Alice in Quantumland : an allegory of quantum physics

Alice is about to enter a whole new Wonderland. It's Quantumland—a kind of intellectual amusement park, smaller than an atom, where each attraction demonstrates a different aspect of quantum theory. There she'll meet an Emperor who thinks his new clothes into existence, dance with the Three Quark Brothers at the Particle MASSquerade, travel back in time (running into herself), and experience all kinds of quantum effects. Readers will learn about the Uncertainty Principle, wave functions, the Pauli Principle, and other elusive concepts. Vancouver Sun It takes quantum physics to the level of adventurous science fiction.... It is based on Alice in Wonderland and includes characters like the uncertain accountant and the state agent who shows Alice how items can be two places at once. It explains the basics in a fun read. You've heard about Alice's adventures through the looking glass. Well, Alice is about to embark on another amazing journey. She's going to shrink again - to the size of a nuclear particle - but she's not going down the rabbit hole. She's headed for Quantumland. And what is Quantumland? Think of it as an intellectual amusement park smaller than an atom, where every ride, game, and attraction demonstrates a different aspect of quantum mechanics - the often baffling, always intriguing theoretical framework that seems to provide the most accurate explanations of the way things are in the physical world. In this masterful blend of fantasy and science, Robert Gilmore uses the allegory of Alice's travels to make the uncertainty principle, Pauli's principle, high-energy particle physics, and other crucial parts of quantum theory accessible and exciting. Alice in Quantumland is Robert Gilmore's amazing fantasy ride through the landscape of quantum physics - the interrelated group of theories on the nature of subatomic particles that modern scientists use to explain the physical universe. Through the allegory of Alice's adventures and encounters, Gilmore makes the essential features of the quantum world clear and accessible. It is a thrilling introduction to some essential, often difficult-to-grasp concepts about the world we inhabit. In this cleverly conceived book, physicist Robert Gilmore makes accessible some complex concepts in quantum mechanics by sending Alice to Quantumland-a whole new Wonderland, smaller than an atom, where each attraction demonstrates a different aspect of quantum theory.