Quantum Mechanics In Your Face For Anybody
Wrote a lecture on Quantum Mechanics for a non-mathematical audience [pdf]. There are no equations and little maths beyond percentages. The key conceptual differences between Quantum and Classical Physics are there, though, and these topics require attention and serious thought.
The title alludes to two wonderful expositions of quantum mechanics by the masters:
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Bringing Home the Atomic World: Quantum Mysteries for Anybody
N. D. Mermin
Am. J. Phys. 49, 940–943 (1981)
DOI: 10.1119/1.12594 -
Sidney Coleman’s Dirac Lecture “Quantum Mechanics in Your Face”
Sidney Coleman
e-Print: arXiv:2011.12671 [physics.hist-ph]
YouTube: Sidney Coleman, Quantum Mechanics in Your Face (1994)
Mermin and Coleman are both physicists' physicists: they aren't widely known to the public, but they contributed tremendous insight and clarity. Feynman described Mermin's paper as "one of the most beautiful papers in physics."
If everything goes to plan, I'll deliver the lecture at least three times this autumn to a general audience, and perhaps use the material when I deliver the PHY301 Quantum Mechanics module, as well, which, if you're interested, follows Griffiths.
Comments, discussion and feedback are welcome, but in the original, small net way. Shoot me an e-mail. I'll be happy to hear from you, dear reader.
Tags: quantum-mechanics, physics