Book Description

Quantum field theory describes basic physical phenomena over an extremely wide range of length or energy scales. Quantum fields exist in space and time, which can be approximated by a set of lattice points. This book presents a comprehensive and coherent account of the theory of quantum fields on a lattice, an essential technique for the study of the strong and electroweak nuclear interactions. After introductory chapters on scalar fields, gauge fields and fermion fields, the book studies quarks and gluons in QCD and fermions and bosons in the electroweak theory. The last chapter is devoted to numerical simulations algorithms that have been used in recent large-scale numerical simulations. The book will be valuable for graduate students and researchers in theoretical physics, elementary particle physics, and field theory, as well as non-perturbative approximations and numerical simulations of quantum field phenomena. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents a comprehensive review of the subject of gravitational effects in quantum field theory. Although the treatment is general, special emphasis is given to the Hawking black hole evaporation effect, and to particle creation processes in the early universe. The last decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in this subject. This is the first attempt to collect and unify the vast literature that has contributed to this development. All the major technical results are presented, and the theory is developed carefully from first principles. Here is everything that students or researchers will need to embark upon calculations involving quantum effects of gravity at the so-called one-loop approximation level. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Out of date but motivates modern developments
At the time of publication of this book, there was growing interest in how to formulate quantum field theory in spactimes with curved metrics with the intent of studying to what extent a non-flat curvature would change the properties and behavior of quantum fields as compared to the Minkowski case.The authors give an introduction to this research and they do a good job in that regard. Due to the influence of superstring and M-theory on high energy physics at the present time, fewer researchers are studying the problems as they are cast in this book. On the other hand, interest in the Casimir effect and the behavior of quantum fields at boundaries is still very much alive. This book could still be use to motivate this research. It is expected that anyone reading this book will have a background in quantum field theory in flat space, but one could still perhaps read it without such a background.

Quantum field theory in flat spacetime is difficult enough, and it is still not entirely understood from a mathematical perspective. Even the physics of interacting quantum fields is still poorly understood in flat spacetime, especially in its ability to predict a bound state. Therefore, it might seem a bit disconcerting to some for researchers to add further complications to quantum field theory by casting them in curved backgrounds. However, cosmological and astrophysical interests drives this research, as well as more practical considerations arising from the Casimir effect.

The renormalization procedures in quantum field theory are further complicated in curved spacetime via the "trace" or "conformal" anomalies. The reader gets a good dose of these in the book in the discussion on the renormalization of the stress. The idea of an "effective" action, which has been exploited with zeal in the flat spacetime case, appears here also.

The most important thing to carry away from this book is that the idea of a particle in curved space quantum field theory is not very well-formulated, i.e. particle detectors in such situations are not related to the quantity of matter present in a region as they are in the flat-space case. Doing quantum field theory when gravity is present has instigated a huge amount of research, related to the still unsolved problem of just how to quantize the gravitational field.

Excellent
One of the better books on quantum fields that I have read so far. An especially good treatment of the Casimir effect and boudary terms is given. The authors have a wonderfully conversive manner of discourse which I enjoyed very much. ... Read more

Book Description

Entertaining, rigorous introduction to the development of Quantum Theory traces its history—from Max Planck’s revolutionary discovery of quanta and Niels Bohr’s model of the atom to anti-particles, mesons, and Enrico Fermi’s nuclear research. Numerous line drawings. 1966 ed.
... Read more

Reviews (9)

A great book from the master!
A reprinted Dover edition of a lovely set of biographies of the physicists of the Golden Period, from the pen of George Gamow. The original 1966 edition has been out of print for a number of years. This 1985 edition is beautifully reproduced, and it includes fascinating pictures, sketches, and poems, done by Gamow himself. He was born in Odessa, in what was then Russia, --before the Soviet Union. The story of his escape to the West is straight out of a thriller. Only it is real! Later in the US, Gamow was referred to by a journalist,--- some time during the Cold War, as "the only scientist in America with a real sense of humor". With his lovely books, we have now all come to experience how Gamow can take the most technical stuff and make it simple. Fun too! The book:--Intellectual treats, whimsy, but deep. It contains penetrating and personal biographies of Niels Bohr, Paul Ehrenfest, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Albert Einstein, and recollections from the conferences in the 1930ties in Copenhagen, Brussels, and in the Solvay Institute. Illustrated with lovely drawings by Gamow himself. A book with pictures and conversations! Much of it can be understood by a child, and other parts might require a little concentration. All of it is great fun. The author Gamow started in nuclear physics, during the Golden Age of Physics, worked with Niels Bohr, then later in the US, on the Manhattan Project during WWII, and after the war, he was professor in Boulder Colorado. He has a building on campus named after him! The books he wrote are pearls, and they have been equally popular with my parent's generation as with mine. Luckely some have been reprinted! Other Gamow titles: Biography of Physics, Atomic Energy [dedicated to the hope of lasting peace], Physics of the Strapless Evning Gown,...We are lucky that Dover has reprinted some of them. Gamow's list of scientific accomplishments includes a 1948 landmark paper on the origin of chemical elements, the Big Bang model, and later work with F. Crick on DNA and genetic coding.-- Do more Gamow editions, Dover!

The story of quantum theory:
The first three decades of the twentieth century saw history's most concentrated burst of human knowledge of nature. The world described by the greatest of scientists, Isaac Newton, changed quickly to a very strange and startling world described notably by Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Pauli, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, Fermi, and a few others. George Gamow was one of these individuals. His lucent knowledge of the important ideas of the quantum theories and of the men who developed these ideas, makes for very interesting reading.
In his "Thirty Years that Shook Physics," Gamow the physicist is also found to be Gamow the artist -- his excellent drawings augment the narrative -- and Gamow the light hearted humorist. Because of the author's close friendships with Bohr and Pauli (and to a lesser extent, Dirac) the reader will meet not only the thoughts of these characters, but the characters themselves. It seems that quantum physicists like to have fun too. The book concludes with an illustrated text of a play composed and performed at the 1932 Copenhagen conference, although it can be followed it is something of an 'inside joke', if you will.
The book was written in 1965 and Gamow, noting difficulties with quantum theory, expected to see a new and equally radical revolution in physical theories before the end of the century. Although quantum theory has been hugely successful in its application, a new theory is still anticipated. [M-theory?] This book is an excellent account of the emergence of quantum theory, presented in the words of one of its principals.

Quantum Theory Plus Gamowian Humor - A Great Combination
George Gamow's "Thirty Years That Shook Physics" is an exceptional book, an entertaining look at the physicists (including himself) that participated in the unveiling of quantum theory.

His book is enlivened by unique photos of the great physicists and mathematicians, their families and friends. We see Niels Bohr and his wife on a motorcycle, Wolfgang Pauli and George Gamow (in lederhosen) on a steamer on a Swiss Lake, Werner Heisenberg in swim trunks, Enrico Fermi playing tennis without a shirt, George Gamow and Leon Rosenfeld resting on a snow covered peak (supposedly discussing nuclear physics), and Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein chatting at a technical session in Brussels.

Many contemporary books on physics for the layman, following publisher's dictates, scrupulously avoid all mathematics. Writing in the 1960's, Gamow assumed that algebraic equations, graphs, and diagrams of experimental setups would actually help clarify explanations and not send readers fleeing in panic. Algebra is necessary; more advanced math is not. Gamow is fun to read, but be prepared to think.

It is amusing how many of the Amazon reviewers mention that they first encountered Gamow in their youth. I too read Gamow, reveling in the excitment of scientific work and discovery.

Gamow adds a bit of fun and comedy to science. We all learn (but may have forgotten) about the Pauli Exclusion Principle that only two electrons with opposite spins can occupy the same quantum orbit. Gamow also introduces us to a lessor known observation, the Pauli Effect, which states that the mere presence of Wolfgang Pauli, a theoretical physicist, near a laboratory ensured that the experimental apparatus would break.

Gamow concludes his history of quantum theory with a light-hearted play created by students of Niels Bohr and presented one evening during technical meetings in 1932 in Copenhagen. "The theme of this dramatic masterpiece has Pauli (Mephistopheles) trying to sell to the unbelieving Ehrenfest (Faust) the idea of a weightless neutrino (Gretchen)."

Gamow has remained in print since the 1960's, due largely to his unique style and for his obvious enthusiasm for physics and for people that do physics. I heartily recommend this book for the layman, and for any student of science, high school or college.

Recently, his popular "Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland" and "Mr. Tompkins Explores the Atom" have been released again, with some updates for recent discoveries. A typical review claims: "will vastly fascinate the whimsical, and is also scientific". Don't miss Gamow.

Enjoying the book but
Makes me wish I stayed awake in Math class. Some of the text is made up of formulas that make my head spin. However I am enjoying reading the stories of the men and their reasoning behind the explinations of how the world works at the atomic level versus the "real world " physics of Newton and others. Definitely a time when what we knew to be true was vastly different from what was actually true.

A Book for Future Physicists
I turned to this volume to get a clearer idea of some basic notions involved in quantum theory, but found it much less accessible than I had expected it to be. Though this is often thought of as a "popular" book, Gamow does not really write for a lay audience. The introduction concludes: "The author hopes that the new generation of physicists will find some interesting information in the pages that follow." It is for these physicists that Gamow writes.

*The Thirty Years That Shook Physics* began in 1900 because it was then that Planck proposed that light comes in discrete packages, or quanta. However, there was no comparable event to justify the closure implied in the title. Rather, Gamow chose the number thirty because quantum theory bogged down around 1930 in "tremendous difficulties." (He anticipated that this "stalemate" would be "broken up -- maybe next year [i.e. 1966], maybe in the year A.D. 2000.")

Gamow almost completely ignores both the technological consequences and the metaphysical implications of the theories he discusses so compactly, and not a single sentence hints at the ethical problems faced by science in the twentieth century or the tragic dimensions of this chapter of human history. The humorous adaptation of Goethe's *Faust* at the end of the book, which takes up one-quarter of its pages, is symptomatic of a rather boyish lack of sensibility that seems to have pervaded 20th-century physics before World War II.

Despite the book's limitations, the author's personal acquaintance with many of the figures discussed enlivens his pages with amusing anecdotes and makes it an enjoyable read, even for the non-physicist. The raucous parody of *Faust* provides a sort of light dessert to the heavy, but always flavorful, meal that precedes it. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

For the better part of a century, attempts to explain what was really going on in the quantum world seemed doomed to failure.But recent technological advances have made the question both practical and urgent.A brilliantly imaginative group of physicists at Oxford University have risen to the challenge.This is their story.

At long last, there is a sensible way to think about quantum mechanics. The new view abolishes the need to believe in randomness, long-range spooky forces, or conscious observers with mysterious powers to collapse cats into a state of life or death. But the new understanding comes at a price: we must accept that we live in a multiverse wherein countless versions of reality unfold side-by-side. The philosophical and personal consequences of this state of affairs are awe-inspiring.

The new interpretation has allowed imaginative physicists to conceive of wonderful new technologies: measuring devices that effectively share information between worlds and computers that can borrow the power of other worlds to perform calculations.Step by step, the problems initially associated with the original many-worlds formulation have been addressed and answered so that a clear but startling new picture has emerged.

Just as Copenhagen was the centre of quantum discussion a lifetime ago, so Oxford has been the epicenter of the modern debate, with such figures as Roger Penrose and Anton Zeilinger fighting for single-world views, and David Deutsch, Lev Vaidman and a host of others for many-worlds.

An independent physicist living in Oxford, Colin Bruce has occupied a ringside seat to the debate. In his capable hands, we understand why the initially fantastic sounding many-worlds view is not only a useful way to look at things, but logically compelling. Parallel worlds are as real as the distant galaxies detected by the Hubble Space Telescope, even though the evidence for their existence may consist only of a few photons. ... Read more

Book Description

Master modern physics with Schaum’s—the high-performance study guide. It will help you cut study time, hone problem-solving skills, and achieve your personal best on exams! Students love Schaum’s Outlines because they produce results. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students improve their test scores and final grades with these indispensable study guides. If you don't have a lot of time but want to excel in class, this book helps you brush up before tests, find answers fast, study quickly and more effectively, and get the big picture without spending hours poring over lengthy textbooks. Schaum’s Outlines give you the information your teachers expect you to know in a handy and succinct format—without overwhelming you with unnecessary details. You get a complete overview of the subject. Plus, you get plenty of practice exercises to test your skill. Compatible with any classroom text, Schaum’s let you study at your own pace and remind you of all the important facts you need to remember—fast! And Schaum’s are so complete, they’re perfect for preparing for graduate or professional exams. Inside, you will find: 486 solved problems, including step-by-step solutions; Hundreds of additional practice problems, with answers supplied; Clear explanations of all major topics covered in modern physics courses; New sections on quarks and superconductivity. If you want top grades and thorough understanding of modern physics, this powerful study tool is the best tutor you can have! Chapters include:Galilean Transformations / Postulates of Einstein / Lorentz Coordinate Transformations / Relativistic Length Measurements / Relativistic Time Measurements / Relativistic Space-Time Measurements / Relativistic Velocity Transformations / Mass, Energy, and Momentum in Relativity / The Relativistic Doppler Effect / Electromagnetic Radiation—Photons / Matter Waves / The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle / The Bohr Atom / Electron Orbital Motion and the Zeeman Effect / Electron Spin / Many Electron Atoms / The Pauli Exclusion Principle / Many-Electron Atoms and the Periodic Table / X-Rays / Properties of Nuclei / Nuclear Models / Nuclear Decays / Nuclear Reactions / Fission and Fusion / Fundamental Forces in Nature—Mediating Field Particles / Particle Names and Properties / Conservation Laws / Band Theory/ The Eight-Fold Way / Quarks / Construction of Hadrons from the Quarks / Leptons / Molecular Bonding / Excitations of Diatomic Molecules / Kinetic Theory / Distribution Functions / Classical Statistics: The Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution / Quantum Statistics / The Classical Metal / Fermi Electron Gas / Specific Heats of Crystalline Solids / Semiconductors / Superconductivity. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good
It's got some examples, but it doesn't add anything to a modern course you would take in college. So don't buy it.

Yet another great Schaum's outline book
Much like the rest of the Outline series, this book is great. It covers pretty much all the important topics in pretty good detail. It starts off fairly gently but the problems (worked and otherwise) are good and challenging (for me at least). This book would be great companion to any undergraduate modern physics course.

Concise and very helpful
This book is for those who for some reason find text books a little abstract and find themselves into trouble because of this. But with this books in your hands you can be sure that you'll have a second source where to look. It's well organized, and the sample exercises are really great and will help you all along. It starts with basic Galilean transformations, wave mechanics, relativity and a glimpse to quantum mechanics. If you're a student and feel the need for another source of information other than your text books, look no further, this outline is the best out there. ... Read more

Book Description

"The editors however have done an excellent job of stitching together a rewarding tapestry of the field as it stands today...The Physics of Quantum Information is essential reading for anyone new to the field, particularly if they enter from the direction of quantum optics and atomic physics." -The Physicist

"Unreservedly recommended, and deserving of a place in any Physics library." -Andrew Davies, Department of Defence, Canberra, Australia

Leading experts from "The Physics of Quantum Information" network, an initiative of the European Commission, bring together the most recent results of the emerging area of quantum technology. Written in a consistent style as a research monograph, the book introduces into quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation, and quantum computation, considering both theory and newest experiments. Thus scientists working in the field and advanced students will find a rich source of information on this exciting new area.

FROM THE REVIEWS:

AMERICAN SCIENTIST "Topics are well balanced between presentations of the theory (dazzling in its ingenuity) and crude attempts at its implementation (tours de force of technology, but still a long way from any nontrivial computational application)...does convey a thorough and authoritative picture of the state of this fascinating futuristic art as we enter the 21st century."

QUANTUM INFORMATION & COMPUTATION "...an excellent job of stitching together a rewarding tapestry of the field as it stands today...essential reading for anyone new to the field, particularly if they enter from the direction of quantum optics and atomic physics." ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Excellent book on physics and ideas of Quantum Information
Definitely one of the best books on PHYSICS of quantum information and this subject. If you are in the field of Quantum Information and Computing you probably know that it lies on intersection of Physics (Quantum Mechanics), Computer Science (Complexity and Algorithms, Cryptography) and Mathematics (Vector spaces, Linear Algebra, Number Theory...) This one is exceptional for physics of quantum information and also for describing all important ideas behind 'strange things' that exist in quantum mechanics. Authors have properly described all experiments and ideas on quantum information, quantum cryptography and teleportation. This book assumes that you have some knowledge on quantum mechanics or basic concepts about this subject. If you have mathematical background and you want to know how those thing are made physically, you will not regret for buying this book!

To learn it.
You could use this book as a first if you have a general idea
of basic concepts in quantum theory. It is a collection of
very nicely written tutorials. They are done by authorities in the field, and cover the main trends. I especially liked Jozsa's
chapter on quantum algorithms. By now there are also good textbooks that can get you started from scratch, such as Hirvensalo, or Nielsen-Chuang. If you have trouble getting hold the original journal articles, World Scientific just came out with a collection of major papers on quantum computation and quantum information, isbn 9810241178. It includes the full text [reprinted] of some of the papers which are cited in the present book; quite a few by the very same authors. That is a big help, as the papers in the subject are scattered and spread out over many different journals, and it might be hard to know where to start when
logging into the arXiv.

A must have, for every mind traineed in sciences
I read this books in all most 4 nites, and found it excellent to clear many dark concepts of quantum physics. I hardly recommended it to friends all over the world.

Excellent book on the Physics of Quantum Information
I have heard about this book when I was attending a series of lectures in Cambridge related to this topic, and one of the speakers was D. Bouwmeester. A. Eckert and A. Zeilinger are quite well known names in quantum physics, and this is assures for the high quality of the book. The book is clear in form and complete in its contents and reflects the professionality of the people involved in this research topic. It starts from the basic concepts, and gives the reader a complete perspective on Quantum Cryptography and entanglement, then is discussed teleportation, computation, including a step towards the experimental set up. Environmental decoherence, purification of entanglement and quantum error correction are discussed in the last chapters.

Heck of a book
What an awesome theory. Really makes you think about how the world actually works. Definite buy. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Best introductory book on the subject.
This is one of the clearest and well thought out introductions on quantum physics that I've seen. It is beautifully written with abundant diagrams and examples. The chapter on photons and polarization is an excellent pedagogical approach to understanding state vectors. This will also come in handy later on in a more advanced course when trying to understand the motivations behind the postulates of quantum mechanics.

Insightful intro text for the able freshmen/sophomores
This book was ahead of its time when it was published in 1978 and is still one of the better intro texts that stresses the basic principles and the experimental justifications. AP French is well-known for a whole series of rigorous intro physics texts he wrote for MIT students in the 1970s.

The explanations and theoretical foundation in this book are very carefully laid out for the reader. Combined with insightful end-of-chapter problems, this is the preferred text for the able honors freshman/sophomore before he/she moves on to Griffiths's quantum mechanics book.

When I was at Berkeley many years ago using Tipler's Modern Physics text for an intro to quantum mechanics and special relativity, it was the French/Taylor book that gave me the solid foundation I needed for the quantum mechanics part. Although co-author EF Taylor said on his personal website that this book is dated, I still find it - after all these years - a great starting point for the serious beginning physics undergraduate.

Good Secondary Resource
This book should seriously be used ONLY with another text. A good one (in my opinion) is Griffiths. It goes into great depth (sometimes too much) conceptually and is very weak with the mathematics. Another reviewer said somethings about not giving many applications, and i agree. It gets the idea down, but no more than that. Griffiths along side this is awesome, and if you have time after those two, take a look at Shakars book; its a little harder mathematically, but if you hit those three together, youll prolly have a good idea of what QM is about. Feynman Lectures also help.
Point being: Dont use this book alone, very good otherwise.

Better than most
Although I would agree that this is probably the best book to begin your study of quantum mechanics with, there are still serious flaws with the book. I just finished taking a class that used this text and I found that a major problem is that it never actually 'get's to the point.' Instead of telling you how to apply a technique to solving problems, the text simply assumes that you'll be able to figure that out yourself. So much of the notation goes unexplained and important points go unemphasized. I would suggest using this book if you're a first time student of quantum mechanics but supplement it with another book that explains how to do problems (Liboff or Griffiths).

Great treatment of basic topics
Several of the other reviews here express my general, very positive feelings about this book, so I'll concentrate on two specific examples which illustrate the teaching emphasis of the book's authors.

Chapters 6 and 7 introduce quantum states with a brilliant discussion of Dirac's bracket notation using polarization of light as the driving example. The student at this level typically already knows what to expect when, for example, linearly polarized light passes through a linear analyzer oriented at an angle with respect to the polarization axis. The authors develop a set of projection amplitudes for linear and circular polarization which reproduce the results familiar to the student. This makes state vectors easy to understand and, in turn, it's much easier to learn and accept the less intuitive results which come from solving more complex problems later on. I would recommend this book for these two chapters alone.

In Chapter 9 the authors in just a few pages develop a simple but quantitative theory of alpha decay which is easy to follow and relates half-life (or decay constant) to alpha-particle energy with no adjustable parameters. They then compare their result to experiment and show agreement over 24 orders of magnitude of half-life. This example wonderfully illustrates the power of simple, clear reasoning to achieve a widely applicable result. Fantastic job!

I own three or four introductory quantum mechanics texts, but this is the one I turn to first. ... Read more

Book Description

The book is a selfcontained introduction in perturbative and nonperturbative Quantumchromodynamics (QCD) with worked out exercises for students of theoretical physics. It will be useful as a reference for research scientists as well. Starting with the hadron spectrum the reader becomes famliar with the representations of SU(N). Relativistic quantum field theory is recapitulated and scattering theory is discussed in the framework of scalar quantum electrodynamics. Then the gauge theory of quarks and gluons is introduced. In the more advanced chapters perturbative and nonperturbative techniques in state of the art QCD are discussed in great detail. This completely revised and enlarged second edition will fill the gap in the literature.

FROM THE REVIEWS:

FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS "For those who are teaching QCD in the context of its applications to hadronic physics and, especially, nucleon structure functions and Drell-Yan physics as studied experimentally at the world's large accelerator laboratories, the text of Greiner and Schaefer successfully fills a major gap." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Introduction to strong interaction.
This may be one of the best textbooks about the topic. However, the translation is not done properly. The new edition is supposed to be published three years ago with corrections to the major errors, but the publication date has been postponed several times and it is still not available today. Anybody capable of reading German is recommended to read its original edition in German. ... Read more

Book Description

The first book to prepare us for the next big—perhaps the biggest—breakthrough in the short history of the cyberworld: the development of the quantum computer.

The newest Pentium chip driving personal computers packs 40 million electronic switches onto a piece of silicon the size of a thumbnail. It is dramatically smaller and more powerful than anything that has come before it. If this incredible shrinking act continues, the logical culmination is a computer in which each switch is composed of a single atom. And at that point the miraculous—the actualization of quantum mechanics—becomes real. If atoms can be harnessed, society will be transformed: problems that could take forever to be solved on the supercomputers available today would be dispatched with ease. Quantum computing promises nothing less astonishing than a shortcut through time.

In this book, the award-winning New York Times science writer George Johnson first takes us back to the original idea of a computer—almost simple enough to be made of Tinkertoys—and then leads us through increasing levels of complexity to the soul of this remarkable new machine. He shows us how, in laboratories around the world, the revolution has already begun.

Writing with a brilliant clarity, Johnson makes sophisticated material on (and even beyond) the frontiers of science both graspable and utterly fascinating, affording us a front-row seat at one of the most galvanizing scientific dramas of the new century. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Tidy Bit Of Science Writing
* George Johnson's A SHORTCUT THROUGH TIME could be subtitled
"A Beginner's Guide To Quantum Computing & Cryptography", with
this book exploring the bizarre quantum phenomena that could,
in potential, be used to perform computations on a range of
numbers simultaneously, or produce ciphers that are literally
impossible to crack by analytical means.

Trying to say more about the concepts discussed in this book
in a short review is impossible -- explaining how a particle
will simultaneously exist in all its possible states at once
until it's measured will give either a blank stare or a bland
"yeah right I know", meaning it didn't really register -- but
it isn't necessary, because Mr. Johnson does a right nice job
of explaining such matters in this neat brief book.

His writing is extremely clear and concise, at least relative
to the difficult matters he is discussing, and the book is
tidily illustrated. This is, to be sure, a book for beginners,
and in fact it spends some time up-front explaining basics
of computers before it moves on to quantum effects. A
specialist will likely have NO use for it, and might even be
a bit scornful at Mr. Johnson's occasional excursions into
arm-waving.

In fact, I did have some real problems with his discussions
of Shor's and Grove's quantum-computing algorithms, when
Mr. Johnson did seem to be getting into some real arm-waving.
Well, given the difficulty of the material, he was likely to
fall into that trap in places, and maybe I should just give
him the benefit of doubt, read that material again a few times,
and sleep on it.

However, I was basically familiar with quantum computing and
cryptography (at a layman level) before I read this book, and
at the outset thought it might not tell me anything I didn't
already know. I was wrong since I got a tidy explanation of
the application of quantum teleportation to cryptography
(blank stare out there?), and some other nice tidbits.

Besides, I was thoroughly impressed by Mr. Johnson's
sensibility in his comments about technical writing and his
degree of cautious skepticism in dealing with physicists, some
of whom seem to be slightly around the bend. The late Dick
Feynman, who plays a part of sorts in this book, could
actually understand what the such sorts were saying and
nail them, but the rest of us will just have to sympathize
with Mr. Johnson when he makes comments such as:

"Gilles Brassard tells me that each dim flash, on the average,
contains perhaps one-tenth of a photon, an idea I find rather
difficult to grasp."

You just gotta like this guy.

A Quantum Leap for Computing
Your computer will soon be out of date. You know that already, especially if you know about Moore's law, which was originated forty years ago, and says that every year and a half, the density of components on a computer chip will double. From the room-sized vacuum tube monsters down to the sprightly laptop, there has been a continued decrease in size and increase in speed. But silicon technology cannot reduce forever; it is still based on atoms, and it cannot get smaller than an atom. There is no law, however, that says we must forever be dependent on silicon, and so entirely new technologies may be developed. The technology, undeveloped but promising, which has interested physicists and computer scientists the most is quantum computing. We don't have quantum computers yet, and they aren't a sure thing, but the possibilities are tantalizing. George Johnson, a science journalist, has tried to make the new technology plain in _A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to the Quantum Computer_ (Knopf), and for those of us who aren't mathematicians, physicists, or computer scientists, he has done an admirable job at making a very strange, not-yet-practical technology understandable. Few of us need to know how silicon chips work, and fewer still will ever understand how quantum computers will work. Indeed, the quantum world is so vastly strange and counterintuitive that no one really can understand it. But Johnson's book is a good introduction to the strangeness, and a good vantage point from which to watch the upcoming revolution, if it comes.

Johnson's book is about a real quantum leap. The classical physics of our silicon computers does not hold within the tiny spaces inside atoms. Single particles at that scale can _really_ be in two places at once, and similarly, a quantum bit of information (known as a qubit) can be set to 1 and 0 at the same time, known as a "superposition." Qubits could be set to perform almost instantaneous calculations of huge programs, and there is no part of physics that says such computing should be impossible. Indeed, on the smallest of scales, primitive quantum computing has already been accomplished. Qubits are temperamental, and current research has to be done at supercold temperatures without the possibility of disturbance. Still, there is enormous intellectual interest in the prospect of quantum computing. One researcher in the field said that he and his colleagues are "writing the software for a device that does not yet exist." If quantum computing works, for instance, we will have to rethink all our current encryption methods, which are based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers; quantum computers do such things with ease silicon never can.

You aren't going to understand quantum computers by reading this book; Johnson knows that he is trying to describe the undescribable, and he makes it clear that he is no physicist, just someone trying to understand what all the fuss is about. His book is lucid and his descriptions do not bog down in technicalities (at times he gleefully hurtles over them). The book is also brief, but has enough substance to give even those who know little about current computing some basic understanding of where quantum computers may take us. He has successfully conveyed the excitement these potential gadgets have sparked, and readers will be able to participate in the excitement themselves.

Brain Freeze
This book is well written, clear, and concise. It is also challenging, amazing, and, at times, difficult to understand. Johnson begins with some brain freezing descriptions of what quantuum computing can do (trust me... it's freaky), then delves into what a computer is and how quantum computing may be applied. A must read for those who want to stay on the cutting edge of science or computing, but don't have time for four more years of school.

Good read about an exciting possibility
One of science writer George Johnson's aims in this book is to explain to a general readership how quantum computers might work. The key word is "might." As it stands now there are no quantum computers at work; and, although there is apparently no theoretically reason they won't be developed in the future, there are a host of practical problems to be solved that suggest they may never be developed.

Johnson acknowledges as much when he quotes French physicists Serge Haroche and Jean-Michel Raimond as saying that the small scale "hands-on experiments" with a few qubits that are currently being done "are more likely to teach us about the processes that would ultimately make the undertaking fail" than to teach "us how to build a large quantum computer." (p. 169)

As I understand it, basically the idea behind quantum compters is that (somehow) individual quanta (atoms, photons, electrons) are able to be in a particular state or not to be in a particular state; that is, either the equivalent of yes or no, but also in an indeterminate state; that is, a state that would signal yes and no at the same time! Somehow (and I hope I am forgiven for not fully appreciating this)--somehow because of this fabled indeterminancy, quanta can be used to compute at a speed that is more than exponentially faster than digital computers.

Johnson spends some series ink in trying to show how the atoms can hold and crunch numbers as long as they are not disturbed; that is, not measured in any way (which would bring about the famous "collapse of the wave function"). In this manner a problem that would take a digital computer weeks or months to solve could be solved in a fraction of a second. Problems now actually impossible to solve in any reasonable length of time might become tractable after all. The traveling salesman problem which grows exponentially more complex with the addition of each city, might very well yield to a quantum computer since the computational ability of a quantum computer itself grows exponentially with the addition of more quanta.

Wow. One of the reasons there is real money going into trying to develop these seemingly magical machines is that at present all the cryptography used by the military and big corporations relies on the fact that digital machines, no matter how fast, are not able to factor the codes. However, a quantum computer could. Furthermore, as Johnson explains, a quantum computer could also develop cryptography that could not be decoded. So, whoever gets there first--assuming somebody can--will at the very least make a whole lot of money.

What I found more interesting than the hope for a quantum computer are some of the insights into the quantum word that Johnson provides incidentally. The biggest stunner for me was his assertion that quantum events can be used to generate random numbers. It may come as a surprise to many people but in the world of classical mechanics there is literally no such thing as a truly random number generator. But because radioactive nuclei decay on a random basis, they can, according to Johnson, be used to generate random numbers. He writes that numbers generated in such a manner are "undeniable random." (p. 91)

Apparently this conclusion is a consequence of quantum indeterminacy. In a way, it is a circular conclusion since if we could somehow predict the rate of radioactive decay we would violate indeterminacy. I say "circular" when perhaps I should say "as a matter of faith" because there is no way a stream of numbers derived from radioactive nuclei decay can be proven to be random. Indeed, no string of numbers can, by examination, be proven to be random. If QM is true--and it is massively established--then the numbers are random.

Perhaps this idea of randomness is similar to the notion of "nothing" in that it is only defined in a negative way, by which I mean random is the absence of order, and order is in the eye of the beholder. What seems random to human beings may be quite orderly from another point of view.

Some of the book is pure fantasy. His discussion of quantum banknotes in Chapter 9 is an example of something that is useful to think about because of the light it sheds on the nature of the quantum world, but any chance that we would actually use quantum banknotes (requiring temperatures near absolute zero!) approaches the null set. (p. 146)

Other parts of the book are largely tangential (but interesting nonetheless). For example Johnson's exploration in Chapter10 of "nondeterministic polynomial-time" problems, such as the above mentioned traveling salesman problem, the protein-folding problem and the software verification problem, is very interesting. I was not aware that such problems were linked, but according to Johnson if one is solved, the others would yield as well. The current thinking is that the only hope of solving such intractable problems is a large-scale quantum computer. (p. 164)

Johnson is hopeful that such a computer can be developed and bases his hope in part on recalling just how intractable the problems toward the development of the sort of computers we have today seemed in the 1940s in the days of the vacuum-tubed Eniac computer which filled an entire room and had only a small fraction of the computational ability of my desktop. (p. 140) However, whether history will repeat itself and the impediments be overcome remains to be seen. It's exciting to think that they will.

Quick, direct introduction to quantum computing
This book was very useful in introducing me to the mechanics of quantum computing. Using simplified concepts and compartmentalized explanations, the book manages to explain the core concepts of quantum parallelized computing using tinkertoys, gears, and black-box algorithms.

I've had some previous introduction to quantum theory, but the limited depth provided by this book is exactly what I needed to base further exploratory reading on. It's a perfect "first" stepping stone for anyone interesting in exploring the field, either at depth or at leisure. ... Read more

Book Description

Quantum computing and quantum information are two of the fastest-growing and most exciting research areas in physics. The possibilities of using non-local behaviour of quantum mechanics to factorize integers in random polynomial time have added to this new interest. This invaluable book provides a collection of problems in quantum computing and quantum information together with detailed solutions. It consists of two parts: in the first part finite-dimensional systems are considered, while the second part deals with finite-dimensional systems.

All the important concepts and topics are included, such as quantum gates and quantum circuits, entanglement, teleportation, Bell states, Bell inequality, Schmidt decomposition, quantum Fourier transform, magic gates, von Neumann entropy, quantum cryptography, quantum error correction, coherent states, squeezed states, POVM measurement, beam splitter and Kerr–Hamilton operator. The topics range in difficulty from elementary to advanced. Almost all of the problems are solved in detail and most of them are self-contained. All relevant definitions are given.

Students can learn from this book important principles and strategies required for problem solving. Teachers will find it useful as a supplement, since important concepts and techniques are developed through the problems. It can also be used as a text or a supplement for linear and multilinear algebra or matrix theory. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This book helped me.
This text is refreshing if you want a lot of worked examples to help you through another text like, (Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Michael A. Nielsen, Isaac L. Chuang, ISBN: 0521635039). I was excited when this text came out and had an order in before it got off the press. When I got the book I immediately found useful worked examples that helped me get past some of the problems I was having with the notation in my other books. I have had this book for several months and have worked though enough of it to give it a 5 star rating. There are many problems in the text I am not advanced enough to work yet.

I started quantum computing for a research project and taught myself most of the material I know. This text is not easy and does not start at ground zero. It had problems I could understand at my level when I purchased it, but at that point I had an idea of how gates worked and a good solid review of linear algebra to stand on. I think that the kindest book out of the dozen on my shelf to a total beginner is, (Approaching Quantum Computing, Dan C. Marinescu, Gabriela M. Marinescu , ISBN: 013145224X).

This is the only book of its kind available at the time of this review. I wish the book had more simpler examples and just a bit of an explanation for some of the solutions. Sometimes the solution is given but it still does not seem apparent to me.I wish the text was just a bit kinder.

If you are working on a research project and struggling with some of the notation or the exact details of calculation this text may be extremely useful to you, but you will need another book to explain the theory.
... Read more

Book Description

Nobel Prize-winning German physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) is known for the development of quantum mechanics and the principle of indeterminancy.In physics and Philosophy he explains how modern advances in science alter, and often destroy, traditional ways only when the philosophical assumptions embedded in scientific method allow for modifications when new evidence emerges.Scientific advances alone do not change a culture when it is stripped of the new knowlage that accompanies the new science. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Three Fascinating Works by Werner Heisenberg
Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science (1952) makes good reading, but it is likely to be more appreciated by readers already familiar with the philosophical underpinnings of quantum theory. The scholarly introduction by F. S. C. Northrop of Yale University cautions the reader that a meticulous reading is necessary to follow Werner Heisenberg's discussion of causality, determinism, and complementarity.

For the reader new to Heisenberg I suggest first reading a collection of essays published by Seabury Press in 1983 under the title Tradition in Science. In 1989 this collection, now titled Encounters with Einstein And Other Essays on People, Places, and Particles, was republished by Princeton University Press. A few discussions are a bit technical, but they do not involve mathematics. These essays were written between 1972-1975. Heisenberg died in 1976.

Another good choice is Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics, a collection of Heisenberg's early lectures that span the turbulent period 1932-1948. Many of the key ideas discussed in his 1952 book Physics and Philosophy will be found in this earlier work.

Heisenberg believed that early Greek philosophy is closer to the ideas underlying modern physics than it was to the deterministic, objective reality defined by Newton. The story of the development of quantum theory is always fascinating, but even more so when told from the viewpoint of a major contributor to this great intellectual triumph. Bohr, Heisenberg, and other founders of the Copenhagen interpretation recognized quite early that quantum theory would have a the profound impact on man's understanding of reality.

All three of these works, Physics and Philosophy, Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics, and Encounters with Einstein, should appeal to a wide audience. Heisenberg was deeply intrigued with the philosophical implications of quantum physics (and modern particle physics) and enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm and fascination with general audiences. I highly recommend all three works.

Quantum mechanics and philosophical theories.
This book is important because Heisenberg clearly explains why quantum mechanics was fatal for great philosophical theories, and more particularly, for logical positivism and Kant.

Logical positivism affirms that all knowledge is ultimately founded in experience. This led to a postulate concerning the logical clarification of any statement about nature. But since quantum theory such a postulate cannot be fulfilled.

Kant's a priori's like space and time are viewed totally differently since quantum theory. His law of causality is no longer true for the elementary particles, because we don't know the foregoing event accurately or this event cannot be found.
Heisenberg states that it will never be possible by pure reason to arrive at some absolute truth.

Naturally this book is not up to date. It doesn't speak about COBE or superstrings. But Heisenbergs explanation of quantum theory is second to none.

Quotable. After someone said that the quantum theory may be proved false, Bohr answered: 'We may hope that it will later turn out that sometimes 2 x 2 = 5, for this would be of great advantage for our finances'.
A great book.

Heisenberg as literary luminary, with or without physics
Qualitative, descriptive books on physics, I think, are often unsatisfying because nothing suffices like actually doing the math to appreciate the full impact and enjoyement of what physics has to offer. Yet this hasn't prevented the likes of Einstein, Hawking, Feynman, et al, from attempting to do so. Perhaps for the professional physicist such works are interesting by virtue of their historical content, but the lay reader will likely find such works wordy and boring. This book by Heisenberg transcends this milieu however, with the author's shear brilliance and eloquence an admirable spectacle in and of itself. Heisenberg is a terribly smart fellow and that comes through thoughtfully.

This book reads like a collection of essays and, perforce, some chapters could probably be left unread without great harm. Chapter 7, 'the theory of relativity,' being a case in point. No, the real beauty of this book is not in its trenchant reflections on the mechanical behavior of matter, but more on its correlation with physics as a human endeavor, and the evolution of human thought in philosophical terms, as well as language and how it expresses ideas; these themes, philosphy and language, are artfully crafted and make this book significant, not the fact that we can make atom bombs or postulate a universe.

Heisenberg emphasizes the Copenhagen interpretation, which states that the observer effects the outcome of an experiment by the very act of having observed the experiment. This is of course true primarily in terms of atomic physics and not of macro events. For example, if you try to observe an electron you will have to use high energy equipment to do so, which will effect the behavior of the electron. On the other hand, if you observe a sparrow at 100 yards with a pair of binoculars you're not really going to effect the sparrow. By observing it with binoculars you won't break its neck, which is the equivalent of what happens when you observe an electron with x-rays. The idea however, that the observer, or participant, does inject a huge influence by simply participating is significant on a macro scale in linguistic terms; a notion Heisenberg effectively sets out in chapter 10, 'language and reality in modern physics.'

The varying contexts and extensive meanings of concepts and language can and do effect the outcomes of human interactions in myriads of unpredictable ways. Perhaps at a time in humanity's past we could consider language as a logical system where a person either knew what they were talking about or didn't, or was lying or telling the truth based on what they said; a no BS kind of world where wise men judged the testimony of others in courts of reason, much like what occured in witchcraft trials, or in the way the Catholic church judged Galileo for teaching Copernican ideology. We know better now days, and this is, I believe, why Heisenberg makes such a point of the Copenhagen interpretation; not to show that it applies to macro physics, but rather to show how it applies to language and psychology. It's a tough analogy but Heisenberg makes a remarkable effort that engenders contemplation and awe. After all, we still have wise men judging the testimony of others in courts of reason, a sobering thought. This stress on linguistics may seem insignificant today but was probably more germane to the time this book was written, in 1958.

If you like physics, philosophy, and psychology, not necessarily in that order, you'll probably like this book. Chapters 4 and 5 alone, the two chapters that track the birth of quantum physics philosophically, make the price of this book a worthwhile investment.

Not as the others
I like to read books by great physicists, however I don't find this very much pleasant because the books, compared to more recent books, have a erudite language and sometimes are out-of-date or are useless. However, this one, compared to books of his contemporaries Bohr and Einstein, is very nice to read and its full of nice discussions on physics and philosophy. Heisenberg started explaining quantum theory than studied how it affected the greek, cartesian, kantian philosophy and others. Now this is something very curious about this book: Heisenberg exposes one point of view of Kant's philosophy and argues that it is no longer valid using an argument that the proton is an elementary particle, and he finishes saying that obviously Kant couldn't guess how quantum theory would develop. Nor did Heisenberg: his argument fails with QCD advent. So, you can see that as we go further on this book it's important to stop sometimes to think about what Heisenberg is saying, and finally get to the conclusion that his ideas aren't true anymore. However you'll be able, after finishing this book, to understand how did the Copenhagen school was frightened about quantum theory and that modern physicists, such as Feynman and Gell-Mann, were/are not, facing quantum theory more naturally.

Heisenberg inside!
This is one of the best physics/philosophy books I've read. The reader can sense Heisenberg's feelings and thoughts throughout the book, about the development of new "revolutionary" theories in around the world. The book is a reflection/critique on human advancement, and the ultimate understanding of the innermost layer of nature and what this "really" means for humanity. It is an excellent book, written by one of the best (if not the best) physicists in the 20th century. It is well worth your money and time. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Who doesn't love a good argument? When physics heavyweights Stephen W. Hawking and Roger Penrose delivered three sets of back-and-forth lectures capped by a final debate at Cambridge's Isaac Newton Institute, the course of modern cosmological thinking was at stake. As it happens, The Nature of Space and Time, which collects these remarks, suggests that little has changed from the days when Einstein challenged Bohr by refusing to believe that God plays dice. The math is more abstruse, the arguments more refined, but the argument still hinges on whether our physical theories should be expected to model reality or merely predict measurements.

Hawking, clever and playful as usual, sides with Bohr and the Copenhagen interpretation and builds a strong case for quantum gravity. Penrose, inevitably a bit dry in comparison, shares Einstein's horror at such intuition-blasting thought experiments as Schrödinger's long-suffering cat--and scores just as many points for general relativity. The math is tough going for lay readers, but a few leaps of faith will carry them through to some deeply thought-provoking rhetoric. Though no questions find final answers in The Nature of Space and Time, the quality of discourse should be enough to satisfy the scientifically curious.--Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A debate between two strong personalities in physics
The current understanding of the physical structure of the universe is bipolar. There is Einstein's theory of relativity, which explains the macroscopic behavior of the universe to many places to the right of the decimal point. At the other end of the size spectrum, there is the quantum theory of fields, which explains the observed behavior of fundamental particles to many places to the right of the decimal point. Although one should always be very reluctant to state such a position, the resolution of this bipolar state into a unified one may be the last, great discovery of physics.
The purpose of this book is to present a debate between Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose concerning the possibility of the issue being resolved, and in what manner. It is a series of six short lectures, three from each man and ends with a brief debate between them. These lectures are not for the general audience, as each lecturer assumes a fundamental understanding of general relativity and quantum theory. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of explanation, including diagrams, in the lectures. Therefore, it is possible to understand the material if you have a basic understanding of the two main topics. Without that, don't bother opening the book.
Of course, the issue is not resolved, as that must wait for a later date. It is interesting that Hawking tends to emphasize the points of difference, while Penrose goes to some length to describe how similar their positions are. Penrose continues with the position of Albert Einstein, in that he argues that quantum mechanics is not a final theory, but only the "gross" appearance of much subtler events. Hawking believes otherwise, arguing that the probabilistic features of quantum mechanics is the way nature does things, and there is no underlying mechanism yet to be discovered that will remove them.
The arguments are strong, yet unconvincing. Not due to their lack of power, but because they are made by two equally strong and forceful personalities. When two such powers collide, there is rarely resolution. Nevertheless, the debate sheds a great deal of light on the current state of thinking in physics, and points out some ways in which it may be resolved.

SAH-WEET ...!!!
After having read "A Brief History of Time", "Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays", "The Cambridge Lectures" and "The Universe In a Nutshell" by the esteemed Professor Hawking, as well as Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe", I figured this book would be yet another great educational read!

It appears that my initial logic was somewhat flawed.

While the book states at it's outset that it requires an understanding of physics, I believe that it requires either the equivalent mind-power of a Einstein with the cocaine-induced flashes of Freud, or the equivalent computing power of everything Seymour Cray ever built...after several upgrades!

After (during?!) the first chapter, I simply couldn't keep my thoughts from blurring into obscure thoughts of the fact that GM is killing the Camaro after 35 successful years...the price of inkjet printer supplies... Bill...Gates keeps getting away with it...and essentially ANY OTHER TOPIC than that which I was "attempting" to read at the time!

While one of the girls at the coffee shop (I get wired on caffeine, and I read...) who, I must admit, was absolutely, captivatingly exotic, and her mere presence drew my eye more often that I care to admit, using her as an excuse for my distraction would really only be secondary at best.

The fact remains that the book simply isn't written for laymen; it's for scientists...and not just "good" scientists either, but the "truly rare" breed...unfortunately, that breed does not appear to include me. Sure, I can get into Mensa...but this book was almost completely beyond me! (I GOT THE INDEX!!!)

I'd very highly reccommend any or ALL (obviously my choice) of the books I've noted above for anyone with an interest, but as for this one...if you're not working for a PHD, Masters, or at least a Bachelor's degree, save your money, because this'll only make you tear your hair out...for many, it's probably falling quickly enough on its own already.

Not me, of course, as I'm just so pretty my face decided to annex surrounding territory for expansion purposes.

Well...theoretics are theoretics, right?

hold on for dear life
This was an early attempt to capitalize on Hawking's commercial success with the Brief History. Roger Penrose, Hawking's PhD advisor, has also written some really fascinating books for lay readers on philosophical implications of physics such as on the nature of intelligence. However, combining the two in a debate, the form of this book, cancels out the reader-friendly accessibility of their solo works as their egos take charge and they try to outperform each other. It makes sense after the fact that if they're debating, they must be discussing matters on which they disagree, and since physics is so well settled and understood on all but the most esoteric and advanced questions, the subject matter of their disagreements must lie in that advanced realm. Of course, "advanced" is a vastly relative term to apply to physics, since many ordinary readers would balk at any physics material. But I have a degree in physics, albeit only a BS - and after the initial material I have to struggle to follow anything they're saying! They should stamp this book's cover with a caveat emptor; this is no "Brief History of Time" or "Elegant Universe." They even mention at the outset that they assume the reader has a basic understanding of physics, but these guys' idea of a basic understanding is a Ph.D. specializing in general relativity. Having said all that, the book still makes for heady reading from what I could pick up here and there, so it's a thrill if you're up to it.

Interesting but not Great
In spite of the errors mentioned in another review the discussion was fairly interesting but not as great a "debate" as I anticipated. I'd spend my money on Penrose's "The Emporer's New Mind" before this one. For those interested in Black Holes, Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and Time Warps ..." is exceptionally well written and rewarding for the reader. For the technically [mathematically] apt who wants an fascinating treatice on spacetime, try John Wheeler and Ignazio Ciufolini's book on Geometrodynamics (Princeton Univ. Press).

Massive confusion among irreconcilable physical concepts..
Apart from the elementary, undergraduate level errors in thermodynamics, e.g. the first law of thermodynamics on page 24 is NOT the first law, nor is it a combination of the first and second laws due to a sign error; the Helmholtz free energy on page 50 is NOT the Helmholtz free energy again due to a sign error; the statement on page 135 that all Einstein needed not to go fishing after 1925 was 'Stephen's discovery, fifty-five years later, of black hole radiation' is offensive! Hawking's great surprise, on page 43, that black hole radiation emission was exactly thermal with a temperature derived from the Bekenstein-Hawking expression for black hole entropy in terms of the area of the horizon is ludicrous because it has to correspond to the entropy of black body radiation, which it doesn't. The above are merely examples which serve to call into question the contributions of these two researchers and certainly raise grave doubts concerning the worth of this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Kinetic Theory: Classical, Quantum, and Relativistic Descriptions, Third Edition goes beyond the scope of other works in the field with its thorough treatment of applications in a wide variety of disciplines. Its clear exposition and emphasis on concrete examples make it not only an excellent graduate text but also a valuable resource for researchers in such disciplines as aerospace, mechanical, and chemical engineering; astrophysics, solid state and laser physics and devices, plasma physics, and controlled and thermonuclear fusion. Among the topics covered are: The Liouville equation and analyses of the Liouville equation, including two independent derivations ? The Boltzmann equation and Boltzmann's H-theorem ? Analysis of the linearized collision operator ? Fluid dynamics and irreversibility ? Assorted kinetic equations with applications to plasmas and neutral fluids ? Elements of quantum kinetic theory, including the Green's-function formalism and the Wigner-Moyal equation ? Relativistic kinetic theory and Lorentz invariants ? Kinetic properties of metals and amorphous media ? Monte Carlo analysis in kinetic theory ? Kinetic study of shock waves This third revised edition features a new section on constants of motion and symmetry and a new appendix on the Lorentz-Legendre expansion. Each chapter concludes with a variety of problems, many of which provide self-contained descriptions of related topics; lists of such "topical problems" are included in the Contents. Numerous appendices supply vector formulas and tensor notation, properties of special functions, physical constants, references, and a historical time chart. ... Read more

Book Description

The Question: Is time travel really possible?

The Findings:Temporal anomalies are scattered throughout the world-things that could not possibly belong to the time period in which they were found. Scientists have discovered artifacts and skeletal remains of men and women dating millions of years before humanity evolved on the planet. Where did they come from? How did they get here? Are these anomalies the physical evidence of time travelers from our future?

The Physics: There is nothing in Newtonian physics, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, or the laws of quantum mechanics to deny the possibility of time travel. In fact, the very latest findings of physicists show that time travel, at the subatomic level, is already taking place.

The Techniques:The frontiers of modern physics all point toward a deep involvement of the human mind in the world around us . . . including an involvement in the processes of time itself. This maverick guidebook presents a series of techniques that allow you and your friends to engage in an actual experiment in time travel-an experience that will change your world view forever. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Well-written but impractical
"Time Travel for Beginners" is a useful guide for someone making their first trip through time, but be warned: Even if you follow the author's instructions carefully, you may not end up in the time period and/or place you intended. I was trying to visit rural Manitoba in the 1930s, but because I skipped Chapter 4, I ended up in ancient Sumeria.

Boy, was I embarrassed!

Time Travel Fascination
This Irish author is a deep thinker. He investigates not only UFOs, those saucer shaped ships from outer space, but also the ultraviolet catastrophe, speaks about photons and electrons; what are Positrons in Space and Time? Hey, you can change your location in space without destroying the universe! It's just a forwards/backwards convergence of your future and your past, which happens in the presence. Hermann Hesse said similar things, but don't ask me right now in which of his books. The difference between Hermann Hesse and Mr. Brennan: the former took it from a buddhistic viewpoint, the latter from science. More Power to Mr.Brennan! Gerborg

I was unfortunately disappointed.
As someone who "gobbles" up anything related to timetravel/speculation/inconsistencies and so on, I was drawn to this book from the synopsis and the marketing premise that I considered (after reading) to be misleading. While the book does offer investigations into possible evidence of timetravel; it is only thrown in periodically throughout an otherwise boring read. In fact, I've read hundreds of books in the speculative nature and sadly, this is the ONLY ONE I haven't enjoyed.

A refreshing look at an old idea
The ideas expressed are consistent with current scientific theory and interweave with mainstream metaphysical concepts. Brennan makes you believe it's all possible. I would have given this book 5 stars except it seemed to "fizzle out" at the end and left me feeling as if there should be more to the story.

Convincing!
Nothing excites the modern adventurer like the prospect of time travel. Prepare yourselves. Not only is time travel possible, it has already taken place.

Brennan is phenomenal. Presenting all the scientific evidence, as well as possible arguments to this evidence, he opens the eyes and excites the soul of his readers. Painting a modern and accurate picture of the space-time continuum, as well as presenting documentation and proof of actual time travel, Brennan covers all theories (from black holes to travel at the subatomic level) in a manner that both scientists and laymen can easily comprehend. Best of all, with his Program, Brennan offers his readers the opportunity to participate in their own time travel experience.

An exhilarating read, Brennan's "Time Travel" is not to be missed. Anyone who has ever dreamed of a journey through time must read this book. The doors are open. ... Read more