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    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
    Audiobook9 hours

    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality

    Written by John Gribbin

    Narrated by Nicholas Masters-Waage

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Quantum theory is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering.

    In Search of Schrodinger's Cat tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth stranger than any fiction. John Gribbin takes us step by step into an even more bizarre and fascinating place, requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, super conductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrodinger's Cat – a search for quantum reality – as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today – quantum physics.

    In Search of Schrodinger's Cat is a fascinating and delightful introduction to the strange world of the quantum – an essential element in understanding today's world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateNov 12, 2020
    ISBN9780008412296
    In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
    Author

    John Gribbin

    John Gribbin's numerous bestselling books include In Search of Schrödinger's Cat and Six Impossible Things, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Science Book Prize. He has been described as 'one of the finest and most prolific writers of popular science around' by the Spectator. In 2021, he was made Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

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    Reviews for In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat

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    • 4/5
      A good introduction to quantum theory and the key players involved in its development. I first read this book in college when it was first published in 1984. After this second reading in 2019, I still don't understand quantum physics.

      (If you don't get the following joke, this is the book to read!)

      Heisenberg and Schrödinger get pulled over for speeding. The cop asks Heisenberg "Do you know how fast you were going?" Heisenberg replies, "No, but we know exactly where we are!"

      The officer looks at him confused and says "you were going 108 miles per hour!" Heisenberg throws his arms up and cries, "Great! Now we're lost!"

      The officer looks over the car and asks Schrödinger if the two men have anything in the trunk. "A cat," Schrödinger replies. The cop opens the trunk and yells "Hey! This cat is dead." Schrödinger angrily replies, "Well he is now."

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Not bad but not the overview of my quantum dreams.
    • 4/5
      Okay as an introduction to quantum theory, but if you've had some college physics, you may want something more advanced. Author belabors some very elementary points, and more advanced concepts are stated, rather than explained.
    • 4/5
      The first part of the book covers what many other popular science books do: the development of quantum mechanics. But what it makes this book interesting is the explanation of the actual experiments that has been done to confirm the theoretical expectations. Very recommended to those interested in physics.
    • 5/5
      Excellent Insight including the wonderful fact that photons experience no time
    • 5/5
      I thought I had a grasp of the basics but this book was fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the time travel and parallel worlds chapter. Great reference book.
    • 4/5
      Just love quantum stuff. I don't understand most of it but little by little some of it sinks in. Particularly like the way the multiverse may or may not be splitting.......

      And it's a fantastic education reading about the incredible ideas going on in the minds of people who make the breakthroughs and lay foundations and work out the possibilities..... the same sort of thrill I get knowing Voyager 1 is out there and was made possible by people not unlike me.
    • 4/5
      A very good read. One of the better books I've read on the subject. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      In the search for Schrodinger's Cat Gribben shows us the fantastic whimsical world of the Quantum. Walking Dead Cats notwithstanding, it is a fascinating journey into that world that even a layman like me can understand. And it opens the door to link the known and seen physical world to the unseen world and our interactions with the unseen by just looking at it! For anybody with a Theological background (like me) it gives entrance to a wormhole tunnel between the two seemingly incompatible genres of knowledge.Having a Folio Society version adds icing to the cake with its beautifully crafted design. It is a pleasure to hold in the hand, feel the cover and pages, and peruse the beauty of the content. Well worth having a copy!
    • 5/5
      For those of you that are into Quantum Physics... this is an excellent into to concepts. The very act of measuring something can change it's reality. You get it all in one package- history, discoveries, speculations and realities. Is the cat in the box alive, dead or perhaps something else? Read the book to find out! John Gribbin took difficult concepts and put the explanations into easy to understand terms.
    • 2/5
      Indeholder "Forord", "Introduktion", "Intet er virkeligt", "Første del: Kvantet", " 1. Lys", " Bølger eller partikler?", " Bølgeteorien triumferer", " 2. Atomer", " Atomer i det 19. århundrede", " Einsteins atomer", " Elektroner", " Ioner", " Røntgenstråler", " Radioaktivitet", " Atomets indre", " 3. Lys og atomer", " Nøglen: Sorte legemer", " Revolutionen der ikke var velkommen", " Hvad er h?", " Einstein, lys, og kvanter", " 4. Bohrs atom", " Elektroner der hopper", " Brint forklaret", " Sandsynlighed: Guds terninger", " Atomer set i perspektiv", " Kemien forklaret", "Andel del: Kvantemekanikken", " 5. Fotoner og elektroner", " Lyspartikler", " Partikel/bølge-dualiteten", " Elektron-bølger", " Bruddet med fortiden", " Pauili og udelukkelse", " Hvorhen så?", " 6. Matricer og bølger", " Gennembruddet på Helgoland", " Kvantematematik", " Schrödingers teori", " Et tilbageskridt", " Kvantekøkkenet", " 7. Kogekunst med kvanter", " Antistof", " Kernens indre", " Lasere og masere", " Den mægtige mikro", " Supraledere", " Selve livet", "Tredje del: ... og hinsides", " 8. Sandsynlighed og ubestemthed", " Betydningen af ubestemthed", " Københavner-fortolkningen", " Eksperimentet med de to huller", " Kollaps af bølger", " Komplementaritetsreglerne", " 9. Paradokser og muligheder", " Uret i kassen", " 'EPR-paradokset'", " Tidsrejser", " Einsteins tid", " Noget for ingenting", " Schrödingers kat", " Det medlevende univers", " 10. Beviset for buddingen", " Spin i paradokset", " Problemet med polarisationen", " Bells test", " Beviset", " Hvad betyder det?", " Bekræftelse og anvendelser", " 11. Mange verdener", " Hvem iagttager iagttageren?", " Schrödingers katte", " Hinsides science fiction", " Hinsides Einstein", " Et gensyn", " Hinsides Everett", " Vor særlige plads", " Epilog. Uafsluttet historie", " Snoet rumtid", " Brudte symmerier", " Supergravitation", " Er Universet en vakuumfluktuation", " Inflation og Universet", "Noter", "Bibliografi", "Personregister".Et forsøg på at forklare kvantemekanik. Han får også nogle af konsekvenserne med. Fx side 136: "Virkelig transportable computere i lommestørrelse kan ikke være langt væk."
    • 3/5
      Why did I buy this book? There is a great problem with explaining something technical to the layman: so much trust is involved. This book is packed with nonsense; at least, that is the way that it seems to me. We are told of sub atomic particles which react differently depending upon whether they are observed or no. How does anybody know? Part of the experiment is not to look! We are then told about this infamous hypothetical cat. It is in a box so we don't know whether it is alive, or dead; therefore it is in a third state of being both alive and dead. NO IT IS NOT!!!! It is either alive or dead - we just do not know which.I have invented a new mathematics. When adding two numbers together, an extra plus one must be included: so, 2 + 2 = 5.and, 2 +2 +2 = 8. Ah, I hear you say, what about multiplication? Simple, (the multiplier - 1) is added. 2 x 3 = 8 (2 x 3 + (3-1)). If one is unable to use practical research, my maths is as accurate as the orthodox variety. There is something interesting too: 2 x 3 is not the same as 3 x 2 (check it out, if you do not believe me). This has such a resonance with Quantum Physics where, we are asked to believe the improbable to fit a clever man's theory.Why do I suspect that someone (FAR cleverer than me!) will blow 'new physics out of the water?
    • 5/5
      A good non-mathematical introduction to quantum mechanics.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating, and kinda terrifying, and hey! I understood some physics! That alone is one heck of an accomplishment.
    • 5/5
      This is the book that first made me want to study science, it's very well written and the sheer weirdness of quantum physics made me want to find out more. I've since bought another 97 books about science.
    • 5/5
      This is the second John Gribbin book I have read, but not the last one, I am sure.Another Gribbin book (Science: A History 1534-2001) convinced me that his style is very enjoyable. His scientific thinking, good sense of selecting and explaining interesting subjects is very well integrated by his fine humor and vivid story telling. You can find no boring parts you might got familiar in school. Based on what I have already read from him, he seems to choose the time based story telling approach instead of giving the knowledge at once - this makes the whole much more exciting.Atom, light, electron: I have never thought they could be so amusing. You know, school have hidden this secret world from me. Or just didn't know the right way to tell it. The whole book is a fascinating and shocking travel to the world of the smaller and smaller things. In the office it was a constant subject, I always kept my collegues up-to-date regarding what I have read. And what also counts: I am a sceptic and agnostig man, lacking mystic feelings. Now I got it.I myself made notes during reading, because otherwise I cannot remember the details. Of course, it is also good just to relax and enjoy.In the last chapter, he becomes subjective, and votes for a theory that I could not believe. However, in the second part of this book (Schrödinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality) he practically votes for another one. That is also hard to believe - but this is typical for the whole subject. So might even be true.
    • 3/5
      A now dated, but still useful guide to the bizare world of quantum mechanics, and how the world of the unbelivavbly small effects everyday life.
    • 2/5
      Gribbin has been very busy popularising science in the last decade or so, and this is one of his landmark books. Frankly, though, I'm as baffled now as I ever was about quantum mechanics, and I have a physics degree to help. Not a good degree, though - perhaps the problem is mine.
    • 5/5
      The first 150 pages of this book helped me place out of the physical science requirement at the University of Chicago. Gribbin writes for the reasonably well-educated layperson, and does it well.
    • 4/5
      John Gribbon is my favorite "science writer". He is able to take a topic like quantum physics and make it not only understandable but interesting as well. I highly recommend both this book and the sequel, Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality.