Quantum Physics (How the World Works)

by Sten Odenwald

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Quantum Physics by Dr. Sten Odenwald is a layman accessible overview over some concepts in physics and how they relate to the "real world" and advances in science and technology. Released 1st Feb 2022 by Arcturus, it's 279 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function. The interactive format in this case rendered the read much more accessible and comprehensible for me. Special concepts and references are hyperlinked in the text making it simple to click back and forth without losing one's place.

This is a good general concepts survey of quantum physics related by an experienced science-educator. In the physics books (and to a lesser degree mathematics) which I've read and reviewed, there seems to be a deep divide between books which are highly technical and written for academic studies in the field and those written for laypeople and which struggle (and often fail) to explain complex material to readers who don't have essential context. This book seems to be something of a unicorn. It manages to explain some difficult concepts and theory without presupposing extensive background knowledge on the part of the reader.

The author has done a good job of presenting information in small understandable portions; special points are presented in highlighted text boxes along with salient (and comprehensible) diagrams and illustrations. This book is a part of the Arcturus Fundamentals series which purport to be layman accessible introductions to non-fiction subjects such as mathematics, physics, neuroscience, and the like.

This is *not* to imply that it's a particularly easy read. There are complex and baffling concepts contained here, and readers who don't have a background in mathematics and physics must expect to expend some effort. The effort is well rewarded however and the author managed to do what my university physics professors couldn't: namely explain Heisenberg's uncertainty principle clearly and simply and how it relates to electron states in a manner which I could understand.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.