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9780198883067

A Mysterious Universe Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and Cosmology for Everyone

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780198883067

  • ISBN10:

    0198883064

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Copyright: 2023-12-14
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press

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Summary

A Mysterious Universe introduces the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, theory of relativity, and cosmology to a novice in simple language. This concise book deals with deep issues related to the mysteries of modern physics.

Both quantum mechanics and relativity are highly mathematical subjects and are not easily accessible. In 2020, the author wrote a book Quantum Mechanics for Beginners with the aim of introducing the fundamentals of quantum theory to someone with elementary knowledge of physics and algebra. Here he goes one step further and introduces these ideas to someone with no prior knowledge of physics and mathematics. In the first part of the book, topics like the wave-particle duality, the probabilistic nature of the measurement, the possibility of multiple universes, and the nature of reality are discussed. In the second part, Einstein's special and general theories of relativity and their amazing and mind-boggling consequences are presented. The impact of the theory of relativity on cosmology is immense. The big bang model of the universe, black holes, and the current hot topics of dark matter and dark energy are explained and discussed. These fields that may hold the key to many unanswered questions about the universe are still evolving.

This book is intended for readers, young and old, who would like to understand the incomprehensible laws that govern the universe without any prior background in physics and mathematics.

Author Biography


Suhail Zubairy, Department of Physics, Texas A&M University

Professor Suhail Zubairy is a University Distinguished Professor and the holder of the Munnerlyn-Heep Chair in Quantum Optics at Texas A&M University. He has made many pioneering contributions in the fields of quantum optics and quantum information. He is co-author (with Marlan Scully) of a classic textbook on Quantum Optics and the author of a book Quantum Mechanics for Beginners. Prof. Zubairy has received many honors including the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics, Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize for Distinguished Scientists, and the George H. W. Bush Award for Excellence in International Research. He is a Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America.

Table of Contents


HISTORICAL
1. Introduction
2. Newtonian mechanics and the deterministic world
3. Quantum mechanics is born
4. What is light?
5. What does an atom look like
MYSTERIES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
6. A single photon - An amazing quantum system
7. Does God play dice?
8. An uncertain world!
9. Vacuum is not 'nothing'
10. Wave-particle duality
11. Schrodinger's cat and entanglement
12. Is reality really real?
13. Single universe or multiple universes?
RELATIVITY AND COSMOLOGY
14. Stellar objects
15. Einstein's spatial theory of relativity
16. Theory of general relativity
17. Black hole
18. Big bang - birth of the universe
19. Dark matter and Dark energy
EPILOGUE
20. Epilogue

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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