''The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen'' is a 2011 book by the theoretical

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

s Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw.

Overview

The book aims to provide an explanation of

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

and its impact on the modern world that is accessible to a general reader. The authors say that "our goal in writing this book is to demystify quantum theory". Starting with the concepts of

wave–particle duality Wave–particle duality is the concept in quantum mechanics that fundamental entities of the universe, like photons and electrons, exhibit particle or wave (physics), wave properties according to the experimental circumstances. It expresses the in ...

and a non-technical description of the

path integral formulation The path integral formulation is a description in quantum mechanics that generalizes the stationary action principle of classical mechanics. It replaces the classical notion of a single, unique classical trajectory for a system with a sum, or ...

of quantum mechanics, the book explains the

uncertainty principle The uncertainty principle, also known as Heisenberg's indeterminacy principle, is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics. It states that there is a limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties, such as position a ...

, energy levels in atoms, the physics of semi-conductors and transistors, the

Feynman diagram In theoretical physics, a Feynman diagram is a pictorial representation of the mathematical expressions describing the behavior and interaction of subatomic particles. The scheme is named after American physicist Richard Feynman, who introduced ...

, the

Pauli exclusion principle In quantum mechanics, the Pauli exclusion principle (German: Pauli-Ausschlussprinzip) states that two or more identical particles with half-integer spins (i.e. fermions) cannot simultaneously occupy the same quantum state within a system that o ...

, and the

Standard Model The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

. A more mathematical Epilogue discusses the role of quantum mechanics in models of

stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is consi ...

, and derives the

Chandrasekhar limit The Chandrasekhar limit () is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star. The currently accepted value of the Chandrasekhar limit is about (). The limit was named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. White dwarfs resist gravitational collapse pr ...

for the maximum mass of a stable

white dwarf star A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place in a white dwarf; wh ...

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' admiringly compares the authors' writing with

and science popularizer

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...

's works: "The narration is much more loose and chatty even than Feynman's famously approachable prose, though the distinction makes good sense. Feynman delivered his popularisations in an era that had never seen an internet browser, let alone YouTube videos, blogs or tweets. The conversational tone of Cox and Forshaw fits as easily in our time as Feynman's did in his." Overall, the reviewer says, "readers will enjoy this engaging, ambitious and creative tour of our quantum universe." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' says, "Writers often explain these uantum lawsin relentlessly nontechnical language that converts them into a magic show," but while Cox and Forshaw "show real imagination, they are dealing with profoundly challenging subjects, and readers who do not pay close attention will find themselves reduced to enjoying the traditional magic show." The reviewer calls the book an "ambitious explanation of the vast quantum universe aimed at readers willing to work." Similarly, ''

The Space Review ''The Space Review'' is a free online publication, published weekly with in-depth articles, essays, commentary and reviews on space exploration and development. It was founded in February 2003 by Jeff Foust, the current editor, publisher and reg ...

'' writes, "Their approach is to lead the reader through the science of quantum physics, with a little bit of history and other background intermixed, trying to find a balance of clearly explaining these subjects without getting too simplistic." The reviewer says "For those willing to put in a fair amount of attention and thought, and are not intimidated by the sight of an equation or two," the work is successful. For the popular science fan, quantum physics is "maddening," but "after reading this book, it may seem a little less strange." A review in ''The New York Journal of Books'' notes that the authors "do not dwell on the history of the subject, merely mentioning the contributions of Schroedinger, Bohr,

Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac ( ; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English mathematician and theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Dirac laid the foundations for both quantum electrodyna ...

Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

," and other physicists who laid the foundations. The reviewer concludes, "''The Quantum Universe'' may not demystify quantum theory, but it does give the reader an idea of the size of the mountain the book is trying to climb — and a toe-hold or two to help get us started on our own ascent." Kara Reviews had a mixed opinion, saying that "Cox and Forshaw do a pretty good job":

References

*The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen, 2011, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw,
Review by Doug Johnstone
23 October 2011,

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

Review by Chrqis Cook
28 October 2011,

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

Review by David Kaiser
16 November 2011,

Review by Manpit Kumar
24 October 2011,

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

Review by Elmar Bergeler
8 January 2013, Science Niblets 2011 non-fiction books Popular physics books Cosmology books Allen Lane (imprint) books Books by Brian Cox (physicist) {{physical-cosmology-book-stub

Overview

Reception

References

See also

References