50 Ideas You Really Need to Know: Quantum Physics

The subatomic world is nothing like the world we know. Here teleportation is possible, alternative realities may exist, and much of what we thought we knew about the workings of the universe is turned on its head. Quantum theory is the most mind-bending and counter-intuitive concept ever devised by humanity. But the more we learn about how matter behaves at the smallest level, the more complex and fascinating our world becomes. 50 Quantum Physics Ideas You Really Need to Know demystifies this most esoteric of scientific fields. Through 50 clear and concise chapters, Joanne Baker pins down the key building blocks of this intriguing theory, explaining how breakthroughs in our understanding about the speed of light, relativity and atomic structure paved the way for quantum puzzles such as the Higgs boson, string theory, antimatter and ideas of quantum consciousness. From Schrödinger’s cat to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, each enlightening chapter explains the essential principles of the science as well as the paradoxes that continue to challenge scientists today. With fascinating discussions on the possibility of quantum computing, space and time, and the very limits of the cosmos, together with an exploration of how quantum physics applies to life as we know it, this is the perfect introduction to the fundamental nature of the universe.