The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book

by Charles Liu

Overview

Quantum physics helps explain many mysteries of the universe. It underpins everything, but it need not be quantum difficult with this informative, accessible, easy-to-follow guide to the fundamentals and concepts of quantum physics and our quantum universe!

Quantum physics is all around us. It’s in electrical lights, lasers, and the color of the sky. Without it, the sun wouldn’t shine. It even explains how human eyes work. With its role in photosynthesis, it literally supports life. Yet, it had Schrödinger wondering whether his cat was alive or dead. It tells us that something can be both a wave and a particle and that two linked particles can communicate across the universe instantaneously! And it might even explain how the multiverse is real. Quantum physics is the key to understanding our complex world, yet even our most brilliant minds haven’t figured it all out yet.

Engaging and approachable, The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book helps untangle this complex subject, making quantum physics and its impact on us, the world, and the universe entertaining and easy to grasp. From the basics to the theories and from the practical applications to the future, this illuminating book answers more than 800 fascinating questions so you can easily understand quantum physics, including ...

Did the Big Bang arise from quantum foam?

When did philosophers first consider the existence of atoms?

What is the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated?

What are quarks?

What is quantum teleportation?

What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?

What is the quantum principle used in MRI machines?

Does entangled time mean the present can affect the past?

Why did Albert Einstein say, “God does not play dice with the universe”?

How is a black hole a quantum object?

How does quantum physics appear in portrayals of space?

Do we live in a multiverse?

What is artificial intelligence?

Are human brains actually quantum computers?

How does quantum physics affect me?

The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book provides a bridge between scientific concepts and everyday understanding, allowing you to grasp the wonders and implications of quantum physics. This compelling resource is for the casually curious as well as those seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most captivating scientific fields of our time. With 135 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its glossary of commonly used terms cuts through the jargon, a helpful bibliography provides sources for further exploration, and an extensive index adds to its usefulness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578598052
Publisher:	Visible Ink Press
Publication date:	07/16/2024
Series:	The Handy Answer Book Series
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Charles Liu is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of New York's College of Staten Island, an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History, and host of the podcast The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu. He earned degrees in astronomy, astrophysics, and physics from Harvard and the University of Arizona, and he held postdoctoral positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory and at Columbia University. His research focuses on colliding galaxies, starburst galaxies, quasars, and the star formation history of the universe. In addition to his research publications, Liu also writes for students and general audiences, including Visible Ink Press’ popular The Handy Physics Answer Book and The Handy Astronomy Answer Book; StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Jeffery Lee Simons; and The Cosmos Explained. Among his many professional honors, Charles has been awarded the American Astronomical Society Education Prize and the American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award. He currently serves as president of the Astronomical Society of New York and is a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. Charles and his wife have three children.

Read an Excerpt

WHAT IS QUANTUM PHYSICS?

Quantum Basics

What is quantum physics?
Quantum physics is an amazing branch of science that describes the behavior of matter and energy on size scales far smaller than anything we humans can see with our unaided eyes. It describes the interactions of elementary particles and fields – the tiniest, most fundamental constituents of matter and energy in the universe.

What is a quantum?
A quantum (plural “quanta”) is simply a set amount of anything – length, time, energy, momentum, electric charge, or whatever. The word is used in the scientific term “quantum physics” because on those tiny size scales, many quantities cannot appear in nature continuous values, and rather can only be observed at specific set values.

What is physics?
Physics is the study of space, time, matter, and energy, and how they interact with one another. Put another way, physics is the scientific study of the structure, content, and activity of and in the world and universe around us. Physics seeks to explain natural phenomena in terms of a comprehensive theoretical framework in mathematical form. Physics depends on well-built instruments, precise measurements, careful calculations, and the rigorous expression of results.

Why is quantum physics also called quantum mechanics?
Quantum physics originated when physics were conducting research describing the motions and interactions of particles and waves. This area of physics is known as mechanics. Thus, quantum physics is often also known as quantum mechanics. Gradually, scientists discovered that quantum physical phenomena occur in many other areas of physics, and also in other sciences like chemistry, biology, and astronomy.

Why is quantum physics so mysterious?
At the tiny size scales of quantum physics – usually much smaller than one-millionth of an inch! – the structure and behavior of matter and energy differs greatly from the way objects behave at human size scales. Without the aid of advanced technological tools, it is almost always impossible to see the effects of quantum physics – even though, ironically, quantum physics helps to explain how human eyes work. The universe appears to behave very differently at quantum scales compared to human scales, so “quantum” things seem mysterious. As it turns out, much of quantum physics is well explained scientifically and even quite ordinary.

Why is quantum physics important?
Although quantum physics describes how things work at tiny size scales, every object we know of – including people, planets, stars, galaxies, and the entire universe – is made of up tiny particles. By studying quantum physics, we learn how we're built, and thus how we live, how we interact with the world around us, and even how we fit into the entire universe in which we exist.

How does quantum physics affect me?
Quantum physics affects you and me in so many ways it's hard to count them all. Here are just a few examples. All of the modern electronic devices you use, including your computer and mobile phone, use the principles of quantum mechanics to work. All of the sunlight you see and feel was produced by quantum physics happening deep inside the Sun. And all of the DNA molecules that govern your life processes operate by the rules of quantum physics.

How do scientists study quantum physics?
Even though it may seem extra-mysterious, quantum physics is a branch of scientific inquiry in the same way that other branches of physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry are. Physicists work to explain natural phenomena in terms of a comprehensive theoretical framework in mathematical form. Physicists approach quantum physics in the same way as they approach the other branches of physics – they just have to take into account the special properties of the universe at tiny size scales.

What does a quantum physicist do?
A quantum physicist can do a wide variety of things over the course of a day, or a year, or a career. Many conduct fundamental research in large laboratories or universities, advancing what we know about quantum physics while teaching others about the field. Many others work for corporations, in a wide variety of fields such as energy, engineering, electronics, and computers. Still others apply their knowledge of quantum physics, which is widely applicable to a huge number of different activities, in areas of society far from scientific work.

Why should I learn about quantum physics?
Quantum physics is one of the frontier areas of science today, and is a fascinating, fun, and useful thing to learn. Physics often called “the fundamental science” because it is the core of many other sciences such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology. It is also the basis of many fields of applied sciences such as aeronautics and astronautics, engineering, computer science, and information technology. Quantum physics is thus fundamental in almost every high-tech pursuit. A strong knowledge of physics, especially quantum physics, is a powerful tool to have in today’s world.

Key ideas of quantum physics

What are some of the basic key concepts of quantum physics?
Three basic key concepts of quantum physics are wave-particle duality, energy quantization, and quantum uncertainty.

What is a wave?
A wave is a traveling disturbance that moves energy from one location to another without transferring matter. When regular motions back and forth for example, known scientifically as “oscillations,” occur in a medium or material, it creates waves that propagate away from the location of the oscillation. For example, a pebble dropped into a pool of water creates vertical oscillations in the water, while the wave propagates outward horizontally along the surface of the water.

What is a particle?
A particle is the general term for any single object. Particles can be elementary, which means they exist and move fully independently from other objects; or they can be composite, which means they are made up of smaller, simpler objects. Photons, electrons, atoms, molecules, pebbles, potatoes, and planets are all examples of objects that could be physically considered as types of particles.

What is wave-particle duality?
Quantum physicists realized about a century ago that waves and particles are very closely connected. In fact, in a quantum system, every particle is also a wave, and every wave is also a particle. In our daily lives, however, the particles we encounter do not appear to be waves at all, because their wavelengths are almost imperceptibly tiny. This duality between waves and particles remains one of the most challenging, yet fundamental, parts of quantum physics to understand fully.

What is energy?
Energy is a challenging concept to define, because it can take so many different forms, and objects can have energy in many different ways. One rather abstract definition of energy is a property that, when it is transferred between particles or physical systems, can produce motion, heat, or light. An object with energy can change itself or its environment.

What is energy quantization?
Energy quantization is the process of producing energy only in specific amounts. Normally, we think we can produce any amount of energy, large or small; in quantum physics, however, where the amounts of energy are generally tiny, only set amounts of energy can move within and between particles and systems. The amounts depend on the quantum properties of those particles and system.

Do we experience energy quantization in our daily lives?
In our daily lives, we do experience energy quantization, although not exactly in the sense described in quantum physics. For example, when you are climbing a staircase, you can stop and stand on the second or fifth or tenth stair, but you cannot stand at the height between the third stair and fourth stair. Each stair represents a level of gravitational potential energy; so while you are on the staircase, you are experiencing a kind of energy quantization.

Where is energy quantization observed to occur?
One important example of energy quantization – which is a key concept of quantum physics – appears in atoms and molecules. These particles can only gain or release energy in specific amounts; there can be many different such energy levels, but the total number is limited. The patterns of quantized energy in atoms and molecules have direct effects on everything from the properties of materials we use, to the colors of light emitted in lamps, to the existence of life as we know it.

What is quantum uncertainty?
Perhaps the most counterintuitive concept among the fundamental ideas of quantum physics is quantum uncertainty. Roughly speaking, it is the idea that certain quantities in physical systems cannot be known precisely until they are measured. Before the measurement of a quantity occurs, the quantities are only known as estimates or probabilities; after the measurement occurs, some other related quantity must actually be less well known than it was before. (See, I told you it was counter-intuitive.)

The birth of quantum physics

How did quantum physics begin?
Quantum physics first began when scientists started to notice that the laws of physics that described motion, matter, and energy – what today is often called “classical physics” – were incomplete. In other words, natural phenomena were observed that could not be explained by the scientific physical theories of the time. About a century ago – in the early 1900s – physicists began to understand several very important new ideas in physics, including wave-particle duality and energy quantization, that led to the birth of quantum physics.

What was an early experiment that suggested wave-particle duality?
Thomas Young's interference experiment, first reported in 1801, showed that light travels in waves. A modified version of the experiment, known today as the double-slit interferometer, showed that particles such as electrons, atoms, and molecules behaved the same way in the experiment that light does; that demonstrated the idea of wave-particle duality in a clearly visible way.

Table of Contents

About the Author
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction

1. What is Quantum Physics?
2. The Atomic Realm
3. The Subatomic Realm
4. Quantum Concepts
5. Quantum Devises
6. Quantum Entanglement
7. Quantum Computing
8. Quantum Life
9. Quantum Physics and the Universe
10. Quantum Frontiers

Bibliography
Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2024

Gr 9 Up—The latest in the series introduces readers to the study and history of quantum physics and the ways it is encountered in everyday life. In 10 sections, the topics range from "What is Quantum Physics?" to "Quantum Frontiers." Students can choose to read the text from beginning to end or they can dip in and read about topics that spark their interests. Each section features a collection of questions (appearing in bold) about the topic, followed by an answer ranging from a few sentences to a few paragraphs. Lines across the page create a visual separation between each question and the next. A banner across the top indicates the current section. The writing is clear and accessible, although readers with some previous knowledge of physics and chemistry will benefit most. The layout is clear and open. Black-and-white images, featured throughout, include photographs of scientists and images to complement the text, such as an image portraying the difference between the atomic models of J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford. Boxed "Did You Know" areas also appear throughout and highlight interesting facts. The text concludes with a list of further reading and a comprehensive index. VERDICT This reference book would be useful for high school students with an interest in the topic.—Maren Ostergard

School Library Journal

"Astrophysicist Charles Liu demystifies quantum physics in his third book of an educational series. ... What are gamma rays? What are quarks? What is nuclear fission? What is quantum physics? And why is it such a mystery to most of us? ... These questions and a myriad of others are answered in The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book, a new book that probes one of the most mysterious and least understood areas of physics." — CUNY Graduate Center News

"The latest in the series introduces readers to the study and history of quantum physics and the ways it is encountered in everyday life. … The writing is clear and accessible … The layout is clear and open. … useful for high school students with an interest in the topic." — School Library Journal

"... a deep and comprehensive dive into the “wild and wonderful world of quantum physics.” ... This 480-page book more than lives up to its name as a handy reference volume on quantum physics." — Alternate Perceptions magazine

"Charles Liu, Ph.D is a professor of astrophysics ... Dr. Liu writes for students and general audiences ... Dr. Liu explains that we deal with quantum physics every day. … your computer, your laptop, your Ipad, your cell phone all use the principles of quantum mechanics. ... As a paranormal investigator, I find a lot of information in this book fascinating. ... You will be gifted with cosmic knowledge that radiates from this magnificent book. If you seek out brilliance, search no further, it's all in this masterly crafted book!" — Unexplained-Mysteries.com

"In this work, the author simplifies the complex topic of quantum physics through a series of boldface questions. … The work is divided into thematic chapters, starting with overviews of the atomic and subatomic realms, and quantum concepts. The remaining sections address specific areas like quantum computing, quantum biology, quantum physics related to the universe (Big Bang, black holes, dark matter, etc.), and quantum frontiers (AI, dark energy, string theory, etc.)." — Booklist Online

From the Publisher