Fascinating story of the development of and controversies of quantum physics. Nicely grounded in the scientific and political context, and it's always fun to hear about scientists bitching at each other (and salacious details of their personal lives; I'm looking at you, Schrödinger.)

Also, great diagrams, and beautiful explanation of the Actual Science. A number of the things I learned during the quantum physics module of my A-level suddenly made much more sense. Only 13 years too late. :D

Extremely dense, though, and could have done with some pruning. It felt a bit like every single detail of every single incident was being included (and quoted), which occasionally made it difficult to follow. Digressions into mostly relevant stories weren't introduced clearly, so I got terribly confused in one section which tripped into the future for Einstein's and then Bohr's death without really explaining the context (that they respected and admired each other, regardless of their scientific differences).

However, definitely worth the read. I'll be scouring the bibliography for interesting directions to go.

PS not enough cats in boxes. LMFTFY.

Re-read. Loved it then and love it now. I guess I read this for the first time when I was about 16 and a veritable Physics Nut. And I'm pretty sure it was partly reading about these crazed scientists that made me want to study physics and chemistry at university. And now it almost makes me want to go through that whole ordeal again, if I could have Bohr as my mentor hehe

Everything about this book is perfect to me. The physics melting into philosophy, the giants of physics made human with their stubborn ideas and rivalries, the history lesson on what it means to be a scientist during two world wars, the presentation of quantum theory which is so concisely done that it almost makes me think I could come up with it myself...

I am in love with this romantic era where it seems like all the big names of physics were alive at the same time and obsessed with the nature of the universe together. Where all they could talk about, even in their breaks, even at 3 in the morning, was the latest scientific discoveries and their interpretations. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall at the first Solvay Conferences and experience the intellectual climate at the turn of the century.

P.S. I'll leave you with something Pauli said when he was asked why he was looking preoccupied walking down the street - "How can one look happy when he is thinking about the anomalous Zeeman effect?"
Ahhh I love it, it makes my heart melt. RIP all these wholesome men (and the women who also could have been there but were all busy being Einstein & co's house slaves) (All except Curie. You rock Curie.)

Quantum follows the history of what quantum physics is and the discovery of different realms of quantum.
I enjoyed learning the history and a little bit about the greatest minds in the world.

good historical recount of the major discoveries leading to the foundations of quantum mechanics from ~1900-1960s. only criticism is the timeline jumps confused me a bit, although they were necessary to recount the life of each scientist. covers the major players, their ideas and the experiments that supported them, the nobel prizes and where each scientist stood the great debates of quantum theory (many of which continue today)

I have never understood so little while learning so much

Some thoughts and observations:

Some of the "fathers" of quantum physics (Planck, Einstein) bore those unofficial titles begrudgingly; Einstein in particular was famously reticent to accept the theory as a complete explanation of our world.

Nearly every astounding breakthrough in science and physics is greeted initially with skepticism and even ridicule. Stay curious and open-minded.

So many well-known physicists come from privilege - through their race, gender and/or economic status. How many potential physicists have we missed out on because of poverty, racism, sexism, regressive politics etc? How do we encourage and support the continued infusion of women and non-white peoples into STEM?

Moral absolutism is a blunt object. Einstein for instance was by turns cruel or absent with his family (Mileva Marić in particular) and unfaithful to both of his wives. This doesn't invalidate his contributions to science but it does remind me to never put any human on a pedestal. We are all weak in one way or another.

Fascism is anti-science and it's a lesson we humans keep learning over and over.

The world of science can be just as clique-y and dogmatic (and susceptible to massive egos) as any other realm. The scientific method may be impartial but humans are not, and a good amount of trouble could be avoided if big wig physicists weren't so busy measuring dicks.

Quantum theory is absolutely baffling.

"QUANTUM & WOODY #1, out this Wednesday from Valiant Entertainment, is full of all the fun and chaos one would expect. With characters like these under the control of Christopher Hastings and Ryan Browne, fans just know that things are going to get crazy.

Quantum & Woody were originally created by Christopher Priest and M.D. Bright. From the moment of their first creation, these two characters have been up for a whirlwind of an adventure. Going from misfits to heroes to deeply misunderstood and all over the place. Now they’re back once again, and they’re hoping to get a better reputation this time around.

Taking up the reigns for this new (and chaotic) series you’ll find Christopher Hastings (writer), Ryan Brown (artist), Ruth Redmond (colorist), and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (letterer). That team alone should probably give you a good idea for what is in store."

Check out my full review over at Monkeys Fighting Robots

Very nice timeline and discusses in detail regarding all the important contributions to the quantum mechanics/ Copenhagen interpretation