Quantum Generations

Quantum Generations PDF Author: Helge Kragh
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

Quantum Generations

Quantum Generations PDF Author: Helge Kragh
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Get Book Here

Book Description
At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

Quantum Generations

Quantum Generations PDF Author: Helge Kragh
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691214190
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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Book Description
At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

Quantum Random Number Generation

Quantum Random Number Generation PDF Author: Christian Kollmitzer
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319725949
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book provides an overview of state-of-the-art implementations of quantum random number generators (QRNGs), and especially examines their relation to classical statistical randomness models and numerical techniques for computing random numbers. The reader – who ideally has a background in classical statistics, computer science, or cryptography – is introduced to the world of quantum bits step by step, and explicit relations between QRNGs and their classical counterparts are identified along the way. Random number generation is a major pillar of cryptography. Capitalizing on the randomness inherent in quantum phenomena is a rapidly evolving branch of quantum cryptography with countless applications for the future. The value of quantum randomness for cryptographic purposes is empirically demonstrated in statistical evaluations of QRNGs’ performance compared to classical techniques for true and pseudorandom number generation. The book then provides an overview of technical implementations of QRNGs, before a concluding discussion of major achievements and remaining obstacles in the field rounds out the coverage, while also opening the door for future research directions.

Einstein's Generation

Einstein's Generation PDF Author: Richard Staley
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226770575
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505

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Book Description
'Einstein's Generation' offers a new approach to the origins of modern physics by exploring both the material culture that stimulated relativity and the reaction of Einstein's colleagues to his pioneering work.

Quantum Entanglement in Electron Optics

Quantum Entanglement in Electron Optics PDF Author: Naresh Chandra
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642240704
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
This monograph forms an interdisciplinary study in atomic, molecular, and quantum information (QI) science. Here a reader will find that applications of the tools developed in QI provide new physical insights into electron optics as well as properties of atoms & molecules which, in turn, are useful in studying QI both at fundamental and applied levels. In particular, this book investigates entanglement properties of flying electronic qubits generated in some of the well known processes capable of taking place in an atom or a molecule following the absorption of a photon. Here, one can generate Coulombic or fine-structure entanglement of electronic qubits. The properties of these entanglements differ not only from each other, but also from those when spin of an inner-shell photoelectron is entangled with the polarization of the subsequent fluorescence. Spins of an outer-shell electron and of a residual photoion can have free or bound entanglement in a laboratory.

Quantum Legacies

Quantum Legacies PDF Author: David Kaiser
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022681999X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
"Physicists have grappled with quantum theory for over a century. They have learned to wring precise answers from the theory's governing equations, and no experiment to date has found compelling evidence to contradict it. Even so, the conceptual apparatus remains stubbornly, famously bizarre. Physicists have tackled these conceptual uncertainties while navigating still larger ones: the rise of fascism, cataclysmic world wars and a new nuclear age, an unsteady Cold War stand-off and its unexpected end. Quantum Legacies introduces readers to physics' still-unfolding quest by treating iconic moments of discovery and debate among well-known figures like Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrèodinger, and Stephen Hawking, and many others whose contributions have indelibly shaped our understanding of nature"--

The Quantum Brain

The Quantum Brain PDF Author: Jeffrey Satinover
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
"The Quantum Brain is the first great book of the 21st century-and the first definitively 21st century book. It will be read with admiration and amazement."-George Gilder, bestselling author and publisher of the Gilder Technology Report "Many authors have written about one or two of the topics covered in The Quantum Brain. Jeffrey Satinover's book is unique in trying to tie everything together."-Michael E. Kellman, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Oregon "Thoroughly researched . . . and told as a gripping tale, thanks to Dr. Satinover's . . . gift for the narrative. A marvelous introduction to the most fascinating question the human brain can address: its own working."-R. Shankar, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, Yale University "A thrilling journey through the world of brain research. The author has set new standards for popular science writing by making arcane topics . . . easy to follow. A tapestry of insights."-Jack Tuszynski, Professor of Physics, University of Alberta "I wish I had written this visionary book."-Professor Hugo de Garis, Head, Starbrain Project, Starlab's Artificial Brain Project

The Problem of Disenchantment

The Problem of Disenchantment PDF Author: Egil Asprem
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438469926
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
Challenges the conventional view of a “disenchanted” and secular modernity, and recovers the complex relation that exists between science, religion, and esotericism in the modern world. Max Weber famously characterized the ongoing process of intellectualization and rationalization that separates the natural world from the divine (by excluding magic and value from the realm of science, and reason and fact from the realm of religion) as the “disenchantment of the world.” Egil Asprem argues for a conceptual shift in how we view this key narrative of modernity. Instead of a sociohistorical process of disenchantment that produces increasingly rational minds, Asprem maintains that the continued presence of “magic” and “enchantment” in people’s everyday experience of the world created an intellectual problem for those few who were socialized to believe that nature should contain no such incalculable mysteries. Drawing on a wide range of early twentieth-century primary sources from theoretical physics, occultism, embryology, radioactivity, psychical research, and other fields, Asprem casts the intellectual life of high modernity as a synchronic struggle across conspicuously different fields that shared surprisingly similar intellectual problems about value, meaning, and the limits of knowledge. “The Problem of Disenchantment is, in its entirety, extraordinarily well researched, argued, and written—representing at once the most complete and nuanced treatment of the notion of disenchantment within this network of scientific, religious, philosophical, and esoteric discourses and currents.” — Nova Religio

Convergence

Convergence PDF Author: Peter Watson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476754365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
“Those seeking a grand overview of science’s greatest hits over the past century will find it here” (The Washington Post). Peter Watson’s bold history of science offers a powerful argument—that the many disparate scientific branches are converging on the same truths. Convergence is a history of modern science with an original and significant twist. Various scientific disciplines, despite their very different beginnings, have been coming together over the years, converging and coalescing. Intimate connections have been discovered between physics and chemistry, psychology and biology, genetics and linguistics. In this groundbreaking book, Peter Watson identifies one extraordinary master narrative, capturing how the sciences are slowly resolving into one overwhelming, interlocking story about the universe. Watson begins his narrative in the 1850s, the decade when, he argues, the convergence of the sciences began. The idea of the conservation of energy was introduced in this decade, as was Darwin’s theory of evolution—both of which rocketed the sciences forward and revealed unimagined interconnections and overlaps between disciplines. Decade after decade, the story captures every major scientific advance en route to the present, proceeding like a cosmic detective story, or the world’s most massive code-breaking effort. “Fascinating…Highly recommended…Watson treats biology, chemistry, and physics as entangled plotlines, and readers’ excitement will build as more connections are made” (Library Journal, starred review). Told through the eyes of the scientists themselves, charting each discovery and breakthrough, Convergence is a “massive tour de force” (Publishers Weekly) and a gripping way to learn what we now know about the universe and where our inquiries are heading.

The Tests of Time

The Tests of Time PDF Author: Lisa M. Dolling
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400889162
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 759

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Book Description
The development of physical theory is one of our greatest intellectual achievements. Its products--the currently prevailing theories of physics, astronomy, and cosmology--have proved themselves to possess intrinsic beauty and to have enormous explanatory and predictive power. This anthology of primary readings chronicles the birth and maturation of five such theories (the heliocentric theory, the electromagnetic field theory, special and general relativity, quantum theory, and the big bang theory) in the words of the scientists who brought them to life. It is the first historical account that captures the rich substance of these theories, each of which represents a fascinating story of the interplay of evidence and insight--and of dialogue among great minds. Readers sit in with Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo as they overturn the geocentric universe; observe the genius of Faraday and Maxwell as they "discover" the electromagnetic field; look over Einstein's shoulder as he works out the details of relativity; listen in as Einstein and Bohr argue for the soul of quantum mechanics in the Completeness Debate; and watch as Hubble and others reveal the history of the universe. The editors' approach highlights the moments of discovery that rise from scientific creativity, and the presentation humanizes the scientific process, revealing the extent to which great scientists were the first to consider the philosophical implications of their work. But, most significantly, the editors offer this as their central thesis: although each was ushered in by a revolution, and each contains counterintuitive elements that delayed its acceptance, these five theories exhibit a continuous rational development that has led them to a permanent place in the worldview of science. Accessible to the general reader yet sufficiently substantive that working scientists will find value in it, The Tests of Time offers an intimate look into how physical theory has been developed, by the brilliant people who have developed it.