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  • The Quantum Universe

  • (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
  • By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
  • Narrated by: Samuel West
  • Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (186 ratings)
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The Quantum Universe

By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
Narrated by: Samuel West
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Summary

In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way. There is a lot of mileage in the "weirdness" of the quantum world, and it often leads to confusion and, frankly, bad science. The Quantum Universe cuts through the Wu Li and asks what observations of the natural world made it necessary, how it was constructed, and why we are confident that, for all its apparent strangeness, it is a good theory.

The quantum mechanics of The Quantum Universe provide a concrete model of nature that is comparable in its essence to Newton's laws of motion, Maxwell's theory of electricity and magnetism, and Einstein's theory of relativity.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Quantum Universe

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

A superb reading of well written book

Excellent presentation of a wonderful explanation of QD. Marvelously read and very engaging and deep.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Probably brilliant, but beyond (my) space and time

I had really wanted to like this book - I deeply respect Brian Cox's ability to distill arcane facts about the universe into the language that 'you and I' speak. I'm a big, big fan of his. However, in this work, he's pushed my capacity for understanding a bit too far. This might be lapped up by A Level Physics students and first year undergrads, but not by yer average, reasonably intelligent and open-minded humanities graduate punter :-)

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting book, excellent narrator

Of course this is not a topic one should expect to grasp with just some light listening, but this book discussed some interesting concepts in the quantum universe. I appreciate the authors’ effort to make something complex better understandable for the public, and largely enjoyed the jokes.

The excellent narration is a pleasure to listen to by itself.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Did the best they could with the format.

This is a hard book to follow, unless you are already well versed in physics. and even then, listening to mathematical formulas is well, impossible.

But the reading of the book is so good that although you won't get as much from it listening than you would reading, it still gets you the big picture in a vague kind of way. and maybe that is the best I could hope for with quantum physics.

you will need to look at the PDF btw!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

delves into the nitty gritty but...

amazing book. different to all other quantum or astro physics books for mass market consumption due to its mathematical explanations. however this also made it a difficult audio book due to the concentration and large number of charts and aids required to follow it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An intermediate level presentation

If you are an absolute 'Quantum' novice I wouldn't start your journey here. Do return though when you have read/listened to some of the other similarly framed books on offer here. Its well worth it.

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7 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Wow, complicated.

if this is how the universe is explained to a layman, no wonder its hard to understand. All those convoluted algebraic terms were great for my insomnia.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tough to get but mind blowing

great book, to read not than once.... at least to get the complexity of it

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Appropriately awesome

I think this book now has to be an all time favourite of mine. It required quite a lot of concentration and re-listening, but was a wonderful experience having the quantum universe revealed and explained in such a structured and empathetic way. Samuel West’s narration is excellent, my only wish would have been to have some of the maths in the accompanying pdf.
Thoroughly brilliant.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

You want quantum physics - you get quantum physics

This is not a gentle stroll through the park, this is a full-on marathon with some tricky obstacles and a few crocodile infested lakes.

If you want to get closer to the quantum universe then you will only have to listen to this a few tens of times.

Down-marking this because it is 'to hard' just exemplifies the fact that quantum physics is hard.

Perfect for drifting off to sleep with wild notions and images in your head. Not so perfect if you want an easy listening story with a conclusive end.

SPOILER ALERT: the quantum world is insane!

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2 people found this helpful