Q is for Quantum

I'm a theoretical physicist working at the interface between quantum and thermodynamics, and I'm passionate about the inner workings of great ideas. This is a magnificent work, completely different from any other popularization book in the field. In fact, this one is not at all about making science "pop": it is about making science, full stop. It goes straight to the heart of the problem, giving actual tools to work out the physics by oneself, without indulging into all those metaphors and anecdotes served by most divulgation - and never getting to the point. It's not an easy read, but it does manage to immensely reduce the difficulty of Quantum Mechanics. In fact, despite the very colloquial tone, which makes it a pleasant reading anyway, the book is very rigorous and the logical development sound and consistent. Anyone who is REALLY interested into getting to the core of QM as fast as possible, and not only to fill his mouth of Schroedinger's cats, should definitely roll his sleeves and go for this one.

A very unusual take on quantum mechanics which introduces the subject in a completely novel way. There are many interpretations of quantum physics, and Terry Rudolph has come up with an appealing version. Not to be confused with John Gribbin's encyclopaedia, which has the same title but nothing else in common.

Unlike any book that I have seen on quantum theory for the non-specialist. Highly recommend it. Although it is thin, it will take a long time to read because it will really make you think, but that is the point!

Splendid Book!

A great read for any maths amateurs like me who like to wonder how the quantum world operates.

The best introduction to QM that I think has ever been written. Unlike other books aimed at the lay-reader, Rudolph's approach doesn't shy away from the technical details, although he does employ a pictorial language to insulate the reader from the scarier bits of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics.

This short book really achieves its objective: to give a detailed understanding of quantum computing and entanglement, requiring no math, but only some effort by the reader

どこにも「私はエルヴィン・シュレディンガーの孫です」とは書いてないが、シュレディンガーのお孫さんである。「入門書」というのもあったが、量子論関連のポピュラーサイエンス本は数冊読んで色んな意味で疲労の末に降参していたんで改めて疲労の末に降参する気もなく、あくまで「お、シュレディンガーの孫が今はアイルランド人になって量子物理学者になっていたのね」という感慨からの衝動買いである。じゃあマックス・ボルンの孫はオリビア・ニュートン・ジョンだが（顔まで似ている）彼女のアルバムを衝動買いすんのか聞かれたら困るが、『グリース』は昔々にテレビで観た。ちなみにバートランド・ラッセルの甥だか甥の息子さんだかも量子物理学者だったような。つまり、本書を読んで頭グルグルだったのは私の責任ではない。先祖伝来の知能凡庸が遺伝しただけ。中身だが、これは量子論ワケワカメの人向けやない思います。「量子論入門」いうのは嘘だす。むしろ量子論を理解している人間が面白がって読むもんや思う。というのは、量子論に登場する用語が意図的にほとんど使用されていないのだ。そうなるとむしろシロートは大混乱で、のっけから何の話をしているのか分からない。「黒玉と白玉」を例に出して何を言ってるのか…白玉が黒玉になり黒玉が白玉になる「Misty State」？「量子状態」を想像させようとしている？「重ね合わせの原理」の説明？えーと、それでこれは「行列力学」とかいうもんの解説？ここは「EPRパラドックス」？…とかとか頭がグルグルグルグル。こっから得たのは「用語って大切」という認識論レベルの発見。このように用語を消されるとむしろ用語の親切さを実感する。常用語の持つ慣習性のパワーを侮ってはいけないのだ。言葉を知ってること自体は知識ではないが、言葉は道標として不可欠。日頃、含蓄も理解せんで流行り言葉をベラベラ使うなと小言を言うオバハンだが、言葉を知るってのはベイビーステップなのだな、とシュレディンガーのお孫さんの意図とはかなり外れた部分である種の知見を獲得したものである。そいで六割以降で「物理学とは」みたいな話になりマクロとミクロの物理学が語られる。この部分はお勉強になった。しかし待て、この部分が冒頭に来るべきでは？シロート的にはだが。という訳で、「量子論を割と知ってる」くらいの方はどーぞ。頭がフツー程度のシロートさんは無理どす。最後、悔し紛れの捨て台詞だが、自分は決定論者なんだなぁと再度自覚致しました。

This is an excellent book written by a top-flight physicist with a flair for making evocative and playful descriptions. It begins at a level suitable for nine-year olds (the author’s son, he says) and progresses to a level suitable for professional scientists and philosophers. Rudolf explains the essence of quantum theory and its “weirdness” without using any standard physics jargon by inventing his own self-contained “laboratory” consisting of devices (which he calls boxes) that take in colored balls and put out changed-color balls. He uses these as an analogy for physical processes that occur both in nature and in quantum “machines,” which physicists are now trying to use to create a new generation of computers.This book is one of the very best among the dozens that attempt to explain quantum theory to lay persons. It is very different from Brian Greene’s writings on the subject, but to me just as engaging. It takes a far narrower path through the subject than Green does, having the goal of actually having the reader understand something, not just read about it. Rudolf’s book presents a diagrammatic way for a dogged reader to construct theoretical understanding. A less dogged reader can skip over the brain-challenging theory bits and still get an excellent feel for how the theory is supposed to work. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to ponder the counterintuitive world of quantum physics and how quantum laws are changing possibilities in technology.

There are so many popular books trying to tell you what quantum mechanics is. If you are not a physicist (and sometimes even if you are), you end up with a vague grasp of weird things, you know how to pronounce many buzz words, you start believing physicists must be very smart and that you can never be one, and that's where it usually ends. Terry Rudolph wrote a very different book. In a very entertaining way , he actually solves quantum mechanical problems accurately, almost as physicists do when they write fancy scientific papers, but he does that in a way anyone with a bit of curiosity and who can add and subtract simple integers can easily follow! sounds impossible? go ahead and check for yourself, maybe those physicists are not so smart as they pretend to be!Not only you will clearly understand why physicists scratch their heads violently trying to figure out the quantum world for so many year now, you will also learn something very recent on a very hot research topic: you will learn how even without understanding why quantum nature is doing what she does, physicists believe we can use it to build computers that we hope soon can do things we just can't imagine doing with even our best supercomputers.Now honestly, I am a professional physicist, quantum mechanics is what I do for living (or at least I pretend to), yet not only I laughed a lot reading in this book on things I kinda know, I also found out I learnt a surprisingly large number things I didn't know, or perhaps I should say I learnt things I thought I knew...So, if you are a boy of 15, as Terry Rudolph tells us he was when he started wandering about all this Q-stuff, or a professional Q-guy, I strongly recommend you give it a shot. If you end up still not knowing what quantum mechanics is, well...at least you'd smile a lot along the way!

I've spent more than thirty years thinking and writing about what's puzzling in quantum mechanics and Terry Rudolph's book has been a pleasure to read. Nobody could resist the magic of his PETE box and using quantum computing as an intro to the mysteries of QM which is accessible to a bright teenager is a great idea. What's questionable is what could be read as a summary dismissal of the Everett interpretation at the bottom of page 112; to be treated with caution.

The first two parts of the book are fun. They explain entanglement and the role of the observer via Pete boxes and Bella mists. Drawing out the examples helped me "get it" as I'm someone who learns by doing. Then we got to part III, and rocky states, and basically it felt like that's what state my brain was in. I think the first 2 sections are suitable for anyone who wants to understand how the observer interacts with entangled particles, but (imho) for part 3, you need to have at least some exposure to advanced concepts in QM already. I'd still recommend giving this book a try. It is engagingly written. Plus, where else will you find an imaginary conversation between Pooh Bear and Einstein about lunchboxes with sweet and healthy options?

This book would be worth buying even if it only contained the brilliant description of the PETE box, which provided me with one of the most memorable Aha! moments ever. And every other chapter is just as good and in a different style. Outstanding. Should be taught to children so thy don't have to wait as long as I did.

As the introductory notes and tone of the text indicate, Dr. Rudolph has both great interest and respect for his readers (students). His interest is evident through his well thought out methods to make a difficult topic accessible to the layperson. His respect for his readers is evident in confronting his readers head on with some of the most challenging complexities of the topic. That is, Dr. Rudolph does not make the topic accessible by either avoiding details, or over-reliance on analogies, but rather by presenting the materials directly, in the clearest ways - a rare achievement.For anyone seriously interested in Quantum Physics, this book has the potential to become a classic text.

Q for quantum is a page turner! The style is fun (the author has a thing for monkeys), but most importantly complicated concepts are distilled to their essence, and clearly explained with thought experiments that make them easily understandable without having to dive into equations. Even doing so it remains rigorous (no handwaving explanations or invocations of superior concepts). For me this was by far the clearest explanation I ever got of some of puzzling aspects of quantum physics, and reading it was extremely enjoyable. I very highly recommend it.

If you like to see proofs as visuals that make sense, this is the book for you! Some of the computational equations in quantum computing are very difficult to envision, with endless equations of Hamiltonians and Dirac notation.But Q is for Quantum's images with the misty state, PETE boxes, and balls made everything crystal clear. There were excellent examples right down to a very complicated psychic game.

This just might be the most rigorous demonstration of quantum phenomena for a lay audience that I've ever come across. Having read far too many popular physics books which either massage, ignore or flat out misstate important concepts for the sake of rhetorical convenience, Rudolph's book comes as a welcome change. It requires close reading in parts, but precisely because he never -- ever -- cheats.

This book is a strong step in spreading a deeper understanding of quantum physics.The language is coherent and whilst not simplistic, it is simplified without condescension but with encouragement.

Brilliant man! I expect very great things of him!

Great book, with a clean language that really explains very complex theories

Too high level.