Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum

by Lee Smolin

Overview

A daring new vision of quantum theory from one of the leading minds of contemporary physics

Quantum physics is the golden child of modern science. It is the basis of our understanding of atoms, radiation, and so much else, from elementary particles and basic forces to the behavior of materials. But for a century it has also been the problem child of science: it has been plagued by intense disagreements between its inventors, strange paradoxes, and implications that seem like the stuff of fantasy. Whether it's Schrödinger's cat—a creature that is simultaneously dead and alive—or a belief that the world does not exist independently of our observations of it, quantum theory challenges our fundamental assumptions about reality.

In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin provocatively argues that the problems which have bedeviled quantum physics since its inception are unsolved and unsolvable, for the simple reason that the theory is incomplete. There is more to quantum physics, waiting to be discovered. Our task—if we are to have simple answers to our simple questions about the universe we live in—must be to go beyond quantum mechanics to a description of the world on an atomic scale that makes sense.

In this vibrant and accessible book, Smolin takes us on a journey through the basics of quantum physics, introducing the stories of the experiments and figures that have transformed our understanding of the universe, before wrestling with the puzzles and conundrums that the quantum world presents. Along the way, he illuminates the existing theories that might solve these problems, guiding us towards a vision of the quantum that embraces common sense realism.

If we are to have any hope of completing the revolution that Einstein began nearly a century ago, we must go beyond quantum mechanics to find a theory that will give us a complete description of nature. In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, Lee Smolin brings us a step closer to resolving one of the greatest scientific controversies of our age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143111160
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	478,936
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Lee Smolin has made influential contributions to the search for a unification of physics. He is a founding faculty member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His previous books include Time Reborn, The Trouble with Physics, and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Part 1 An Orthodoxy of the Unreal

1 Nature Loves to Hide 3

2 Quanta 14

3 How Quanta Change 25

4 How Quanta Share 37

5 What Quantum Mechanics Doesn't Explain 58

6 The Triumph of Anti-Realism 66

Part 2 Realism Reborn

7 The Challenge of Realism: De Broglie and Einstein 97

8 Bohm: Realism Tries Again 107

9 Physical Collapse of the Quantum State 128

10 Magical Realism 143

11 Critical Realism 153

Part 3 Beyond the Quantum

12 Alternatives to Revolution 183

13 Lessons 205

14 First, Principles 225

15 A Causal Theory of Views 253

Epilogue/Revolutions: Note to Self 273

Acknowledgments 281

Notes 285

Glossary 297

Further Reading 305

Index 309

Editorial Reviews

"[A] compelling narrative about the development of different strands of quantum physics." — Financial Times

“Smolin is an extremely creative thinker who has been a leader in theoretical physics for many years. He is also a gifted writer who manages to translate his own insights about how science works into engaging language and compelling stories . . . Smolin's description of how quantum mechanics works is both elegant and accessible.” —NPR

“[A]mbitious . . .upbeat and, finally, optimistic . . .  Smolin is a lucid expositor.”— Nature

“As the latest entry into the conversation, Smolin’s book feels the most immediate and personal. Here is no detached narrator, but an active participant in the fray who perceives the debate over the nature of reality in personal terms. . . While the way forward remains elusive, Smolin and others who seek to illuminate how physics got to where it is today are at least making the quest for answers a bit less costly.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
 
“Well-written and engaging.” —Sabine Hossenfelder, Backreaction

“Smolin offers a masterful exposition on the state of quantum physics, smoothly blending a history of the field with clear explanations, philosophical context and an accessible introduction to fresh ideas. His narrative on how two competing perspectives on quantum behaviour hardened into Bohr’s counter-intuitive orthodoxy, is spellbinding.” —Financial Times (UK)

"Smolin is never less than an inventive and provocative thinker, as well as an engaging writer....his explanations are especially lucid." —Philip Ball, Physics World

"A tantalizing glimpse of the theoretical possibilities beyond Einstein's grasp." —Booklist, starred review

“The best explanation yet of what has yet to be explained.” —George Dyson, author of Turing’s Cathedral

“Lee Smolin has written a superb and sweeping book. He takes us to Bohr, Bohm, Everett and far beyond in a masterful assessment, then on to the struggle to go beyond quantum mechanics towards quantum gravity. Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution is truly a fine work.” —Stuart Kauffman, author of At Home in the Universe

"Smolin elucidates complex science without equations . . . [and] demonstrates there isn't a thing in nature whose 'contemplation cannot be a route to a wordless sense of wonder and gratitude just to be a part of it all.'" —Publishers Weekly 

From the Publisher

11/26/2018
In this deep dive into quantum theory, Smolin (The Trouble with Physics), a Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics faculty member, explains what’s missing from the field and what’s needed to unify physics as a whole. Aiming to show that “conceptual problems and raging disagreements that have bedeviled quantum physics since its inception are unsolved and unsolvable, for the simple reason that the theory is wrong,” Smolin discusses the “puzzles at the heart of quantum mechanics.” He breaks down alternative interpretations, testing how well they express a realist theory of the universe, where reality does not depend on observers being present. From pilot wave theory and its eerie concept of how paths not taken in life “are traced by an empty wave function, ready to guide atoms, which, however, are elsewhere,” the many worlds interpretation, and wave-function collapse, Smolin elucidates complex science without equations. Readers end with Smolin’s own work on the “causal theory of views,” which posits a universe consisting “of nothing but views of itself, each from an event in its history,” where scientific laws act to make views as diverse as possible—a potential way forward. Occasionally, necessarily, textbook-dry, Smolin’s work nonetheless demonstrates there isn’t a thing in nature whose “contemplation cannot be a route to a wordless sense of wonder and gratitude just to be a part of it all.” Agent: John Brockman, Edge. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Listeners are blessed with an award-winning English actor, screenwriter, and film producer narrating a lucid treatise on quantum theory by one of the most prominent quantum theorists of our day. Katharine McEwan sails through the audiobook without a stumble, despite the sometimes arcane terminology and names. Her accent and pronunciation are decidedly educated and British. Quantum physics is famously opaque and often seemingly self-contradictory; Smolin provides a friendly antidote. The central thesis is that, given the clash between between Einstein and Bohr’s contradictory views of physical reality, there must be a greater unifying theory that encompasses both—we just don’t know it yet. For example, which is fundamental, space or time? Smolin votes for time—so far. Intriguing. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Listeners are blessed with an award-winning English actor, screenwriter, and film producer narrating a lucid treatise on quantum theory by one of the most prominent quantum theorists of our day. Katharine McEwan sails through the audiobook without a stumble, despite the sometimes arcane terminology and names. Her accent and pronunciation are decidedly educated and British. Quantum physics is famously opaque and often seemingly self-contradictory; Smolin provides a friendly antidote. The central thesis is that, given the clash between between Einstein and Bohr’s contradictory views of physical reality, there must be a greater unifying theory that encompasses both—we just don’t know it yet. For example, which is fundamental, space or time? Smolin votes for time—so far. Intriguing. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

2018-12-04

The latest update on physicists' painful efforts to make sense of quantum mechanics.

So far they've failed, but Smolin (Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe, 2013, etc.), a founding faculty member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, believes they're on the right track, and readers who pay close attention may understand what he is attempting to explain. Einstein's theory of relativity delivered an accurate explanation of space, time, and matter for most of the universe, but it breaks down at the level of atoms: the quantum world. Quantum mechanics works beautifully but only by postulating paradoxes and nonsensical behavior such as an electron being both a particle and a wave depending on the experiment. Einstein insisted that this didn't make sense, but most colleagues had no objection. Smolin reminds readers that this is an argument between realists and nonrealists. Realists ask, "does the natural world exist independently of our minds?" and "can we understand enough about the laws of nature to explain the history of our universe and predict its future?" Current quantum theory says no. Nobel Prize winner Louis de Broglie proposed a "realistic" explanation in his 1927 pilot wave theory. Unlike the already dominant anti-realist view of Bohr and Heisenberg, his electron remains a particle, and an electron-wave flows through space, directing the particle where to go. The concept of pilot waves did not catch on, but after 1950, some mainstream physicists began looking seriously into realistic theories through concepts such as hidden variables, the many-worlds view, and nonlocality. None of these men are household names, and their studies poke a few holes in traditional theory without simplifying matters. Since quantum mechanics continues to work well, most physicists pay little attention.

This is a philosophical debate that has disturbed thoughtful scientists for a century. Its ideas are fundamental, but the details are complex. Smolin works hard and with mixed success to explain these to a lay readership.

Kirkus Reviews