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Full Description
When the fuzzy indeterminacy of quantum mechanics overthrew the orderly world of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Erwin Schroedinger were at the forefront of the revolution. Neither man was ever satisfied with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, and both rebelled against what they considered the most preposterous aspect of quantum mechanics: its randomness. Einstein famously quipped that God does not play dice with the universe, and Schroedinger constructed his famous fable of a cat that was neither alive nor dead not to explain quantum mechanics but to highlight the apparent absurdity of a theory gone wrong. But these two giants did more than just criticize: they fought back, seeking a Theory of Everything that would make the universe seem sensible again.In Einstein's Dice and Schroedinger's Cat , physicist Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schroedinger searched, first as collabourators and then as competitors, for a theory that transcended quantum weirdness. This story of their quest,which ultimately failed,provides readers with new insights into the history of physics and the lives and work of two scientists whose obsessions drove its progress.Today, much of modern physics remains focused on the search for a Theory of Everything. As Halpern explains, the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson makes the Standard Model,the closest thing we have to a unified theory, nearly complete. And while Einstein and Schroedinger failed in their attempt to explain everything in the cosmos through pure geometry, the development of string theory has, in its own quantum way, brought this idea back into vogue. As in so many things, even when they were wrong, Einstein and Schroedinger couldn't help but get a great deal right.
Contents
IntroductionUniverse Chapter Two. The Crucible of Gravity Chapter Three. Matter Waves and Quantum Jumps Chapter Four. The Quest for Unification Chapter Five. Spooky Connections and Zombie Cats Chapter Six. Luck of the Irish Chapter Seven. Physics by Public Relations Chapter Eight. The Last Waltz: Einstein's and Schrodinger's Final Years Conclusion: Beyond Einstein and Schrodinger: The Ongoing Search for Unity
