The New Quantum Universe

by
Edition: 2nd
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2003-11-10
Publisher(s): Cambridge University Press
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Summary

Following the success of The Quantum Universe, first published in 1987, a host of exciting new discoveries have been made in the field of quantum mechanics. The New Quantum Universe provides an up-to-date and accessible introduction to the essential ideas of quantum physics, and demonstrates how it affects our everyday life. Quantum mechanics gives an understanding of not only atoms and nuclei, but also all the elements and even the stars. The book explains quantum paradoxes and the eventful life of Schroedinger's Cat, along with the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and Bell's Inequality. It then looks ahead to the nanotechnology revolution, describing quantum cryptography, quantum computing and quantum teleportation, and ends with an account of quantum mechanics and science fiction. Using simple non-mathematical language, this book is suitable for final-year school students, science undergraduates, and anyone wishing to appreciate how physics allows the new technologies that are changing our lives.

Author Biography

Tony Hey: Southampton University Patrick Walters: University of Wales, Swansea

Table of Contents

Preface ix
Prologue xiii
Route map xv
1 Waves versus particles 1(16)
Science and experiment
1(4)
Light and quantum mechanics
5(2)
The double-slit experiment
7(10)
2 Heisenberg and uncertainty 17(18)
Watching electrons
17(4)
Heisenbergs uncertainty principle
21(3)
Uncertainty and photography
24(4)
Feynman's quantum paths
28(3)
Fractals: a mathematical curiosity
31(4)
3 Schrödinger and matter waves 35(12)
De Broglie's matter waves
35(1)
Schrödinger's equation
36(4)
Electron and neutron optics
40(7)
4 Atoms and nuclei 47(26)
Rutherford's nuclear atom
47(7)
Quantized energy levels
54(6)
The hydrogen atom
60(6)
Wavefunctions and quantum numbers
66(3)
Atom traps and light
69(4)
5 Quantum tunnelling 73(34)
Barrier penetration
73(2)
Wave tunnelling
75(1)
Applications of quantum tunnelling
76(8)
Nuclear physics and alpha decay
84(8)
Nuclear reactions and Einstein's mass-energy relation
92(3)
Radioactivity, nuclear fission and the atom bomb
95(12)
6 Pauli and the elements 107(24)
Electron spin and Pauli's exclusion principle
107(4)
The elements
111(5)
Metals, insulators and semiconductors
116(6)
Transistors and microelectronics
122(9)
7 Quantum co-operation and superfluids 131(26)
Laser light
131(8)
Bose condensation and superfluid helium
139(5)
Cold atoms
144(3)
Superconductivity
147(8)
The quantum Hall effect
155(2)
8 Quantum jumps 157(24)
Max Born and quantum probabilities
157(3)
Photons and polarized light
160(6)
John Bell and the EPR Paradox
166(6)
Schrödinger's cat
172(2)
The many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics
174(3)
Decoherence
177(4)
9 Quantum engineering 181(26)
Richard Feynman and nanotechnology
181(4)
From Moore's Law to quantum dots
185(8)
Quantum information
193(4)
Quantum computers
197(7)
Quantum teleportation and all that
204(3)
10 Death of a star 207(20)
A failed star
207(2)
Hydrogen burning
209(5)
Red giants and white dwarfs
214(5)
Neutron stars and black holes
219(8)
11 Feynman rules 227(18)
Dirac and antiparticles
227(6)
Feynman diagrams and virtual particles
233(4)
Zero-point motion and vacuum fluctuations
237(1)
Hawking radiation and black holes
238(7)
12 Weak photons and strong glue 245(40)
The double-slit experiment revisited
245(6)
The birth of particle physics
251(9)
Weak photons and the Higgs vacuum
260(6)
Quarks and gluons
266(2)
Superconductors, magnetic monopoles and quark confinement
268(6)
Beyond the Standard Model
274(11)
13 Afterword - quantum physics and science fiction 285(28)
Prelude: the atom and the nucleus
285(3)
Nuclear energy and the 'Golden Age' of science fiction
288(6)
Jonbar Points, multiple universes and Schrödinger's Cat
294(5)
Nanotechnology and quantum computers
299(10)
A final word
309(4)
Epilogue 313(2)
Appendix 1 The size of things 315(5)
Appendix 2 Solving the Schrodinger equation 320(3)
Glossary 323(12)
Quotations and sources 335(8)
Suggestions for further reading 343(2)
Photo-credits 345(7)
Name index 352(3)
Subject index 355

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