon facilitating such an interpretation of the social reality.

Also it was interesting finally to find out what stands behind the overused metaphor of Schrodinger's cat:-)

For me now it has become apparent that time travel, teleportation, antimatter and multiple realities are well established phenomena of physics, not of unhealthy imagination.

My only gentle complain - I wish it would be a little bit more maths in there. I understand it might spook some audience, but I am sure it might be appreciated by the others.

Heisenberg, the developer of the uncertainly principle, said: "At first, I was deeply alarmed. I had the feeling that, through the surface of atomic phenomena, I was looking at a strangely beautiful interior, and felt almost giddy at the thought that i now had to probe this wealth of mathematical structures nature had so generally spread out before me." I think this book has opened for me a tiny whole into the world he is talking about.

[Larbi Gouzal · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب آخر عن ميكانيكا الكوانتم، الذراع الثاني للفيزياء الذي يفسر الفيزياء على المستوى الذري، بعد الأول (النسبية العامة) التي تفسر الميكانيكا على المستوى الكبير (الماكرو).
الكتاب محاولة لتبسيط هذه النظرية للعامة، لكني واجهت صعوبة في فهم بعض فصول الكتاب أومايريد الكاتب قوله، رغم درايتي السابقة المتواضعة طبعا لأهم مبادئ الكوانتم (مبدأ التراكب، مبدأ عدم اليقين..إلخ)؛ وأعتقد أن مرد هذا عائد إلى الترجمة الغير موفقة في بعض الأحايين، فقد وجدت صعوبة في قراءة بعض العبارات، إضافة لغياب الرسوم التوضيحية في بعض الأحايين الأخرى، أو التعمق الكبيير في بعض الأمثلة في حالات أخرى. عموما لست أرى الكتاب صالحا لمن ليست له دراية مسبقة بالموضوع، رغم أن فهم ميكانيكا الكم يمر عن طريق عدم فهمها كما يقال.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I have read on Quantum Physics. It turns out to be a slow read, because it gives you examples, and then to fully understand the examples you find yourself working out the aspects of it. It is only about 250 pages, but it took me the better part of six months to get through. Awesome book!

[Manny]

I wish I'd written A Quantum Theory of Mitt Romney . In particular, Figure 2... the best Feynman diagram joke I've ever seen!

[Guillermo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro me permitió asomarme un poco al no intuitivo mundo cuántico. Desde ya que entendí poco y nada. Pero se deja leer.

[Memduh Er · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu işi anlamak zor, hatta belki de şu an mümkün değil. Ama illa bir şeyler anlayayım, hiç olmazsa neden anlaşılamayacağını anlayayım, derseniz bu kitap hiç fena bir başlangıç noktası değil.

Öncelikle Kuantum Kuramının güzel bir tarihi verilmiş kitapta. Üstelik bu tarihin her noktasındaki zorlukları, anlaşılmazlıkları, sorunları irdeleyerek ilerliyor, bu da kavramsal olgunluğu artırıyor. Kitap sonlara doğru iyice anlaşılmaz bir hal alıyor olsa da (ki bu konuların çok ağırlaşmasından kaynaklanıyor) genelde gayet güzel bir anlatımı var.

Meraklısına şiddetle tavsiye edebilirim.

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una obra muy bella

[Harish Namboothiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book In Search Of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics And Reality, John Gribbin tries to make sense of the bizzare world of probabilities, uncertainties, ghost electrons, multiverses and time travel- concepts that are difficult for humans to even visualise.

Read my full blog post here

[Sajjad thaier · Rating 3 out of 5]

(كل العلوم اما فيزياء أو جمع طوابع البريد )
ارنست رذرفورد
**********
يأخذنا جون جريبين في رحلة رائعة ممتعة وجميلة ,و لا تخلوا من التعقيد والغموض في عالم ميكانيكا الكم الشائك ذو النظريات الغريبة المنافية للمنطق الذي تعلمنا عليه ,ويعرفنا بالعلماء الذين اسسوا هذا الصرح الفيزيائي العظيم ,الذي تعتمد عليه اغلب تقنياتنا عليه اليوم ويخبرنا عن افكارهم وارائهم الصائبة والخاطئة .
ويبدأ الكاتب رحلته من الضوء والصراع الذي رافقه لعقود حول طبيعته الموجية ام الجسيمية , التي حسمت على يد عالم شاب متحمس استطاع ان يأخذ جائزة نوبل عن فكرته عن ازدواجية الجسيمة/موجة, التي انهت كل الجدال المحتدم العالم الذي نعرفه كمؤسس للنسبية البرت اينشتاين وكانت هذه احدى احجار الاساس للنظرية الكمية .
بعد ذلك يأخذنا الكاتب برحلة اخرى لا تخلوا من المتعة و اللذة عن اكتشاف حقيقة الذرة , والافكار الثورية التي تظمنتها .
ثم يبدأالكلام عن تلك النظرية التي كلما درسها المرء ازداد يقينا انه لا يعلم الا القليل عنها, فهي تحوي افكار تعاكس المنطق السليم وكل ما نعرفه عن الطبيعة,
.فيشرح الكاتب كيف لجسم ان يوجد ولا يوجد في نفس الوقت,وكيف يمكن لجسم واحد ان يكون في مكانين والكثير من التطبيقات المعقدة للنظرية الكمية .

وبعد الذلك في الجزء الاخير يبين الكاتب بعض الاراء والاعتراضات ضد النظرية الكمية, التي اغلبها اتت من احد ابائها المؤسسين لها البرت اينشتاين الذي لم يقتنع بمعظم افكار هذه النظرية قط , بسسب فكرته ان العالم ليس عشوائي كما يدعون بل ان هناك خيوط خفية ينسجها الرب في الخفاءو كل ما علينا هو ايجادها .
******
في النهاية كان هذا كتاب جميل يحوي الكثير من التعقيد رغم انه مخصص للعامة لكنه دسم جدا ويحتاج الى تركيز كبير لكثرة اسماء العلماء والكثير من الفصول الجافة والمعقدة لكنها ميكانيكا الكم على كل حال

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, it took forever to read this book, but it was really interesting. The author is dedicated to making sure regular people understand the complicated quantum world. He’s lucid and witty, and passionate about science. I enjoy all the history, connections and stories, and the experiments and ideas—just don’t ask me to recite any of it. *A tad outdated, not sure how much has been settled since the book was published.

[Steve Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made my head hurt. Or didn't make my head hurt. Or made my head hurt and not hurt simultaneously.

[Farhana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer was quite positive towards his attempt in explaining quantum theory. His approach was quite neat & clean , comprehensive . However , it made me sad in the end ~

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, if you liked the movie Oppenheimer this fills out the background to the scientists of the time in way that’s actually approachable (particularly for someone like me who didn’t enjoy science or chemistry at school).

Secondly this book took me 9 months to finish because at first I tried remembering and understanding every little thing he was sharing. That was excruciating and I didn’t get very far. This time I was determined to get through and just to let the story flow, which was awesome. This is the kind of book I can keep coming back to as the puzzle pieces come together, and I’m fine with that.

*Ready*

This work lays bare the way scientists work together, solve problems, follow threads, and the implications it has for the world at large is fascinating.

The first two parts of the book explore the discussions, and scientific developments as quantum theories began to emerge from classical Newtonian approaches.

*Set*

The third part probes some of the deeper mysteries, possibilities and paradoxes of quantum mechanics.

“If you asked an intelligent well-read but non-scientific person to summarise the most important contributions of science to our present lives and suggest the possible benefits or hazards of scientific progress in the near future, you’d surely be given a list that included:

- computer technology: automation, unemployment entertainment, robots
- nuclear power: the bomb, cruise missiles, power stations
- generic engineering: new drugs, cooking, the threat of man-made diseases, improved crop strains
- lasers: holography, death rays, microsurgery, communications.

…scarcely any of them will realise that every item on that list has its roots in quantum mechanics, a branch of science that they may never have heard of and almost certainly do not understand. They are not alone. All of those advances have been achieved by quantum cookery, using the rules that seem to work although no-one really understands why they work...it is doubtful that anyone understands why the quantum recipes work.”

*Go!*

Where do we end up?

“In the quantum world what you see is what you get and nothing is real. The best you can hope for is a set of delusions that agree with one another.”

“As an incurable optimist it is the interpretation of quantum mechanics that appeals most to me. All things are possible. And by our actions we choose our own paths through the many worlds of the quantum...one of the anecdotes told and retold about Niels Bohr is that when someone came to him with a wild idea purporting to resolve one of the puzzles of quantum theory in the 1920’s he replied, “Your theory is crazy. But it’s not crazy enough to be true.””

He ends up exploring quantum entanglement in cryptography, and time travel, and it’s enthralling.

And of course, multiverses.
- On quantum computing: Deutsch has drawn important conclusions from the success of quantum computing. A store, usually called a register, made up of 8 qubits could remember 256 numbers simultaneously.
- “The only reasonable explanation for this, says Deutsch, is that the superposition actually represents 256 different computers operating in 256 different parallel universes…”the fact that quantum computing works proves that many worlds exist.”

*In conclusion*

“As Richard Feynman said, “One of the ways of stopping science would be only to do experiments in the region where you know the law.” Physics is about probing into the unknown and what we need is imagination, but imagination in a terrible straitjacket.

We have to find a new view of the world that has to agree with everything that is known, but disagrees in its predictions somewhere. Otherwise it is not interesting. If you can find any other view of the world which agrees over the entire range where things have already been observed but disagrees somewhere else, you have made a great discovery.”

[Jorge Zuluaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

No leía este libro desde que tenía unos 16 o 17 años. En aquel entonces comenzaba a enamorarme algo de la física y este libro definitivamente hizo parte del proceso. Hoy quiero que otros se enamoren del tema y quería saber que podía aprender del libro para mi propio ejercicio de divulgación.

Si bien mucha agua ha pasado por el río de la física contemporánea desde el tiempo en el que el texto fue escrito (finales de los 80) los temas y las discusiones tienen una actualidad pasmosa que demuestra lo poco que realmente hemos avanzado en la comprensión de la teoría cuántica. Naturalmente la teoría cuántica moderna ha evolucionado, especialmente en las técnicas para su aplicación, en los sistemas a los que se aplica y en su poderoso rol en la tecnología, pero los problemas de fondo, las preguntas de fondo de las que se ocupa este librito siguen teniendo todavía mucha actualidad.

Una de las cosas que más disfruto de la divulgación en mi área (en la que supuestamente tengo una formación rigurosa en las técnicas y los conceptos fundamentales) son los detalles históricos sobre como surgieron y se desarrollaron las ideas.

Esta es una de las cosas que he disfrutado de releer este librito. En los años en los que era un joven muy curioso pero también muy ignorante de casi todo, la historia y los protagonistas me importaban muy poco (en realidad eran como un estorbo para entender las ideas últimas que quería entender). Hoy, con los años, la manera como las ideas de la teoría cuántica emergieron en el seno de una comunidad de jóvenes creativos y de "viejos" escépticos están entre las cosas que mas me interesan. Para citar algunos ejemplos, me encanto leer (o volver a leer) sobre las tensiones entre personajes como Mach, Planck y Boltzmann o entre Einstein, Schrödinger, de Broglie y Heisenberg o Bohr. Saber sobre el origen de la mecánica matricial de Heisenberg y la tensión con Max Born, con autores de la misma y que quedaron excluídos del premio Nobel que gano el primero.

La prosa del libro es impecable. La capacidad de John Gribbin de despertar la curiosidad y al mismo tiempo ser un buen crítico de la manera como los físicos hemos divulgado o entendemos la teoría cuántica es genial, especialmente al hablar de un tema de tanto interés.

En síntesis. No se dejen engañar por los casi 40 años de este librito. La historia y las discusiones que aborda siguen siendo tan actuales como lo fueron en el momento en el que fue escrito.