Beyond weird Why everything you thought you knew about quantum physics is different

Ball, a science writer, offers an excellent update to the history of the many interpretations of quantum mechanics for the non-physicist. Engaging but rigorous, this volume is best suited for the educated reader with an interest in the fundamentals. After a chronological review of the concepts and well-known controversies during quantum mechanics' development, later chapters discuss new approaches introduced in the past three decades. The original debates surrounding measurement and the "wave function collapse" inherent in most interpretations have shifted toward consideration of the decoherence of the wave function diffusing into the surrounding space of objects. New interpretations of the famous Schrödinger cat Gedanken experiment and the two-slit interference effect are two examples discussed, as well as the many EPR experiments that lead to non-locality. Another major conceptual change is reconstruction, with its goal being to find a simple underlying expression to explain quantum mechanics, akin to how Newton's law of universal gravitation explains planetary orbits. There is the hope that eventually quantum information theory will explain all of physics. Researchers will appreciate the detailed notes, the extensive bibliography, and an adequate index. A few diagrams and several photos add to the understanding of some concepts. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Franklin Potter, formerly, University of California, Irvine