Quantum Physics

[xorot]

As many of you are likely interested in information, information processing, system etc.

There is a nice book by Nielsen & Chuang, called "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information". I once found an old, free ebook version of it. Might be interesting for one or the other.

It explains plenty of the "basic" experiments - like quantum teleportation, entanglement swapping, error correction in quantum systems. It especially explains part of the 'quantum prime factorizing algorithm', which was already implemented in some systems.

It is something like the 'bible' in the field of quantum information processing.

[Luschious]

Here are two bits of info for you to chew on.

1. It has been proved that your thoughts affect the quantum field....with the hacker mentality, if you can affect it, you can manipulate it to do your bidding. your computer's processor is a quantum device........now if I concentrate really really hard...nah, not yet, lol. but it does make me think, that if my mood can affect my pc, to such an extent, that when I'm really in a bind, trying to solve a programming problem, that eventually the problem will get solved if I think positive...

2. Quantum computing is a new field of study, that is truly awe inspiring. in the quantum field, a particle can be in two different places at the same time (very weird but true). Now imagine quantum computing, a bit can be both a 0 and a 1 at the same time. This re-awakens the old 90's theory of "fuzzy logic" which at the time was eventually decided to be impossible, maybe not!?!?!

[orwell84]

I like studying Quantum Physics, but with my current mathematical knowledge, I can't really go anywhere with it. I know all the experiments, and I know the facts, but none of the books give you the math in a way that I can understand. So if I knew the math, I would be way into it, much more than I am now, which is why I'm studying classical mechanics first. Anyway, I really hate how it's become, instead of a science, a superstition. People think that if they put "Quantum" in front of anything, then it makes people think it's credible. Sadly, they're generally right, and people by these pseudoscience books like "The Secret" and think that's what Quantum Physics is about...it's rather depressing.

[xorot]

The pure theory might be a bit demanding, but that is not really what you will need to understanding the basic experiments that are currently being carried out. For instance look at quantum teleportation: It can be written down in a few lines. It's only reshuffling a few letters and knowing the very basics about how to 'measure' something in quantum mechanics.

Books, yes ... That's a bit hard. Few try to convey pictures (simply because they tend to be wrong/not precise enough - like Rabi flops and the Bloch sphere). But those pictures are good enough (and very important from my point of view) to understanding the basics.

I would recommend you to look at phd thesis' of experimentalists. They tend to explain how they performed a certain experiment, and that without too much maths .

[TechHacker1]

While I DO understand a significant part of the math involved in quantum physics and quantum chemistry, I didn't always. One of the "layman's" books that helped me with some of the basic concepts (and if I recall, there was NO math), was In search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin. Now I actually have quantum physics books and Physical Chemistry, but back then, it was what got me started...

[novalyphe]

Just to give a physics students view on the topic of the level of math required. It really depends why you are interested in the field. It requires very little knowledge of maths to get your head around many of the concepts, but proving why they are true takes a pretty decent level of calculus i.e. line integrals, partial differentials etc. Also, the level of math required increases significantly as you apply the equations to more dimensions. I would personally consider Schrodinger's equation in 3D to be well above A-Level standard of maths (if you're in the UK) and that's why we're only just doing quantum mechanics 1 in the second semester of our second year of a physics degree.

[Jake-X]

i first discovered it and immediately found it interesting in a movie called "what the BLEEP do we know, down the rabbit hole." it was pretty crazy discussed several different, experiments/applications/theories throughout the movie.

That thing has been sitting on a shelf in my living room for who knows how long. I really should getting around to watching it...

[manicmax]

I'm a current Physics degree student and The Elegant Universe is a great book but can become quite heavy reading!

Google The Elegant Universe video or TV Show as that captured my imagination everytime and uses a good mix of effects and animations to explain concepts for the visual learners

[Vulpine]

i first discovered it and immediately found it interesting in a movie called "what the BLEEP do we know, down the rabbit hole." it was pretty crazy discussed several different, experiments/applications/theories throughout the movie.

That thing has been sitting on a shelf in my living room for who knows how long. I really should getting around to watching it...

Throw it away or otherwise avoid it all together. That movie is perhaps the worst, and heavily sodomized, interpretation of quantum physics out there. It will literally make you dumber just for having watched it. Most of the physicists interviewed were completely misquoted and the infantile generalizations drawn by the producers belies a punch-bowl style of reasoning that reminds me of a dosed up hippie who thinks he's suddenly discovered the secret to a giant double rainbow.