The Quantum Story: A history in 40 moments (Oxford Landmark Science)

This book relates the historical development of quantum mechanics, and should serve as a useful adjunct to quantum mechanics textbooks. I liked this book a lot and highly recommend it to physicists and students of physics, both those taking university courses and those seriously studying on their own. However, I do not recommend the book for those with only a very limited knowledge of physics, because while no equations are presented the book is replete with somewhat in depth discussions of some of the finer points of the subject, particularly with regards to the interpretation of the Schrodinger wave equation, the meaning of the uncertainty principal and on the EPR experiment. All this is best illustrated by discussing what is in this book.What is in the book –The book discusses the development of quantum mechanics from 1900 to 2010, as depicted by 40 “moments”- critical junctures in time. These 40 moments are divided into seven parts, as follows:Part I – Quantum of Action. This part details the origin of the idea of quanta, first developed by Max Planck in 1900. It goes on to Einstein’s application of Planck’s ideas and to additional developments, up to 1925, including the work of Heisenberg, deBroglie and Schrodinger. I found this to be a very entertaining and informative part or the book as it mixes basic ideas of physics with a bit of the biographies of the men who development them. This approach is carried out throughout the book, with some biographical information accompanying the physics discussions.Part II – Quantum Interpretations. This part of the book discusses the various interpretations of the meaning of quantum mechanics and the controversies that developed, covering the period of 1925-27.Part III – Quantum Debate – This part of the book further amplifies the debate about the meaning of quantum mechanics during the period of 1927-47. It focuses on Einstein’s reservations and his EPR thought experiment that sought to show that quantum mechanics, as it was formulated, was incomplete.Part IV – Quantum Fields – This part of the book, covering the period of 1947-67, focuses on the development of quantum field theory and quantum electro-dynamics. I liked the development of Feynman’s approach and how it compared to that of Schwinger and Tomonaga. It also goes into the beginnings of the development of the quark model.Part V – Quantum Particles – This section deals with the development of the standard model, covering 1968-2003. I found this and the preceding sections to be the most difficult when they delved into the ideas of group theory. Part IV contains a good description of the relation of symmetry to basic conservation laws, but then the author jumps to group theory and then to its application to particle physics, but without explaining very much about group theory and even less about how it is applied to the problems of describing the interior of the atom and the interior of protons, neutrons and of the particles that are observed in accelerator experiments, some of which are also found in nature due to cosmic ray collisions.Part VI – Quantum Reality – I found the discussions of Bell’s theorem and Bell’s inequality to be excellent. I learned that there are many version of the experiments meant to investigate this inequality and determine if “reality” is local or non-local, and that there are newer types of expressions of the sort that Bell developed that are being tested. This part of the book covers the period of 1951- 2006.Part VII – Quantum Cosmology – This part of the book deals with quantum mechanics, its application to cosmology (especially through the work of Hawking) and to attempts to develop a theory that encompasses both gravity and the standard model for particle physics. This part of the book covers these subjects from 1966-2000. There is also a brief epilogue that discusses the search for the Higgs particle up to 2010.

Jim Baggott is taking on a path well travelled in this recounting of the quantum story. His mode of travel works well, concentrate on the human element, stretch the reader with the technical details and don't oversimplify.You don't get a Guernsey telling this kind of history without really knowing your stuff, and Baggott shows that he does. For the early chapters, the explanations of quantum theory are as good as any I have read - De Broglie's dual wave-particle hypothesis, Heisenberg's matrix mechanics and Born's rationalisation of the wave function are stand-outs. The shadow of Einstein falls over all players and debate, and Baggott's explanations of the gedankenexperiments of Einstein and others enrich the story.Baggott's rendition of the middle era of quantum theory after WWII gets a little turgid, with many layers of detail hanging a little limply without more mathematical backbone. The evolution and testing of the Standard Model was laborious in real life, so I guess the story needs to impart some of that. Again, Baggott really knows his stuff so, while this era is slow to wade through, I expect the index will provide the reader with a good reference to be reminded of an overview or context on specific points long after the back cover is closed. The modern era is well described and wide-ranging to help the reader see how topics such as string theory and supersymmetry have influenced modern quantum physics.Baggott's writing is crisp and his insights and anecdotes are told, or retold, in a fresh style. It's a long story and worth the investment.

Jim Baggott manages to combine a fascinating historical account of the development of quantum theory from its inception, together with a description of its main ideas to a level beyond most "popular" accounts. He has assembled in story-telling fashion the people, their ideas, their interactions and the considerable drama. The author must have combed through many hundreds of letters, journal articles, and personal accounts by the principals, as well as numerous secondary sources, contempory newspaper accounts, and also his personal contacts. The sources of the many direct quotations are annotated in a back section, and an extensive bibliography adds to the overall value of the book.As far as the mathematics goes (referred to in other reviews on Amazon), there appears none beyond basic algebra. A couple well-known equations are spelled out (Planck's and Einstein's). All formulae appear in-line with the text (not textbook-style as numbered equations). I noticed one place where a more complicated equation was described in words. My overall impression is that Baggott has injected just the necessary equations and formulae to illuminate and streamline the text. Beyond that, Baggott's patient, highly polished prose achieves an amazing balance of working through quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, the standard model, etc. at a descriptive level while retaining the flavor and spirit of the material.However, I would concur that this material could be pretty challenging as someone's first exposure to QM. Much better off would be the Scientific American reader, for example. On the other side of the coin, the book will broaden and considerably enliven the subject matter for someone aleady exposed to introductory QM, as for example during a first undergraduate course.An inclusion I especially liked was the "centerfold" 16 pages of black-&-white photos featuring famous physicists and some major events. This kind of glossy-paged supplement has become somewhat rare in non-fiction books these days.The book's story ends around 2010 with supersymmettry and string theory still in the excitement stages. I gather that a bit of the gloss has come off these since then. But such progress or evolution of thinking is to be expected in such an active field.