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    The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
    The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
    The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World

    Written by James Kakalios

    Narrated by Peter Berkrot

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the pulp magazines and comics of the 1950s, it was predicted that the future would be one of gleaming utopias, with flying cars, jetpacks, and robotic personal assistants. Obviously, things didn't turn out that way. But the world we do have is actually more fantastic than the most outlandish predictions of the science fiction of the mid-twentieth century. The World Wide Web, pocket-sized computers, mobile phones, and MRI machines have changed the world in unimagined ways. In The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics, James Kakalios uses examples from comics and magazines to explain how breakthroughs in quantum mechanics led to such technologies.

    The book begins with an overview of speculative science fiction, beginning with Jules Verne and progressing through the space adventure comic books of the 1950s. Using the example of Dr. Manhattan from the graphic novel and film Watchmen, Kakalios explains the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and describes nuclear energy via the hilarious portrayals of radioactivity and its effects in the movies and comic books of the 1950s. Finally, he shows how future breakthroughs will make possible ever more advanced medical diagnostic devices-and perhaps even power stations on the moon that can beam their power to Earth.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 14, 2010
    ISBN9781400186280
    The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World

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    Reviews for The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics

    3.5/5

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    • 3/5
      It's no secret what drew me to this book: the subtitle is A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World. Math-free? That's for me. Sadly, as Kakalios admits in his introduction, it's not really math-free, merely math-simple (as defined by a physicist). Still and all, it's an enjoyable read. Kakalios is a self-admitted nerd and geek, and he draws his examples and illustrations from comic books. He's got a very accessible, conversational style, and he's not above a bad pun or two. Do I understand quantum mechanics now? No. Am I closer to understanding quantum mechanics? Definitely.
    • 2/5
      I had a lot of trouble understanding many concepts in this book, but I'm sure to someone who has more of a desire to understand them, it would not be as challenging.Quantum mechanics is, of course, a very complicated subject, and this book attempts to explain the concepts of it in the most approachable way possible. If it doesn't help you understand (as was the case with me), it will at least show you that you can be content not knowing it.
    • 4/5
      My son, who is very keen on physics, keeps asking me questions about quantum mechanics that I can't answer. Before I get to the stage where I can't even understand the questions, I thought I'd give this backgrounder on quantum mechanics a try.I enjoyed the early chapters, but found the later chapters on the applications of quantum mechanics in technology less interesting - I would have preferred more on the fundamental scientific and philosophical issues raised by quantum mechanics. But that wasn't this book's brief, and it did what it does do very well.