Quantum Drama cover art

Quantum Drama

From the Bohr-Einstein Debate to the Riddle of Entanglement

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Quantum Drama

By: Jim Baggott, John L. Heilbron
Narrated by: Tom Beyer
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About this listen

In 1927, Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein began a debate about the interpretation and meaning of the new quantum theory. This would become one of the most famous debates in the history of science. What (if any) limits should we place on our expectations for what science can tell us about physical reality?

Our protagonists slowly disappeared from the vanguard of physics, as its center of gravity shifted from a war-ravaged Continental Europe to post-war America. What Einstein and Bohr had considered to be matters of the utmost importance were now set aside. Their debate was regarded either as settled in Bohr's favor or as superfluous to real physics.

As quantum entanglement became a real physical phenomenon, whole new disciplines were established, such as quantum computing, teleportation, and cryptography. The efforts of the experimentalists were rewarded with shares in the 2022 Nobel prize in physics.

As Quantum Drama reveals, science owes a large debt to those who kept the discussions going before definitive experimental inquiries became possible. Although experiment moved the Bohr-Einstein debate to a new level, it has by no means removed or resolved the fundamental question.

©2024 Jim Baggott and John L. Heilbron (P)2024 Tantor Physics Science Mathematics

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All stars
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I change my mind a lot, and my favorite things often depend on what I'm currently reading/listening to/watching etc. But there's a good chance this book will remain forever the one that I've learned most about Quantum Mechanics. I can't thank Jim Baggott and John L. Heilbron enough for helping me come as close to understanding the subject as a layman, one with a poor grasp of maths, can get. This won't be the last book on the subject I'll ever read. But I'll return to this one many times, as well as Jim's previous masterpiece on the subject.
Tom Delargy

My fave Quantum Mechanics book? Superposition?

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this really plugs a lot of detail into the history and adds colour to the personal dynamics between the actors in the quantum drama.

engrossing

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An entertaining history of the development and impact of quantum mechanics in the 20th century. The authors however do undermine their own scientific credentials by referring to physical phenomena as "inventions" (for example, we are told that Einstein "invented" relativity, as if objects were happily travelling faster than light until that pesky nuisance Einstein came along and spoiled it for everyone). Maybe the authors were making a little indirect gag about quantum states having no fixed state until measured, but if so it's a bit oblique, and, given how early in the book this formulation appears, all it serves is to undermine the trust the reader has in the scientific facts presented in the book. One serious drawback of the audio book is the lack of an accompanying pdf with the various diagrams, graphs and formulas, as appears to be standard now for non-fiction. This hampers the enjoyment and understanding of the book.

Entertaining history of the development of quantum mechanics, not really suitable as an audiobook

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