by Adam Forrest Kay (Author) 

The "artfully written...splendid history of classical and quantum physics" (Science) that "rightfully highlights the limitations of current physics" (Wall Street Journal) and argues for a revolutionary new understanding of quantum mechanics 

The received wisdom in quantum physics is that, at the deepest levels of reality, there are no actual causes for atomic events. This idea led to the outlandish belief that quantum objects—indeed, reality itself—aren’t real unless shaped by human measurement. Einstein mocked this idea, asking whether his bed spread out across his room unless he looked at it. And yet it remains one of the most influential ideas in science and our culture. 

In Escape from Shadow Physics, Adam Forrest Kay takes up Einstein’s torch: reality isn’t mysterious or dependent on human measurement, but predictable and independent of us. At the heart of his argument is groundbreaking research with little drops of oil. These droplets behave as particles do in the long-overlooked quantum theory of pilot waves; crucially, they showcase quantum behavior while being described by classical physics. And that classical-quantum interface points to a true understanding of quantum mechanics and a reasonable universe. 

A bold and essential reset of the field, Escape from Shadow Physics describes the kind of true scientific revolution that comes along just once—or less—in a century.

Review

“In the bouncing groove of an oil droplet, Adam Forrest Kay finds a new way to look at quantum mechanics—one that replaces randomness and mystery with new knowledge. Supported by a brilliantly told history and philosophy of physics, this book will change how you think about the field’s past. And it may just set a new path for its future.”―Stephon Alexander, author of Fear of a Black Universe

“Whatever you think of Kay’s efforts to overturn the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, and to justify Einstein by re-establishing classical norms of causality and determinism, his history of the whole wave/particle debate, from ancient Greece onwards, is authoritative and encyclopedic—and also intriguingly suggests that the purely scientific arguments were in part outweighed by an element of the straightforwardly human.”―Michael Frayn, playwright and novelist

“Kay has written a book that lays out with great clarity the central issue in modern physics: Are quantum-mechanical probabilities quite different in nature from all the others in physics and life? The reader will enjoy fascinating details from a great sweep of history and Kay’s skill in explaining key technical facts with enviable simplicity.”―Julian Barbour, author of The Janus Point

Categories : Epistemology, Quantum Theory

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CK8CVBTJ

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (June 18, 2024)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 18, 2024

Language ‏ : ‎ English

File‏ : EPUB, 34.39 MB

Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported

Print length ‏ : ‎ 423 pages