Schrodinger's Rabbits
Colin Bruce
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Buy *Schrodinger's Rabbits: Entering The Many Worlds Of Quantum* online

Schrodinger's Rabbits: Entering The Many Worlds Of Quantum
Colin Bruce
Joseph Henry Press
Hardcover
272 pages
October 2004
rated 4 of 5 possible stars

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Imagine many worlds exist, all at the same time, and in each world you have a different life, destiny, personality, purpose, job, appearance, relationships… It boggles the mind. But according to Colin Bruce, not only is this theory of many worlds possible, it is entirely plausible in the mysterious realm of quantum physics, where the bizarre meets the impossible on a daily basis and creates a potential truth that is far more complex, creative and downright fantastical than anything dreamt up by sci-fi writers and filmmakers.

Schrodinger’s Rabbits takes the many modern theories of quantum and explores the most cutting edge research and concepts, some of which are causing physicists to rethink their former views of the universe and how it works. What Einstein, Schrodinger, Newton, Born, Bohm and other past minds of distinction once thought possible, new researchers are proving to be wrong, inaccurate, or, at the very least, far short of the realities now facing modern physics. This awe-inspiring book not only examines the discoveries, theories and concepts of “old,” but how new information and research has drastically altered those oft out-dated theories and replaced them with theories that even Einstein himself would be proud of.

The focus of this book is on the many-worlds theory, and most of the research (which, by the way, veers between quite easily understandable to the average layperson to somewhat complex and worthy of a second read-through) presents the reader with the most current struggle in the world of quantum – proving, if possible, the existence of many worlds. The theory itself was discovered in the US, but according to Bruce, it “developed to maturity” in England, namely at Oxford. Bruce often uses games, experiments and tricks to explain the dynamics of the theories, which make the book somewhat more of a brainteaser than other “physics” books, and offer the reader a tangible way to “visualize” the concepts. The idea that many worlds exist alongside our own and that we are alive and present in each sounds like fiction but, on the quantum level, can occur. The goal of modern quantum physics? PROVE IT!

Bruce also covers tried-and-true topics of locality, gravitation, even basics of quantum theory for the beginner who wants to first grasp the research that came before this ground-breaking stuff of dreams. The author, himself a mathematical physicist and writer of many books that describe physics and math in the guise of detective stories, does a great job of blending science fact with speculation and never loses the reader in a mindless bog of equations and arguments. Instead, we are left with a feeling that we actually understand the concepts of locality, of parallel universes, of quantum theory, even if we don’t know the intricate weave of math and science behind them.

We also get the first-hand perspective from the cutting “edge of the edge” from the scientists actively involved in many-worlds research: Anton Zeilinger, Roger Penrose, David Deutsch. Ultimately, the book ends with both an examination of the positive and negative aspects of many-worlds (the negative sounds like the stuff of horror movies), and with a summary of the current work being done to prove, or improve upon, the many-worlds theory. The reader is left with a breathtaking sense of what the future holds for scientific discovery, especially in the eerie quantum world where each year, it seems, we come closer and closer to some downright incredible and tantalizing truths about the world we live in, and our place in it.



© 2005 by Marie D. Jones for curledup.com.

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