World Famous Comics: Quantum Theory: A Graphic Guide to Science's Most Puzzling Discovery (Introducing...)
Quantum Theory: A Graphic Guide to Science's Most Puzzling Discovery (Introducing...)
By: J.P. McEnvoy Publisher: Totem Books Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Totem Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: September 25, 2008
Product Description: A step by step tour of a notoriously difficult subject, tackling the puzzle of wave duality and the famous questions raised by Bohr's 'Copenhagen Interpretation'. Scientific discoveries of the earliest 20th century destroyed assumptions about basic physics laws. At subatomic level things work very differently, one particle seems to know what others are doing, limiting how accurately nature can be observed. Yet quantum theory explanations are widely applied and very accurate.
A dazzling statement of the brilliance of the scientists. I had to do quantum physics as part of my science degree and reluctantly participated. Forty years on, I found this book hard to put down, reading it twice in a row to digest the magnificence of the men and their discoveries nearly a century ago now. With clear graphics and wording, this is one of the best little books I have read. I wish I had access to it forty years ago.
Already understand Quantum Theory but enjoy bad writing? Then this book is for you! The explanations in this book assume that the reader already knows the terminology, understands the significance of the various functions that are tossed out without explanation, and realizes how each theoretical step is related to the next. Accordingly, almost no time is spent explaining these things. Instead, you get some interesting trivia about the lives of each of the important players in the development of Quantum Theory, along with some very strange stylistic flourishes and frequent asides from the author.
There are examples on every page, but take for isntance the bottom of p. 42, where we learn that Planck's constant is 0.000000000000000000000000006626. The author then informs us that if this were zero, "we would never even be able to sit in front of a fire! In fact, the whole universe would be different. Be thankful for the little things in life!" End of page, and on to the next subject. Maybe that helped someone. But it didn't help me.
Nor was I helped by the series of pages wherein a young Albert Einstein assumes a very condescending an paternalistic tone to explain to his visibly-confused wife the intricacies of his new theory. I realize the author is only attempting to help us follow the explanation when he peppers each of Einstein's speech bubbles with "Very good, Mileva" and "But my dear Mileva", finally ending with "Good idea, Liebchen..." (after she suggested that yes, he should publish it) "...I'm so pleased when you help me with my work." Einstein then suggests a title and his wife helpfully responds with "Sounds good!" So the segment ends, and by this time I'm feeling fairly disturbed by the Einstein family's household politics, but I still don't understand any of the physics he was supposed to be explaining.
These are only two small examples, but they are representative of the style of writing in the book. As for the art, it is attractive and engaging and will be familiar to anyone who's read any of the other titles in the Introducing series. As other reviewers have said, it doesn't really help the text, but it also doesn't detract from it.
I give this book 2 out of 5 stars because the topic is interesting, the art is well done, and the book does contain a good deal of interesting information. However, the style of writing is grating, and many crucial connections are simply skipped over while a few facts and equations are constantly repeated (we are told several times that S = k log w, but we're never quite sure what this means). The effect, at least for me, was that I came away having learned a few interesting things about the physicists involved but almost nothing about the theory itself. Indeed, my strongest impression from reading this book is that in the future I should avoid reading anything written by the author, J.P. McEvoy.
In short, I would not recommend this book to anyone who doesn't already understand the mathematics underlying Quantum Theory.
In my opinion, the "Introducing" series are well worth the money This one is in my top 5 of the Introducing... series. I'm not exactly a math/physics whiz, so it was nice to read something that gave me what I believe to be a good introduction to Quantum Theory.
The contradiction of classic physics explained (the one with the cat that is half dead half alive). Quantum theory is the abstract solution to the problem of the quantities and states of energy on the quantum scale (subatomic levels) in a system. Quantum theory is proved using a form of mathematics called `quantum mechanics'. Quantum theory and mechanics verified subatomic systems for the first time at the start of the 20th century. Atomic models are brand new things
Classical physics since Newton was preoccupied by macro forces and the theory of light. Maxwell unified the forces of electricity and magnetism into electromagnetism and so the study of waves and particles was the first clear quantum in physics that required further explanation.
During early research into quantum results with experiments in light and heat combinations, investigations produced anomalies which contradicted what was known to classical physics at this time. This eventually required the development of an almost completely independent and totally new branch of science to explain the phenomena. In the early years it remained completely outside of the box of modern physics but was about to become a whole new way to explain more about the world we live in.
Quantum theory is the kind of result you would expect of a young Isaac Newton who chose to explore the micro instead of the macro full time. While Newton had investigated light and lent much to the development of the procedures that discovered quantum theory it was quantum theory that was eventually going to shed light on light.
Quantum theory can be better understood as the solution to a series of problems occurring in classical physics experimentations.
The most major of these problems was the discovery of black bodies which absorb radiation without reflection. There are no perfect black bodies. To see it some light must emit back. An example would be an oven burning inside you can peep through a whole and see what is being reflected while the oven absorbs the radiation. Planck eventually explained why this reflected radiation doesn't burn our eyeballs out when we see it by devising and proving Planck's constant. Boer would take this constant and improve it with spectrums of chemical compounds, proving subatomic properties. Schrodinger developed the theory of the motions of subatomic particles called quantum mechanics.
Quantum mechanics is thus the mathematical description of the states particles and waves.
Core criteria: The Solvay conference (1927) Brussels The first law of thermodynamics is the conservation of energy. The entropy (heat transfer from one body to another) of an isolated system always increases reaching a maximum at thermal equilibrium (same temperature). Maxwell's theory of kinetic gases. Initial random position and velocities of molecules. Heat is generated by motion of atoms. Equipartition of energy theorem - energy equally shared at thermal equilibrium. Black body radiation and the ultraviolet catastrophe Planck's constant and quantum size Photoelectric effect Spectra effects Hydrogen frequencies The discovery of the electron Neils Bohr Linear momentum and Angular Momentum Bohr's postulates Zeeman Effect Wolfgang Pauli, the Pauli effect and Pauli's exclusion principle Closed shells and inert gases Properties of waves Diffraction and interference Prince Louis de Broglie Matter waves Heisenberg's atom Matrix Mechanics Schrodinger's cat and atom Probability Dirac's transformation Anti-matter The uncertainty principle EPR paradox Bell's inequality
Imagine two great circles. One realm is quantum theory the other is relativity. Sometimes they cross over. Unification of both is still a modern scientific quest today that even baffled Einstein until his death. You will probably also want `Introducing Relativity' if you are in for this one. I would also recommend `Introducing Time' for the best explanation of Boltzmann's statistical mechanics although that book has very little else on Quantum Mechanics.
Introducing Quantum Theory This is an excellent book for introducing quantum theory. It is presented in a very interesting way through the personalities of the people who created quantum theory. The physics includes enough of the mathematics and equations to be useful as a supplement for a quantum physic text for anyone who desires a "biographical" approach to quantum physics. The conceptual prersentation of quantum theory in this book ranks with the best I have seen in my 40 year history of teaching quantum physics.
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Trevor
Megaton Man
