Book cover of Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality

Book description

'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason ... Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Quantum as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Given the radically distinct and often incongruent views of what quantum physics means, it is wise to glean a balanced sense of many views by studying the topic's history. Kumar's telling of the great, decades-long debate between two of the field's leading practitioners is authoritative and excitingly told. The book centers on the founding of quantum physics during the 1920s, the famous 1927 Solvay Conference on photons and electrons, and the thoughtful debate between Bohr and Einstein concerning the nature of reality. The author is a physicist, philosopher, and science writer.

The two towering figures of 20th-century physics were the German physicist Albert Einstein and the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Both revolutionized our view of ultimate reality, with Einstein changing our picture of space, time and gravity, and Bohr changing our view of the submicroscopic world of atoms and their constituents. It is on this latter subject – “quantum theory” – that the two great friends clashed most fiercely. And it is the twists and turns of their titanic debate that Manjit Kumar recounts in such engaging detail in this page-turning account.

The Einstein-Bohr debate could not have been more important:…

From Marcus' list on physics and physicists.

If you love Quantum...

Ad

Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Want books like Quantum?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Quantum.

Browse books like Quantum

Book cover of QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
Book cover of The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
Book cover of The Little Book of Cosmology

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Quantum, you might also like...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

5 book lists we think you will like!