Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Quantum Universe is the first popular book to give a non-mathematical pictorial account of quantum physics, the foundation of our current understanding of nature. For so long the province of mathematicians and physicists alone, the beauty and significance of quantum mechanics has remained hidden to the nonspecialist. Yet its impact on technology has been enormous. The modern electronics industry with the silicon chip that has revolutionised so many aspects of modern life owes its existence to an understanding of the quantum nature of semiconductors. The text explains exactly what quantum mechanics is in a simple nonmathematical way, and is complemented throughout by many superb colour and black-and-white photographs illustrating the varied facets of quantum phenomena. The Quantum Universe will provide a fascinating and accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific disciplines of the twentieth century. Final-year students at school, general readers with an interest in science, and undergraduates in science subjects will all be able to enjoy and benefit from this novel exposition.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• Prologue
• Route map
• 1 Waves versus particles
• 2 Heisenberg and uncertainty
• 3 Schr+ dinger and matter waves
• 4 Atoms and nuclei
• 5 Quantum tunnelling
• 6 Pauli and the elements
• 7 Death of a star
• 8 Quantum co-operation and superfluids
• 9 Feynman rules
• 10 Weak photons and strong glue
• Appendices
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• Suggestions for further reading
• Photo-credits
• Subject index
• Names index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Hey and Walters attempt to cover virtually all of modern physics in fewer than 180 pages. In this genial little book, they succeed in conveying the vast panorama of applications of quantum mechanics, from transistors to particle physics. But it appears that no one bothered to read carefully through the manuscript before sending it to the printer-it is shot through with errors and inconsistencies. A few examples should suffice: the prefatory announcement that ``we attempt in this book to explain the whole of quantum physics without recourse to mathematics or equations'' is followed immediately by a first chapter with an exposition relying on algebra that, simple as it is, will likely fail to enlighten the lay reader. George Gamow is characterized in a vignette on p. 60 as a popularizer of science who made important contributions to nuclear physics, but, on p. 132, another vignette tells that ``he is probably best remembered for his work on the Big Bang.'' Then there is the egregious error on p. 124 and 125, where the authors describe single-photon creation and annihilation of electron-positron pairs in vacuum, a process that, as most physics students learn, is forbidden by energy-momentum conservation. It is difficult to recommend a book so carelessly thrown together.-H.S. Picker, Trinity College, Conn.