An exploration of the seemingly telepathic communication between two separated particles--one of the fundamental concepts of quantum physics. In 1935, Einstein showed that quantum mechanics predicted such a correlation, which he dubbed "spooky action at a distance." That same year, Erwin Schrödinger christened this correlation "entanglement." Yet its existence wasn't firmly established until 1964, in a groundbreaking paper by Irish physicist John Bell. What happened during those years and since to refine the understanding of this phenomenon is the story told here. Drawing on papers, letters, and memoirs, author Gilder humanizes and dramatizes the story by employing their own words in imagined face-to-face dialogues. We see Bohr and Einstein clashing, and Heisenberg and Pauli deciding which mysteries to pursue. We see Schrödinger and Louis de Broglie pave the way for Bell, whose work is here given a long-overdue revisiting. And we see Richard Feynman challenging his contemporaries to make something of this entanglement.--From publisher description. Read more...
Abstract: An exploration of the seemingly telepathic communication between two separated particles--one of the fundamental concepts of quantum physics. In 1935, Einstein showed that quantum mechanics predicted such a correlation, which he dubbed "spooky action at a distance." That same year, Erwin Schrödinger christened this correlation "entanglement." Yet its existence wasn't firmly established until 1964, in a groundbreaking paper by Irish physicist John Bell. What happened during those years and since to refine the understanding of this phenomenon is the story told here. Drawing on papers, letters, and memoirs, author Gilder humanizes and dramatizes the story by employing their own words in imagined face-to-face dialogues. We see Bohr and Einstein clashing, and Heisenberg and Pauli deciding which mysteries to pursue. We see Schrödinger and Louis de Broglie pave the way for Bell, whose work is here given a long-overdue revisiting. And we see Richard Feynman challenging his contemporaries to make something of this entanglement.--From publisher description
