How Schrödinger's Cat Escaped the Box

Download or read book How Schrödinger's Cat Escaped the Box written by Peter Rowlands and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2014-11-27 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book attempts to explain the core of physics, the origin of everything and anything. It explains why physics at the most fundamental level, and especially quantum mechanics, has moved away from naïve realism towards abstraction, and how this means that we can begin to answer some of the most fundamental questions which trouble us all, about space, time, matter, etc. It provides an original approach based on symmetry which will be of interest to professionals as well as lay people. In the book, virtually no prior knowledge is assumed, but the readers are allowed to participate in a discussion of very deep ideas. Throughout the book, the readers are guided through some important ideas which need to be explained mathematically. The key fact is that the mathematics is not about calculation but about concepts. Much of it can be simplified using coloured text and diagrams. This means that ideas which are important to everyone who wants to know how the universe is structured are not glossed over as being too difficult for anybody but the experts. This book is written for a wide audience. Experts will gain a great deal, but so will lay readers. This would be an ideal book for students to read before progressing to another book by the author, The Foundations of Physical Law. Contents:IntroductionRelativityQuantum MechanicsSimplicity and AbstractionSymmetry and DualityThe Fundamental Group StructureThe Origin of Quantum MechanicsParticles and InteractionsSpace and AntispaceConclusion Readership: Students and general public with basic knowledge in abstract mathematics and theoretical physics. Key Features:There is nothing at all like it. It is intended to be both popular and profound. Some of the ideas will be unfamiliar to the professional physicist but are presented in a way which the lay person can grasp. So it can be appreciated at several different levelsAt the basis is the idea that certain fundamental ideas are intrinsically simple but that they lead to complexity at higher levels. Those simple ideas are sought after in a way that is not done in other books. Genuinely new insights are achievedThe mathematical basis of physics is treated in a way which maximizes explanation and conceptual thinking but minimizes calculation of specific cases. The key ideas are separated out and this will be extremely valuable to physicists at any stage of their career as well as making the book more accessible to the lay personKeywords:Quantum Mechanics;Schrödinger's Cat;Relativity;Symmetry;Duality;Zero Totality