HELGOLAND: Making Sense of The Quantum Revolution

Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian. "Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator... This is the place where science comes to life." - Neil Gaiman. A startling new look at quantum theory, from the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the 23 year old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relations rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it. "There is something called Schrodinger's wave equation, which explained the behaviour of atomic particles. We learn of this important concept before branching off into some theories such as many worlds, hidden variables, and physical collapses." 256 pages. Line art. Remainder mark.