eShop USA > Books > Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science
Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science
List Price: $26.00Our Price: $17.16 You Save: $8.84 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.12
EAN: 9780385515061
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0385515065
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: February 20, 2007
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: February 20, 2007
Studio: Doubleday
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.
—Werner HeisenbergThat God would choose to play dice with the world is something I cannot believe.
—Albert Einstein
Nothing exists until it is measured.
—Neils Bohr
The remarkable story of a startling scientific idea that ignited a battle among the greatest minds of the twentieth century and profoundly influenced intellectual inquiry in fields ranging from physics to literary criticism, anthropology and journalismIn 1927, the young German physicist Werner Heisenberg challenged centuries of scientific understanding when he introduced what came to be known as “the uncertainty principle.” Building on his own radical innovations in quantum theory, Heisenberg proved that in many physical measurements, you can obtain one bit of information only at the price of losing another. Heisenberg’s principle implied that scientific quantities/concepts do not have absolute, independent meaning, but acquire meaning only in terms of the experiments used to measure them. This proposition, undermining the cherished belief that science could reveal the physical world with limitless detail and precision, placed Heisenberg in direct opposition to the revered Albert Einstein. The eminent scientist Niels Bohr, Heisenberg’s mentor and Einstein’s long-time friend, found himself caught between the two.
Uncertainty chronicles the birth and evolution of one of the most significant findings in the history of science, and portrays the clash of ideas and personalities it provoked. Einstein was emotionally as well as intellectually determined to prove the uncertainty principle false. Heisenberg represented a new generation of physicists who believed that quantum theory overthrew the old certainties; confident of his reasoning, Heisenberg dismissed Einstein’s objections. Bohr understood that Heisenberg was correct, but he also recognized the vital necessity of gaining Einstein’s support as the world faced the shocking implications of Heisenberg’s principle.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Disturbing Uncertainties
An excellent review of the panoply of human life: its genius; its foibles. Anyone who imagines scientists are some sort of sacred band, far, far above us, the humble 'serfs' of the planet will see in this book that even the most celebrated, most intelligent scientist has feet of clay. (Or at least a toe or two are of clay.)
At another level, the author brings us into the disturbing world of sub-atomic phenomena while exploring the mysteries of the broad universe. Having an extensive ... Read More
Rating:  - terrific read, short on physics
More entertaining than scientific, maybe that's the way it must be to garner a wide readership, but I would have liked more physics. Still, I have to admit this is the first book I remember reading twice in a row, with a short side trip to my modern physics textbook (confession: I have a degree in engineering and applied physics)inbetween. The author pretty much ignores Max Planck's contributions, mentioning them in context again & again without ever telling us what he did to begin with. But, ... Read More
Rating: - amuse and interesting
Lindlye introduce us in the very central point of Physics, the large and controversial discovering of the duality of matter. Amusement and interesting, he made simple the very difficult questions of understanding.
Rating: - God Not Only Plays Dice, She Cheats!
Richard Feynman once remarked, perhaps apocryphally, that if anyone told you they `understood' quantum theory, that the one thing you could depend on is that they had missed something. That is why I find it interesting that many of the `so-so' or negative reviews of this book focus on the issue that it does not impart an `understanding' of quantum theory or mechanics. The entire point of the book is the debate between `determinism,' the idea that everything is knowable (understandable), and `uncertainty,' ... Read More
Rating: - More Certain about Uncertainty
Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science
Having only a sophomore physics formal education, I find myself hopelessly overwhelmed by most books on theoretical physics. Lindley's
"Uncertainty" is by contrast highly readable (I am only occasionally overwhelmed.) The author seems to make the participants come to life and places there complex theories in the context of a larger philosophy.
Related Categories:
| |
 |
![Broderbund Print Shop 21 Pro Publisher Deluxe [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61JZXJNNEEL._SL75_.jpg
)
![Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 9 [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5173DEPRH7L._SL75_.jpg
)
