The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature
"The Cosmic Code can be read by anyone. I heartily recommend it!" — The New York Times Book Review
"A reliable guide for the nonmathematical reader across the highest ridges of physical theory. Pagels is unfailingly lighthearted and confident." — Scientific American
"A sound, clear, vital work that deserves the attention of anyone who takes an interest in the relationship between material reality and the human mind." — Science 82
This is one of the most important books on quantum mechanics ever written for general readers. Heinz Pagels, an eminent physicist and science writer, discusses and explains the core concepts of physics without resorting to complicated mathematics. The two-part treatment outlines the history of quantum physics and addresses complex subjects such as Bell's theorem and elementary particle physics, drawing upon the work of Bohr, Gell-Mann, and others. Anecdotes from the personal documents of Einstein, Oppenheimer, Bohr, and Planck offer intimate glimpses of the scientists whose work forever changed the world.
"1110780697"
The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature
"The Cosmic Code can be read by anyone. I heartily recommend it!" — The New York Times Book Review
"A reliable guide for the nonmathematical reader across the highest ridges of physical theory. Pagels is unfailingly lighthearted and confident." — Scientific American
"A sound, clear, vital work that deserves the attention of anyone who takes an interest in the relationship between material reality and the human mind." — Science 82
This is one of the most important books on quantum mechanics ever written for general readers. Heinz Pagels, an eminent physicist and science writer, discusses and explains the core concepts of physics without resorting to complicated mathematics. The two-part treatment outlines the history of quantum physics and addresses complex subjects such as Bell's theorem and elementary particle physics, drawing upon the work of Bohr, Gell-Mann, and others. Anecdotes from the personal documents of Einstein, Oppenheimer, Bohr, and Planck offer intimate glimpses of the scientists whose work forever changed the world.
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The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature

The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature

by Heinz R. Pagels
The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature

The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature

by Heinz R. Pagels

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

"The Cosmic Code can be read by anyone. I heartily recommend it!" — The New York Times Book Review
"A reliable guide for the nonmathematical reader across the highest ridges of physical theory. Pagels is unfailingly lighthearted and confident." — Scientific American
"A sound, clear, vital work that deserves the attention of anyone who takes an interest in the relationship between material reality and the human mind." — Science 82
This is one of the most important books on quantum mechanics ever written for general readers. Heinz Pagels, an eminent physicist and science writer, discusses and explains the core concepts of physics without resorting to complicated mathematics. The two-part treatment outlines the history of quantum physics and addresses complex subjects such as Bell's theorem and elementary particle physics, drawing upon the work of Bohr, Gell-Mann, and others. Anecdotes from the personal documents of Einstein, Oppenheimer, Bohr, and Planck offer intimate glimpses of the scientists whose work forever changed the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780486485065
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication date: 03/14/2012
Series: Dover Books on Physics
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 644,118
Product dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

American physicist Heinz Pagels (1939–1988) was Adjunct Professor of Physics at Rockefeller University as well as the Executive Director and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences and President of the International League for Human Rights.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Foreword 13

Part I The Road to Quantum Reality

1 The Last Classical Physicist 17

2 Inventing General Relativity 40

3 The First Quantum Physicists 63

4 Heisenberg on Helgoland 73

5 Uncertainty and Complementarity 85

6 Randomness 102

7 The Invisible Hand 111

8 Statistical Mechanics 120

9 Making Waves 135

10 Schrödinger's Cat 148

11 A Quantum Mechanical Fairy Tale 155

12 Bell's Inequality 160

13 The Reality Marketplace 177

Illustration section follows page 194

Part II The Voyage into Matter

1 The Matter Microscopes 193

2 Beginning the Voyage: Molecules, Atoms, and Nuclei 209

3 The Riddle of the Hadrons 219

4 Quarks 226

5 Leptons 240

6 Gluons 251

7 Fields, Particles, and Reality 265

8 Being and Nothingness 274

9 Identity and Difference 280

10 The Gauge Field Theory Revolution 289

11 Proton Decay 305

12 The Quantum and the Cosmos 312

Part III The Cosmic Code

1 Laying Down the Law 325

2 The Cosmic Code343

Bibliography 351

Index 355

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