Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

name         David W.
status       other
age          30s

Question -   Not knowing anything of Quantum Theory and not having
the mathematics to back it up I suddenly, one day, decided I was missing out
on something great and started reading about Quantum Physics. I now find
myself with an Insatiable curiosity about how things work. I have just
finished "entanglement" "Schrodingers Machines" "The God Particle" and
of Course A few of Stephen Hawkings papers. To say that much of it was over
my head is a drastic overstatement. But I can't help but feel the need
to make sense of it and I absolutely love it. I have even started making
T-shirts With Quantum Equations on them.(These usually catch the
attention of Physics students and spark Q&A sessions). My question is  -
other than the books mentioned above, can you recommend any layman books
presenting the latest theories of Quantum Physics? I am an artist and
musician and find myself working too much to take classes right now, but
hopefully I will be available this fall to start some classes at UW here
in Seattle
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Quantum physics devoid of math is a tall order because by its nature it is
a mathematical theory. It is a bit like a question I was asked recently,
"How can I teach physics without trigonometry?" The answer is, "Not very
thoroughly." I have two general suggestions:
1. Do a search on "quantum physics without math". One "hit" is:
http://home.ican.net/~arandall/quantumbooks.html
which may be useful.
2. Other books you may wish to look at are:
"Schroedinger's Kittens" by John Gribbin
"Taking the Quantum Leap" by Fred Alan Wolf
"The Odd Quantum" by Sam Treiman
    You may also wish to reverse your learning strategy using a technique
that I have found useful when trying to understand subjects that are going to
go beyond my math knowledge. Read the book:
a. Leaving out the equations and just reading the qualitative explanations (This is 
especially effective in "Lectures on Physics" by Richard Feynman.)
b. Read the book until it becomes incomprehensible and you cannot even understand the 
symbols and jargon, much less the math with which they are manipulated. Then put it back 
on the shelf and go to the next book. I do this all the time in many areas that are not 
even mathematical.

Vince Calder
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I think you might enjoy the book "QED - The Strange Theory of Light and
Matter", by Richard Feinman (ISBN 0-691-02417-0).
--
Tim Mooney
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