What Is Real?

What Is Real? PDF Author: Adam Becker
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096069
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
"A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science." --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. "An excellent, accessible account." --Wall Street Journal "Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists." --Washington Post

What Is Real?

What Is Real? PDF Author: Adam Becker
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096069
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science." --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. "An excellent, accessible account." --Wall Street Journal "Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists." --Washington Post

Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

Foundations of Quantum Mechanics PDF Author: Travis Norsen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319658670
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is accessible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or "modern") physics and includes over a hundred engaging end-of-chapter "Projects" that make the book suitable for either a traditional classroom or for self-study.

The Everything Answer Book

The Everything Answer Book PDF Author: Amit Goswami
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 1571747621
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
"Quantum physics is not only the future of science but also the key to understanding consciousness, God, psychology, death, and the meaning of life, says Dr. Amit Goswami. It is an antidote to the moral sterility and mechanistic approach of scientific materialism and is the best and clearest approach to understanding our universe. In short, quantum physics is indeed the theory of everything. In sixteen chapters, Goswami and his friends and colleagues discuss how quantum physics affects our understanding of the following: Zen, Thought, feeling and intuition, Dreams, Quantum reincarnation, Free will and creativity, The spiritualization of economics and business, politics, education, and society itself."--Back cover.

Helgoland

Helgoland PDF Author: Carlo Rovelli
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593328906
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.

Quantum Meaning

Quantum Meaning PDF Author: Ashish Dalela
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788193052372
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The problems of indeterminism, uncertainty and statistics in quantum theory are legend and have spawned a wide-variety of interpretations, none too satisfactory.The key issue of discontent is the conflict between the microscopic and the macroscopic worlds: How does a classically certain world emerge from a world of uncertainty and probability? To attempt to solve this riddle, we must first understand the nature of atoms. What If Atoms Are Not Things But Ideas? In the Semantic Interpretation of Quantum Theory atomic objects are treated as symbols of meaning. The book shows that if atoms are symbols, then describing them as meaningless objects would naturally lead to problems of uncertainty, indeterminism, non-locality and probability. For example, if we analyze a book in terms of physical properties, we can measure the frequencies of symbols but not their meanings. Current quantum theory measures symbol probabilities rather than meanings associated with symbol order. Unless quantum objects are treated as symbols, the succession or order amongst these objects will remain unpredictable. Is Quantum Theory a Final Theory of Reality? Quantum Meaning argues that the current quantum theory is not a final theory of reality. Rather, the theory can be replaced by a better one, in which objects are treated as symbols, rendering it free of indeterminism and probability. The Semantic Interpretation makes it possible to formulate new laws of nature. These laws will predict the order amongst symbols, similar to the notes in a musical composition or the words in a book. How This Book Is Structured Chapter 1: Quantum Information--discusses the quantum physics - classical physics conflict and connects it to the historical divide between primary and secondary properties. The consequences of introducing semantic information into physics are described. Chapter 2: The Quantum Problem--surveys the "quantum weirdness" including issue such as discreteness, uncertainty, probability, wave-particle duality, non-locality and irreversibility. Chapter 3: Developing the Intuitions--an informational view of nature is motivated by analyzing the problems that arise when symbols are treated as classical objects. The connection between problems of meaning and Godel's Incompleteness and Turing's Halting Problem are discussed and certain foundational notions such as semantic space and quantum spacelets are introduced. Chapter 4: The Semantic Interpretation--interprets standard constructs in the quantum formalism such as statistics, uncertainty, Schrodinger's equation, non-locality and complementarity. The chapter shows how these constructs cease to be problematic when quanta are treated as symbols. Chapter 5: Advanced Quantum Topics--extends the ideas in the previous chapter to interpret quasi-particles, antiparticles, spin, the weak force, decoherence and the constant speed of light. The chapter discusses a semantic path to Quantum Gravity. Chapter 6: Comparing Interpretations--compares the Semantic Interpretation with some well-known interpretations of quantum theory such as the Copenhagen Interpretation, the Ensemble Interpretation, the Many Worlds Interpretation, the Von Neumann/Wigner Interpretation, the Relational Interpretation, and the Objective Collapse Interpretation. The book concludes by arguing that the quantum wavefunction--which is currently treated physically--can also be treated semantically. Much like a word can be understood as a sound vibration, but also has meaning, the quanta can also be treated as phonemes that symbolize meanings.

Quantum Reality

Quantum Reality PDF Author: Jim Baggott
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198830157
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. It is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; and lots of seemingly spooky goings-on. But if we're prepared to be a little more specific about what we mean when we talk about 'reality' and a little more circumspect in the way we think a scientific theory might represent such a reality, then all the mystery goes away. This shows that the choice we face is actually a philosophical one. Here, Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest. He also explores the processes involved in developing scientific theories and explains how these lead to different philosophical positions, essential if we are to understand the nature of the great debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Moving forwards, Baggott then provides a comprehensive guide to attempts to determine what the theory actually means, from the Copenhagen interpretation to many worlds and the multiverse. Richard Feynman once declared that 'nobody understands quantum mechanics'. This book will tell you why.

Meeting the Universe Halfway

Meeting the Universe Halfway PDF Author: Karen Barad
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822339175
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description
A theoretical physicist and feminist theorist, Karen Barad elaborates her theory of agential realism, a schema that is at once a new epistemology, ontology, and ethics.

Beyond Measure

Beyond Measure PDF Author: J. E. Baggott
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780198525363
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Presents the problems of quantum theory from the perspective of mathematical formalism. -- Back cover.

Quantum Machine Learning

Quantum Machine Learning PDF Author: Peter Wittek
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128010991
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Quantum Machine Learning bridges the gap between abstract developments in quantum computing and the applied research on machine learning. Paring down the complexity of the disciplines involved, it focuses on providing a synthesis that explains the most important machine learning algorithms in a quantum framework. Theoretical advances in quantum computing are hard to follow for computer scientists, and sometimes even for researchers involved in the field. The lack of a step-by-step guide hampers the broader understanding of this emergent interdisciplinary body of research. Quantum Machine Learning sets the scene for a deeper understanding of the subject for readers of different backgrounds. The author has carefully constructed a clear comparison of classical learning algorithms and their quantum counterparts, thus making differences in computational complexity and learning performance apparent. This book synthesizes of a broad array of research into a manageable and concise presentation, with practical examples and applications. - Bridges the gap between abstract developments in quantum computing with the applied research on machine learning - Provides the theoretical minimum of machine learning, quantum mechanics, and quantum computing - Gives step-by-step guidance to a broader understanding of this emergent interdisciplinary body of research

The Meaning of the Wave Function

The Meaning of the Wave Function PDF Author: Shan Gao
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107124352
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Covering much of the recent debate, this ambitious text provides new, decisive proof of the reality of the wave function.