Bananaworld: Quantum Mechanics for Primates
Feb 2016 · Oxford University Press
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368
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About this ebook
What on earth do bananas have to do with quantum mechanics? From a modern perspective, quantum mechanics is about strangely counterintuitive correlations between separated systems, which can be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced computing power. Schrodinger coined the term "entanglement" to describe these bizarre correlations. Bananaworld — an imaginary island with "entangled" bananas — brings to life the fascinating discoveries of the new field of quantum information without the mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. The connection with quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but entertaining book that is accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is about the structure of information. What we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are very different than we thought.
About the author
Jeffrey Bub received his PhD in mathematical physics from the University of London, UK, in 1966, where he studied physics with David Bohm at Birkbeck College and took part in Karl Popper's seminar in philosophy of science at the London School of Economics, UK. His first book, The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Reidel, 1974), was influential in developing the concept of quantum logic. His second book, 'Interpreting the "Quantum World"' (CUP, 1997; revised paperback edition, 1999), won the prestigious Lakatos Award in 1998. He is currently a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA.
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