Quantum Physics and Ordinary Language

Quantum Physics and Ordinary Language PDF Author: Tommy Bergstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description

Quantum Physics and Ordinary Language

Quantum Physics and Ordinary Language PDF Author: Tommy Bergstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description


Beyond Weird

Beyond Weird PDF Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022655838X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Since Niels Bohr said this many years ago, quantum mechanics has only been getting more shocking. We now realize that it’s not really telling us that “weird” things happen out of sight, on the tiniest level, in the atomic world: rather, everything is quantum. But if quantum mechanics is correct, what seems obvious and right in our everyday world is built on foundations that don’t seem obvious or right at all—or even possible. An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means—and what it doesn’t. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience. Over the past decade it has become clear that quantum physics is less a theory about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information and knowledge—about what can be known, and how we can know it. Discoveries and experiments over the past few decades have called into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and, ultimately, of knowledge itself. The quantum world Ball shows us isn’t a different world. It is our world, and if anything deserves to be called “weird,” it’s us.

Quantum Mechanics in Everyday Life

Quantum Mechanics in Everyday Life PDF Author: Wilton Virgo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990932406
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book Here

Book Description
Quantum mechanics is the mathematical foundation for chemistry and physics on the microscopic scale. The energies and interactions between atoms and molecules can be described using the mathematics of matrices and quantized angular momentum. The seemingly esoteric mathematical language and quantum behavior of atoms and molecules have directly led to modern technology such as compact fluorescent bulbs, lasers, the global positioning system (GPS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Quantum Mechanics in Everyday Life provides an introduction to the language of quantum and leads the reader to a deeper understanding of familiar, widely-used technology at the atomic and molecular level.

The Philosophy of Physics

The Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Roberto Torretti
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521565714
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 532

Get Book Here

Book Description
Pursues the development of physics from Galileo and Newton to Einstein and the founders of quantum mechanics.

Quantum Philosophy

Quantum Philosophy PDF Author: Roland Omnès
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400822866
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this magisterial work, Roland Omnès takes us from the academies of ancient Greece to the laboratories of modern science as he seeks to do no less than rebuild the foundations of the philosophy of knowledge. One of the world's leading quantum physicists, Omnès reviews the history and recent development of mathematics, logic, and the physical sciences to show that current work in quantum theory offers new answers to questions that have puzzled philosophers for centuries: Is the world ultimately intelligible? Are all events caused? Do objects have definitive locations? Omnès addresses these profound questions with vigorous arguments and clear, colorful writing, aiming not just to advance scholarship but to enlighten readers with no background in science or philosophy. The book opens with an insightful and sweeping account of the main developments in science and the philosophy of knowledge from the pre-Socratic era to the nineteenth century. Omnès then traces the emergence in modern thought of a fracture between our intuitive, commonsense views of the world and the abstract and--for most people--incomprehensible world portrayed by advanced physics, math, and logic. He argues that the fracture appeared because the insights of Einstein and Bohr, the logical advances of Frege, Russell, and Gödel, and the necessary mathematics of infinity of Cantor and Hilbert cannot be fully expressed by words or images only. Quantum mechanics played an important role in this development, as it seemed to undermine intuitive notions of intelligibility, locality, and causality. However, Omnès argues that common sense and quantum mechanics are not as incompatible as many have thought. In fact, he makes the provocative argument that the "consistent-histories" approach to quantum mechanics, developed over the past fifteen years, places common sense (slightly reappraised and circumscribed) on a firm scientific and philosophical footing for the first time. In doing so, it provides what philosophers have sought through the ages: a sure foundation for human knowledge. Quantum Philosophy is a profound work of contemporary science and philosophy and an eloquent history of the long struggle to understand the nature of the world and of knowledge itself.

The Cosmic Code

The Cosmic Code PDF Author: Heinz R. Pagels
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486287327
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

Get Book Here

Book Description
An eminent physicist discusses and explains the core concepts of physics without resorting to complicated mathematics. "Can be read by anyone. I heartily recommend it!" — New York Times Book Review. 1982 edition.

Quantum Language and the Migration of Scientific Concepts

Quantum Language and the Migration of Scientific Concepts PDF Author: Jennifer Burwell
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262037556
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book Here

Book Description
How highly abstract quantum concepts were represented in language, and how these concepts were later taken up by philosophers, literary critics, and new-age gurus. The principles of quantum physics—and the strange phenomena they describe—are represented most precisely in highly abstract algebraic equations. Why, then, did these mathematically driven concepts compel founders of the field, particularly Erwin Schrödinger, Niels Bohr, and Werner Heisenberg, to spend so much time reflecting on ontological, epistemological, and linguistic concerns? What is it about quantum concepts that appeals to latter-day Eastern mystics, poststructuralist critics, and get-rich-quick schemers? How did their interpretations and misinterpretations of quantum phenomena reveal their own priorities? In this book, Jennifer Burwell examines these questions and considers what quantum phenomena—in the context of the founders' debates over how to describe them—reveal about the relationship between everyday experience, perception, and language. Drawing on linguistic, literary, and philosophical traditions, Burwell illuminates representational and linguistic problems posed by quantum concepts—the fact, for example, that quantum phenomena exist only as probabilities or tendencies toward being and cannot be said to exist in a particular time and place. She traces the emergence of quantum theory as an analytic tool in literary criticism, in particular the use of wave/particle duality in interpretations of gender differences in the novels of Virginia Woolf and critics' connection of Bohr's Principle of Complementarity to poetic form; she examines the “quantum mysticism” of Fritjof Capra and Gary Zukav; and she concludes by analyzing “nuclear discourse” in the context of quantum concepts, arguing that it, too, adopts a language of the unthinkable and the indescribable.

Quantum Physics For Dummies

Quantum Physics For Dummies PDF Author: Steven Holzner
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111846088X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition helps make quantum physics understandable and accessible. From what quantum physics can do for the world to understanding hydrogen atoms, readers will get complete coverage of the subject, along with numerous examples to help them tackle the tough equations. Compatible with classroom text books and courses, Quantum Physics For Dummies, Revised Edition lets students study at their own paces and helps them prepare for graduate or professional exams. Coverage includes: The Schrodinger Equation and its Applications The Foundations of Quantum Physics Vector Notation Spin Scattering Theory, Angular Momentum, and more Your plain-English guide to understanding and working with the micro world Quantum physics — also called quantum mechanics or quantum field theory — can be daunting for even the most dedicated student or enthusiast of science, math, or physics. This friendly, concise guide makes this challenging subject understandable and accessible, from atoms to particles to gases and beyond. Plus, it's packed with fully explained examples to help you tackle the tricky equations like a pro! Compatible with any classroom course — study at your own pace and prepare for graduate or professional exams Your journey begins here — understand what quantum physics is and what kinds of problems it can solve Know the basic math — from state vectors to quantum matrix manipulations, get the foundation you need to proceed Put quantum physics to work — make sense of Schrödinger's equation and handle particles bound in square wells and harmonic oscillators Solve problems in three dimensions — use the full operators to handle wave functions and eigenvectors to find the natural wave functions of a system Discover the latest research — learn the cutting-edge quantum physics theories that aim to explain the universe itself

Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics PDF Author: Marc Humphrey
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1615643621
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 405

Get Book Here

Book Description
Quantum physics explores the behavior of matter and energy at the molecular, atomic, nuclear, and even smaller levels. Idiot's Guides: Quantum Physics explores this very complex topic, while making it easy-to-understand for science enthusiasts and students alike. It skips the complicated math and dives right in to all of the concepts, paradoxes, and implications that make quantum physics so fascinating. Topics include quantum vs. classical physics, the famous double-slit experiment, quantum wave function, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the Schrodinger's cat thought experiment, quantum entanglement, competing interpretations, quantum gravity, and much more.

Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics

Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics PDF Author: Frederick W. Byron
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486135063
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 674

Get Book Here

Book Description
Graduate-level text offers unified treatment of mathematics applicable to many branches of physics. Theory of vector spaces, analytic function theory, theory of integral equations, group theory, and more. Many problems. Bibliography.