Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us
Quantum physics has turned our commonsense notion of reality on its head. This accessible book describes in layperson's terms the strange phenomena that exist at the quantum level—a world of tiny dimensions where nothing is absolutely predictable, where we rethink causality, and information seemingly travels faster than light. The author, a veteran physicist, uses illuminating analogies and jargon-free language to illustrate the basic principles of the subatomic world and show how they explain everything from the chemistry around us to the formation of galaxies. He also explains how scientists and engineers interact with this nebulous reality and, despite its mysteries, achieve results of great precision. Up front is a brief history of the early 20th-century "quantum revolution," focusing on some of the brilliant individuals whose contributions changed our view of the world—Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schroedinger, and others. The work concludes with a discussion of the many amazing inventions that have resulted from quantum theory, including lasers, semiconductors, and the myriad of electronic devices that use them. Lucidly written, this book conveys the excitement of discovery while expanding the reader's appreciation for a science that explores the basis of everything we know.
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Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us
Quantum physics has turned our commonsense notion of reality on its head. This accessible book describes in layperson's terms the strange phenomena that exist at the quantum level—a world of tiny dimensions where nothing is absolutely predictable, where we rethink causality, and information seemingly travels faster than light. The author, a veteran physicist, uses illuminating analogies and jargon-free language to illustrate the basic principles of the subatomic world and show how they explain everything from the chemistry around us to the formation of galaxies. He also explains how scientists and engineers interact with this nebulous reality and, despite its mysteries, achieve results of great precision. Up front is a brief history of the early 20th-century "quantum revolution," focusing on some of the brilliant individuals whose contributions changed our view of the world—Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schroedinger, and others. The work concludes with a discussion of the many amazing inventions that have resulted from quantum theory, including lasers, semiconductors, and the myriad of electronic devices that use them. Lucidly written, this book conveys the excitement of discovery while expanding the reader's appreciation for a science that explores the basis of everything we know.
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Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us

Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us

by Michael S. Walker
Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us

Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Us

by Michael S. Walker

Hardcover

$28.00 
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Overview

Quantum physics has turned our commonsense notion of reality on its head. This accessible book describes in layperson's terms the strange phenomena that exist at the quantum level—a world of tiny dimensions where nothing is absolutely predictable, where we rethink causality, and information seemingly travels faster than light. The author, a veteran physicist, uses illuminating analogies and jargon-free language to illustrate the basic principles of the subatomic world and show how they explain everything from the chemistry around us to the formation of galaxies. He also explains how scientists and engineers interact with this nebulous reality and, despite its mysteries, achieve results of great precision. Up front is a brief history of the early 20th-century "quantum revolution," focusing on some of the brilliant individuals whose contributions changed our view of the world—Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schroedinger, and others. The work concludes with a discussion of the many amazing inventions that have resulted from quantum theory, including lasers, semiconductors, and the myriad of electronic devices that use them. Lucidly written, this book conveys the excitement of discovery while expanding the reader's appreciation for a science that explores the basis of everything we know.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781633882393
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publication date: 02/14/2017
Pages: 448
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Michael S. Walker, PhD, is a retired physicist, materials scientist, engineer, inventor, and project manager, who holds degrees from MIT and Carnegie Mellon University. His research has been mainly focused on the development of superconductors and superconducting power applications of a scale to light cities. He is the author or coauthor of more than seventy technical papers and holds a dozen patents. In 1989, he was voted Inventor of the Year by the Eastern New York Patent Law Association for conceiving and developing a unique way of separating minerals using magnetic fluids.

Table of Contents

Foreword David Toback 11

Preface 15

Part 1 Discovery and Understanding (1900-1927) 19

Chapter 1 Introduction to Parts One and Two 21

Chapter 2 Planck, Einstein, Bohr- Experiments and Early Ideas 25

Chapter 3 Heisenberg, Dirac, Schrödinger- Quantum Mechanics and the Quantum Atom 59

Chapter 4 Application-Six Hundred Million Watts! 83

Part 2 Interpretation and Mind-Boggling Implications (1916-2016) 89

Chapter 5 The Essential Features of Quantum Mechanics 91

Chapter 6 Clash of Titans-What is Real? Uncertainty, Entanglement, John Bell, and Many Worlds 95

Chapter 7 What Does It All Mean?-Quantum Mechanics, Mathematics, and the Nature of Science 125

Chapter 8 Applications-Quantum Computing, Code Cracking, Teleportation, and Encryption 129

Part 3 Our World of Relativity and the Quantum, from the Big Bang to the Galaxies 153

Chapter 9 Galaxies, Black Holes, Gravity Waves, Matter, the Forces of Nature, the Higgs Boson, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and String Theory 155

Section I Obtaining a Map of the Universe (Basically an Introduction to Understanding the Universe in Which Our Trip Takes Place) 156

Section II Sightseeing (A Quick Tour through the Evolving Universe, from the Big Bang and the Very Small to the Present and the Very Large, with Stops Afterward to Explore Particular Sights, including Those Topics in the Title to This Chapter) 172

Section III Key Aspects of the Big Bang Model 190

Section IV Approaching the Big Bang (Creating the Conditions of the Hot "Quark Soup" just after the Big Bang, to Explore the Fundamental "Building Block" Particles of Nature and the Particles That Convey Nature's Forces) 197

Part 4 The Many-Electron Atom and the Foundations of Chemistry and Materials Science 221

Chapter 10 Introduction to Part Four 223

Chapter 11 Energy, Momentum, and the Spatial States of the Electron in the Hydrogen Atom 227

Chapter 12 Spin and Magnetism 233

Chapter 13 Exclusion and the Periodic Table 237

Chapter 14 The Physics Underlying the Chemistry of the Elements 261

Chapter 15 A Few Types of Chemical Bonds, for Example 269

Chapter 16 The Makeup of Solid Materials 275

Chapter 17 Insulators and Electrical Conduction in Normal Metals and Semiconductors 279

Part 5 Quantum Wonders in Materials and Devices, Large and Small 285

Chapter 18 Nanotechnology and Introduction to Part Five 287

Chapter 19 Superconductors I-Definition and Applications in Transportation, Medicine, and Computing 291

Chapter 20 Fusion for Electrical Power, and Lasers Also for Defense 297

Chapter 21 Magnetism, Magnets, Magnetic Materials, and Their Applications 303

Chapter 22 Graphene, Nanotubes, and One "Dream" Application 309

Chapter 23 Semiconductors and Electronic Applications 319

Chapter 24 Superconductors II-Large-Scale Applications in Science, Power Generation, and Transmission 325

Acknowledgments 333

Appendix A The Nature and Spectrum of Electromagnetic Waves 337

Appendix B Empirical Development of the Periodic Table of the Elements 345

Appendix C Quantum Computer Development 357

Appendix D The Atomic Sizes and Chemistries of the Elements 363

Appendix E The Production of X-Rays 375

Notes 377

Glossary 399

References and Recommended Reading 421

Index 425

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