Download or read book Quantum Generations written by Helge Kragh and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2002-03-24 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

Download or read book Quantum Generations written by Helge Kragh and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-16 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists believed that the basic principles underlying their subject were already known, and that physics in the future would only consist of filling in the details. They could hardly have been more wrong. The past century has seen the rise of quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology, particle physics, and solid-state physics, among other fields. These subjects have fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and matter. They have also transformed daily life, inspiring a technological revolution that has included the development of radio, television, lasers, nuclear power, and computers. In Quantum Generations, Helge Kragh, one of the world's leading historians of physics, presents a sweeping account of these extraordinary achievements of the past one hundred years. The first comprehensive one-volume history of twentieth-century physics, the book takes us from the discovery of X rays in the mid-1890s to superstring theory in the 1990s. Unlike most previous histories of physics, written either from a scientific perspective or from a social and institutional perspective, Quantum Generations combines both approaches. Kragh writes about pure science with the expertise of a trained physicist, while keeping the content accessible to nonspecialists and paying careful attention to practical uses of science, ranging from compact disks to bombs. As a historian, Kragh skillfully outlines the social and economic contexts that have shaped the field in the twentieth century. He writes, for example, about the impact of the two world wars, the fate of physics under Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, the role of military research, the emerging leadership of the United States, and the backlash against science that began in the 1960s. He also shows how the revolutionary discoveries of scientists ranging from Einstein, Planck, and Bohr to Stephen Hawking have been built on the great traditions of earlier centuries. Combining a mastery of detail with a sure sense of the broad contours of historical change, Kragh has written a fitting tribute to the scientists who have played such a decisive role in the making of the modern world.

Download or read book The Quantum Generation written by Margarita Ryutova-Kemoklidze and published by Springer. This book was released on 1995-02-09 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum mechanics dates its anniversaries from 1925, the year when its first versions, matrix and wave mechanics, were born. The quan tum itself had by that time reached the age of 25, having first seen the light of day on the eve of the nativity of the 20th century itself. Either shunned or completely unnoticed, the quantum seemed for a long time to be an illegitimate child. Even Max Planck himself, its own father, could not bring himself to accept his monstrous child until he was forced to do so -that is, until it became clear that the problems which were arising in physics could not be solved without the quantum. At first the quantum "like a greasy stain, soaked through all the different branches of physics" and then, like an explosion, came the creation of quantum mechanics. The overwhelming majority of those who first created quantum mechanics were just about of an age with the quantum itself. These were very young people, born as the new century was born, give or take a year or so. Hence the phrase was coined - "the quantum generation". At that time there was quantum everything - towns, steps, park benches, lodging houses and so, natu rally, the quantum generation.

Download or read book The Quantum Age of IT written by Charles Araujo and published by IT Governance Ltd. This book was released on 2012-11-29 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As you read this book, you will be able to: Understand how and why your IT function has changed and define its future role Compete in this new age by embracing the five traits that will define the IT organisation of The Quantum Age Remain effective and relevant as you understand and implement fundamental changes to future-proof your IT function Maintain and develop excellent customer relations by better understanding your clients and their requirements Meet the unique needs of all your customers, as you adopt the five key skills that all IT professionals will have to have Learn from the past and look forward to a bright future!

Download or read book The Quantum Generation written by Margarita Ryutova-Kemoklidze and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum mechanics dates its anniversaries from 1925, the year when its first versions, matrix and wave mechanics, were born. The quan tum itself had by that time reached the age of 25, having first seen the light of day on the eve of the nativity of the 20th century itself. Either shunned or completely unnoticed, the quantum seemed for a long time to be an illegitimate child. Even Max Planck himself, its own father, could not bring himself to accept his monstrous child until he was forced to do so -that is, until it became clear that the problems which were arising in physics could not be solved without the quantum. At first the quantum "like a greasy stain, soaked through all the different branches of physics" and then, like an explosion, came the creation of quantum mechanics. The overwhelming majority of those who first created quantum mechanics were just about of an age with the quantum itself. These were very young people, born as the new century was born, give or take a year or so. Hence the phrase was coined - "the quantum generation". At that time there was quantum everything - towns, steps, park benches, lodging houses and so, natu rally, the quantum generation.

Download or read book The Quantum Story written by Jim Baggott and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-02-24 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twentieth century was defined by physics. From the minds of the world's leading physicists there flowed a river of ideas that would transport mankind to the pinnacle of wonderment and to the very depths of human despair. This was a century that began with the certainties of absolute knowledge and ended with the knowledge of absolute uncertainty. It was a century in which physicists developed weapons with the capacity to destroy our reality, whilst at the same time denying us the possibility that we can ever properly comprehend it. Almost everything we think we know about the nature of our world comes from one theory of physics. This theory was discovered and refined in the first thirty years of the twentieth century and went on to become quite simply the most successful theory of physics ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the twenty-first century technology that we have learned to take for granted. But its success has come at a price, for it has at the same time completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at the level of its most fundamental constituents. Rejecting the fundamental elements of uncertainty and chance implied by quantum theory, Albert Einstein once famously declared that 'God does not play dice'. Niels Bohr claimed that anybody who is not shocked by the theory has not understood it. The charismatic American physicist Richard Feynman went further: he claimed that nobody understands it. This is quantum theory, and this book tells its story. Jim Baggott presents a celebration of this wonderful yet wholly disconcerting theory, with a history told in forty episodes — significant moments of truth or turning points in the theory's development. From its birth in the porcelain furnaces used to study black body radiation in 1900, to the promise of stimulating new quantum phenomena to be revealed by CERN's Large Hadron Collider over a hundred years later, this is the extraordinary story of the quantum world. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.

Download or read book The Age of Entanglement written by Louisa Gilder and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Age of Entanglement, Louisa Gilder brings to life one of the pivotal debates in twentieth century physics. In 1935, Albert Einstein famously showed that, according to the quantum theory, separated particles could act as if intimately connected–a phenomenon which he derisively described as “spooky action at a distance.” In that same year, Erwin Schrödinger christened this correlation “entanglement.” Yet its existence was mostly ignored until 1964, when the Irish physicist John Bell demonstrated just how strange this entanglement really was. Drawing on the papers, letters, and memoirs of the twentieth century’s greatest physicists, Gilder both humanizes and dramatizes the story by employing the scientists’ own words in imagined face-to-face dialogues. The result is a richly illuminating exploration of one of the most exciting concepts of quantum physics.

Download or read book How the Hippies Saved Physics Science Counterculture and the Quantum Revival written by David Kaiser and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-06-27 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How the Hippies Saved Physics gives us an unconventional view of some unconventional people engaged early in the fundamentals of quantum theory. Great fun to read." —Anton Zeilinger, Nobel laureate in physics The surprising story of eccentric young scientists—among them Nobel laureates John Clauser and Alain Aspect—who stood up to convention and changed the face of modern physics. Today, quantum information theory is among the most exciting scientific frontiers, attracting billions of dollars in funding and thousands of talented researchers. But as MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser reveals, this cutting-edge field has a surprisingly psychedelic past. How the Hippies Saved Physics introduces us to a band of freewheeling physicists who defied the imperative to “shut up and calculate” and helped to rejuvenate modern physics. For physicists, the 1970s were a time of stagnation. Jobs became scarce, and conformity was encouraged, sometimes stifling exploration of the mysteries of the physical world. Dissatisfied, underemployed, and eternally curious, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to throw off the constraints of the physics mainstream and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the “Fundamental Fysiks Group,” they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics. They studied quantum entanglement and Bell’s Theorem through the lens of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind-reading, discussing the latest research while lounging in hot tubs. Some even dabbled with LSD to enhance their creativity. Unlikely as it may seem, these iconoclasts spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory. A lively, entertaining story that illuminates the relationship between creativity and scientific progress, How the Hippies Saved Physics takes us to a time when only the unlikeliest heroes could break the science world out of its rut.

Download or read book The Quantum Generation written by Margarita Ryutova-Kemoklidze and published by . This book was released on 1995-02-09 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Quantum Revolution written by Kent A. Peacock and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2007-12-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum mechanics is one of the great success stories of modern physics, making sense of the very small just as Einstein's theory of relativity made sense of the very large. But, for most students, the ideas that make quantum mechanics powerful can be confusing and counterintuitive. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science series provides a history of quantum mechanics from the early breakthroughs of Planck and Einstein, at the beginning of the 20th century, to the present frontiers of quantum computing and quantum gravity. The approach is entirely non-technical, and is aimed at the general reader who may not have much mathematical background but who has a strong curiosity about some of the most important developments in modern science. Quantum Mechanics: A Historical Perspective traces the history of this powerful theory, including: ; The early discoveries by Max Planck and Albert Einstein regarding the quantization of radiation ; The early quantum theory, including Neils Bohr's theory of the atom ; The birth of modern quantum mechanics through the work of Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Born, Dirac and others ; Applications of quantum mechanics in chemistry, nuclear physics, electronics, and many other areas ; Recent work in quantum computation and quantum information theory The book emphasizes the fact that despite the great success of quantum mechanics, many exciting intellectual frontiers remain open for further researchers to explore. It includes a glossary, a timeline, and a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.

Download or read book The Biggest Ideas in the Universe written by Sean Carroll and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.

Download or read book The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science written by John L. Heilbron and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-02-14 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing 609 encyclopedic articles written by more than 200 prominent scholars, The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science presents an unparalleled history of the field invaluable to anyone with an interest in the technology, ideas, discoveries, and learned institutions that have shaped our world over the past five centuries. Focusing on the period from the Renaissance to the early twenty-first century, the articles cover all disciplines (Biology, Alchemy, Behaviorism), historical periods (the Scientific Revolution, World War II, the Cold War), concepts (Hypothesis, Space and Time, Ether), and methodologies and philosophies (Observation and Experiment, Darwinism). Coverage is international, tracing the spread of science from its traditional centers and explaining how the prevailing knowledge of non-Western societies has modified or contributed to the dominant global science as it is currently understood. Revealing the interplay between science and the wider culture, the Companion includes entries on topics such as minority groups, art, religion, and science's practical applications. One hundred biographies of the most iconic historic figures, chosen for their contributions to science and the interest of their lives, are also included. Above all The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science is a companion to world history: modern in coverage, generous in breadth, and cosmopolitan in scope. The volume's utility is enhanced by a thematic outline of the entire contents, a thorough system of cross-referencing, and a detailed index that enables the reader to follow a specific line of inquiry along various threads from multiple starting points. Each essay has numerous suggestions for further reading, all of which favor literature that is accessible to the general reader, and a bibliographical essay provides a general overview of the scholarship in the field. Lastly, as a contribution to the visual appeal of the Companion, over 100 black-and-white illustrations and an eight-page color section capture the eye and spark the imagination.

Download or read book Quantum Random Number Generation written by Christian Kollmitzer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-02-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of state-of-the-art implementations of quantum random number generators (QRNGs), and especially examines their relation to classical statistical randomness models and numerical techniques for computing random numbers. The reader – who ideally has a background in classical statistics, computer science, or cryptography – is introduced to the world of quantum bits step by step, and explicit relations between QRNGs and their classical counterparts are identified along the way. Random number generation is a major pillar of cryptography. Capitalizing on the randomness inherent in quantum phenomena is a rapidly evolving branch of quantum cryptography with countless applications for the future. The value of quantum randomness for cryptographic purposes is empirically demonstrated in statistical evaluations of QRNGs’ performance compared to classical techniques for true and pseudorandom number generation. The book then provides an overview of technical implementations of QRNGs, before a concluding discussion of major achievements and remaining obstacles in the field rounds out the coverage, while also opening the door for future research directions.

Download or read book Quantum written by Manjit Kumar and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2008-10-02 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason ... Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird. In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. While "Quantum" sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in "Quantum", Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. "Quantum" is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

Download or read book Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom written by Helge Kragh and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-05-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom is the first book that focuses in detail on the birth and development of Bohr's atomic theory and gives a comprehensive picture of it. At the same time it offers new insight into Bohr's peculiar way of thinking, what Einstein once called his 'unique instinct and tact'. Contrary to most other accounts of the Bohr atom, the book presents it in a broader perspective which includes the reception among other scientists and the criticism launched against it by scientists of a more conservative inclination. Moreover, it discusses the theory as Bohr originally conceived it, namely, as an ambitious theory covering the structure of atoms as well as molecules. By discussing the theory in its entirety it becomes possible to understand why it developed as it did and thereby to use it as an example of the dynamics of scientific theories.

Download or read book Weimar Culture And Quantum Mechanics Selected Papers By Paul Forman And Contemporary Perspectives On The Forman Thesis written by Alexei B Kojevnikov and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2011-05-11 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume reprints Paul Forman's classic papers on the history of the scientific profession in post-World War I Germany and the invention of quantum mechanics. The Forman thesis became famous for its demonstration of the cultural conditioning of scientific knowledge, in particular by showing the historical connection between the culture of Weimar Germany — known for its irrationality and antiscientism — and the emerging concept of quantum acausality. From the moment of its publication, Forman's research provoked intense historical and philosophical debates. In 2007, participants at an international conference in Vancouver, Canada, discussed the implications of the Forman thesis for contemporary historiography. Their contributions collected in this volume represent cutting-edge research on the history of the quantum revolution and of German science.

Download or read book Quantum Thermodynamics written by Sebastian Deffner and published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an introduction to the emerging field of quantum thermodynamics, with particular focus on its relation to quantum information and its implications for quantum computers and next generation quantum technologies. The text, aimed at graduate level physics students with a working knowledge of quantum mechanics and statistical physics, provides a brief overview of the development of classical thermodynamics and its quantum formulation in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 then explores typical thermodynamic settings, such as cycles and work extraction protocols, when the working material is genuinely quantum. Finally, Chapter 3 explores the thermodynamics of quantum information processing and introduces the reader to some more state of-the-art topics in this exciting and rapidly developing research field.