[Home Page][Index of Reviews][Planet Quest][Raggett on HTML 4]

Quantum Theory for Beginners
by J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate

Quantum Theory is one of the strangest theories ever to come out of science. Yet, despite the fact that nobody really understands it, it is one of the most successful theories ever produced, making predictions about the behaviour of sub-atomic particles which have been verified by numerous experiments.

This book serves as a useful introduction to it for those who have some background in science and would like to get an overview of Quantum Theory, Starting from the beginning of the 20th Century, when classical physics held sway and scientists thought there was nothing else to discover, the book chronicles the few experiments that were the first 'birth-pangs' of quantum theory: black-body radiation, the photoelectric effect and bright line optical spectra which can only be explained by assuming that energy came in discrete quantities (quanta).

However, the idea of quanta was an assumption put forward by Max Planck, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr to explain those phenomenon. There was no 'supporting structure' to it. It took scientists like Heisenberg, Schrödinger and Dirac to put the idea of the quanta on a sound theoretical footing and produce the Quantum Theory to explain the behaviour of subatomic particles.

The book is somewhat mathematical but gives a clear explanation of Quantum Theory as well as its development. The various implications of the Theory as also examined in some detail. Best of all, it is full of illustrations, giving readers a clearer idea of what is exactly is being described.

A fun book to read, even for those who already know something about Quantum Theory.

[Home Page][Index of Reviews][Planet Quest][Raggett on HTML 4]

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

Quantum Theory for Beginners by J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate

Quantum Theory for Beginners
by J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate