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The Bizarre and Awesome World of Quantum Mechanics

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Abstract

The story of quantum mechanics is a fable of wonder and bewilderment. It has elements of science, philosophy, religion, and dare I say magic. It’ll turn your mind upside down, and sometimes it’ll make you question the existence of an all-powerful creator out there. Even though I find its concepts difficult to grasp, I’ve always been fascinated by it. Some of the concepts presented in this chapter are hard to understand; however don’t be troubled. Nobody has been able to fully describe what this all means, not even the titans of physics fully understand quantum mechanics. However that doesn’t mean we can’t be fascinated by it. The great physicist Richard Feynman once said: If somebody tells you he understands quantum mechanics, it means he doesn’t understand quantum mechanics. This chapter is my take on this fascinating fable and how the struggle of two titans of science shaped its past, present, and future.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    John Bell, Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics, Cambridge University Press, 1987, p. 65.

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© 2018 Vladimir Silva

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Silva, V. (2018). The Bizarre and Awesome World of Quantum Mechanics. In: Practical Quantum Computing for Developers. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4218-6_1

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