Product Description
As Kenneth W. Ford shows us in The Quantum World, the laws governing the very small and the very swift defy common sense and stretch our minds to the limit. Drawing on a deep familiarity with the discoveries of the twentieth century, Ford gives an appealing account of quantum physics that will help the serious reader make sense of a science that, for all its successes, remains mysterious. In order to make the book even more suitable for classroom use, the author, assisted by Diane Goldstein, has included a new section of Quantum Questions at the back of the book. A separate answer manual to these 300+ questions is available; visit The Quantum World website for ordering information. There is also a cloth edition of this book, which does not include the "Quantum Questions" included in this paperback edition.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 27 reviews)

Excellent introduction to the subject by Larry H in Austin (Austin, TX USA)

5 Stars
October 18, 2009
I loved this book from start to finish. The material is fascinating and presented clearly, in easy-to-digest form. In terms of the reader's assumed knowledge, this book doesn't aim for the *lowest* common denominator. Some familiarity with first-year algebra is helpful, but not essential; the concepts generally stand on their own without any mathematics at all. Ford also explains the experiments that led to many aspects of the standard model, particularly from earlier developments. This helps the reader appreciate the evidence physicists were weighing in their attempts to piece together the puzzle. If anything, I would have appreciated more details on these experiments. But, for a quick introduction to the topic, this book does a fine job balancing the information and does an exceptional job getting the reader to visualize concepts.

Well worth it by Joseph Magerramov (Danbury, CT USA)

5 Stars
January 29, 2009
I just finished reading the book for the second time and it was definitely worth the money. In his book Ford touches on such complicated subjects as entanglement, quantum jumps and wave-particule duality, yet keeping it a relatively easy read (no pun intended). As a side note, the book also touches on the "whys" and "hows" of the quantum world, or at least attempts to divert the reader from asking those questions. This would make it great for somebody who hasn't had any exposure to quantum physics.

Helpful in understanding basics of Quantum Machines - Includes Scanning Tunneling Microscope Design by Golden Lion (North Ogden, Ut United States)

5 Stars
November 07, 2008
1. Mass is measurement of inertia 2. Mass represents a highly concentrated amount of light. A little mass yields a lot of energy. 3. Photons move at velocity c, the speed of light and have kinetic energy but no mass. 4. One Joule equals the energy necessary to move 2kg a distance of 1 meter per second. 5. One calorie is the energy to raise a graham of water one celius 6. Some cosmic rays bombard the earth with energy up to 10 pow 20 electron volts. 7. Positive charged protons repel each other but the gluon over comes the repelling force. For large nuclei the repelling force becomes to great for the gluons and the nucleus flies apart. As a result, no nuclei with protons and neutron counts greater than Uranium exist in nature. 8. One columb is the amount of charge that moves a 100 watt light bulb in a second. 9. The fundamental unit of quantum angular momentum is planks constant divided by pi divided by ½, called h-bar. 10. There are three levels of leptons: electron and neutrino, muon and neutrino, and tau and neutrino. 11. E=hf is the energy carried by photon and the frequency of the electron's electro-magnetic field and are proportional to planks constant. If a photon has twice the energy it has twice the frequency. If gamma radiation has a thousand times the energy as a photon, it has a thousand times the vibration. 12. Small creation world occur through creation and annihilation of particles. 13. A Muon is a charged particle 100 times larger than an electron with mass. Leptons spin ½, Baryons have spin ½ and compose proton, neutron, and many heavy particles. Quarks are strongly interactive particles. A quark and antiquary form a meson. Three quarks form a baryon with charge of one. Force carrier are particles whose creation, annihilation exchange gives rise to force. 14. Fermi theory of a radioactive nucleus, at the moment of decay creates an electron and neutrino (anti-neutrino), both expelled from the nucleus. 15. Fermion have half odd-integer spin. 16. Bosons have integer spin. 17. Muon lives for two millioneth of a second 18. Superposition implies a particle or system of particles can exist in two or more states of motion at a time. Protons have a mass of 938 MeV or 1.67 X 10 pow -27 kg. The mass of a typical star is 10 pow 52 kg, each kg of matter contains 10 pow 27 protons, therefore, the Universe contains 10 pow 79 protons. 19. Angular momentum is a combination of mass, size, and speed of the rotating systems. 20. C is the fundamental constant of relativity. 21. Neutrino take away mc pow 2 energy from the nucleus. A neutrino has 1/100,000 the mass of an electron. Neutrino's have a mass. If neutrinos have observable oscillation, it means they have mass. Different neutrinos have different mass. Evidence of neutrinos was first discovered from experiences by the Super Kamiokanda and the Sudberry Neutrino Observatory. The sun neutrinos change to muon or tau neutrino enroute to earth. 22. Faith in simplicity suggests that nature operates by rules and we can find these rules. At a certain level of approximation, nature reveals to us laws of striking simplicity. 23. Gamma decay is the emission of high frequency electromagnetic ration. Atoms emit light when they jump. 24. Quarks has spin ½, they link in twosomes or threesomes to form a particle. Three quarks form a proton. Every observable particle carries an electric charge 1 or -1, 2 or -2. Quark charges are 1/3 or -1/3, 2/3 or -2/3. 25. A isolated neutron lives 15 minutes and decomposes into three particles. 26. Protons and neutrons are baryons. 27. A heavier baryon can decade into a lighter one. 28. Neutron is stable within an atomic nuclei. Neutrons within a stable nucleus is sufficiently reduced in mass that it cannot decay. 29. Mesons can deteriorate into leptons 30. The earth is positively and negatively in equilbrium. Without the earth's charge equilbrium, we would be crushed to death or expelled into outer space. What is left is the weak force called gravity acting upon us. 31. W - Z particles were discovered in 1983. 32. Three quarks and a gluon make either a proton or neutron. The gluon pulls the three quarks back within force boundaries. The pull of the gluon increases with distance. If for an instance, you succeed in freeing a quark with a great burst of energy, some of the energy will transform itself into other quarks and ant quarks. One of the new quarks will embrace the quark and form a pion. 33. Energy change determines photon frequency 34. E=hf where hf is the change of the material system, f is the frequency of the emitted radiation. 35. If a particular orbital angular momentum is 1, it can point up or down or halfway between 36. A neutron has a mass less than the sum of the 3 quarks. Binding energy is a negative contributor to mass. 37. Bohr reasoned that the electron must make a quantum jump between energy levels until it reached ground zero where it could not radiate anymore. 38. How does an electron in an excited state know which lower energy state it should jump? 39. The fundamental laws of the subatomic world are laws of probability. 40. Tunneling is governed by the law of probability 41. Alpha particle can suddenly appear outside the nucleus force and fly away. 42. A Scanning tunneling microscope has a tip that is brought 10 pow -9 meter from surface. Electrons tunnel from the surface to the tip. The tip measure the weak electric current. The surface has lumpy atoms, the distance from the surface to the tip will vary. As distance increases the tunneling of electrons decreases. A feedback circuit moves the tip near and far from the surface keeping constant tunneling current. The up/down motion of the tip can be translated into a map of hills and valleys.

One of the best by B. Style

5 Stars
September 18, 2008
This book is obviously targeted at the layman -- it's not a textbook. It makes very few assumptions about the reader's background -- but from a practical perspective, a reader with some appreciation for basic physics will get more from the book. What amazes me is just how much territory the author covers, using a very informal and approachable style. It's thoughtful exposition, not just a perfunctory review of the facts. In my opinion this is one of the best "introductory" books on quantum physics.

Deeper within the Onion by Teddy Dover (Peabody, Ks)

4 Stars
September 16, 2008
Of all of the basic introductory, non-textbook physics books that I have been using lately, this is one of the better ones. I rated it a 4 but it is just short of being a five. Dr Ford writes for a brighter group of readers, who are willing to understand and tackle deeper concepts in physics. It is interesting to note that a class of high school physics physics students are thanked for their feedback on reviewing the book. I could easily see this book being used as a supplemental book for a high school class. I like the way he introduces and uses possible decay equations for particles. This and his discussion of some concepts move the reader into a deeper understanding of the physics concepts. One example is the detailed introduction to fermions and bosons. It is like peeling away some of the skin of the onion and moving deeper within the onion that is physics and science in general. I also like the information on some of the scientists that show examples of some of the brightest people and their work over the last 100 plus years. One example, Wolfgang Pauli, of exclusion principle fame, graduating with PhD at age 21 and and earning his fame by age 26. Some of his phrasing is intended to be fun and interesting, especially for younger readers. One example is the fact that he cites of Olivia Newton-John being the grand-daughter of Max Born. Although I am not sure how many youngsters will remember her or her years of fame as a singer back in the 1970s and 80s. I recommend this book as a good read.

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