The two pillars of twentieth-century physics—general relativity, of which I spoke in the first lesson, and quantum mechanics, which I’m dealing with here—could not be more different from each other. Both theories teach us that the fine structure of nature is more subtle than it appears. But general relativity is a compact gem: conceived by a single mind, that of Albert Einstein, it’s a simple and coherent vision of gravity, space, and time. Quantum mechanics, or “quantum theory,” on the other hand, has gained unequaled experimental success and led to applications that have transformed our
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