Bananatree Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 I'm perplexed by quantum physics and I am wondering if there are some books I should read that fall into the category of "Quantum Physics for dummies" or something like that. Light reading that will give me a better understanding, then work my way up to something harder.Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug80 Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 I'm perplexed by quantum physics and I am wondering if there are some books I should read that fall into the category of "Quantum Physics for dummies" or something like that. Light reading that will give me a better understanding, then work my way up to something harder.Any suggestions?←What is your background? Are you familiar with higher level physics? If so, I'd recommend Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths. It covers all basics and for people who aren't afraid of some math it's even kind of easy reading.link to amazonIf you're not into physics yet, you could search the web. There are some websites on this subject like this one and this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physya Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Griffiths is a good text. Also try Richard Feynman's Lectures (I think vol.1)If you want something you can read on the beach, try Enrico Fermi's "Notes on Quantum Mechanics" (but some background (mostly math - matrices and some diff calculus) is still needed).and to understand that QM is not some kind of black magic, read more philosophical (and almost no math) fun stuff, like:"In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics And Reality" by John Gribbin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 You could also watch the movie "What the bleep to we know" gets you thinking.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananatree Posted June 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 My Math and Physics are at the level of a Canadian honor roll high school graduate. So I don't know a ton, since I didn't take Calculus as it was not required.The philosophly with some math interests me more than extravagent equations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physya Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 My Math and Physics are at the level of a Canadian honor roll high school graduate. So I don't know a ton, since I didn't take Calculus as it was not required.The philosophly with some math interests me more than extravagent equations.←So try that book about Schroedinger Cat I mentioned. It requires no math, but you will see if you want to study it deeper.Also, look through "Scientific American" - sometimes they have really accessible, but correct articles.Another thing is that this year is the official year of Physics, because 100 years ago Einstein has published his special relativity theory. So, there is a lot of stuff around. Look at the American Physical Society at www.aps.org or UK - based Institute of Physics (www.iop.org). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 you could even try bill bryson's a short history of nearly everything, a pretty dumbed down but clear run through of most of science & of course there's always steven hawking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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