Shaky Game: Einstein Realism and the Quantam Theory

by Arthur Fine

Book Overview

1988 paper reprint.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226249476
• ISBN13: 9780226249476
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent discussion of myths and realities of QM.

Put simply, Professor Fine knows what he's talking about. Written at a level which is understandable to the lay reader with a minimum of scientific background, but with attention to detail that excludes any trite simplification, the Shaky Game details Einstein's work on and objections to the quantum theory as it was hammered together (mostly by the likes of Heisenberg et al in Copenhagen) during the 1920s.Many misconceptions exist: such that Einstein was simply too old (in his 40s) at the time that these brilliant new thinkers (in their late 20s and 30s) were bringing together QM. Never mind that Einstein actually laid the groundwork for the theory in the 1910s and earlier, as well as working well into his golden years, Fine presents many other objections, mostly from Einstein's unpublished correspondance with other notable figures of the day.Fine also presents his and several other alternate interpretations designed to circumvent the various snags that QM invariably encounters, all with some degree of success. All in all, its a good read, and solid physics too, which is an important and all too often forgotten aspect of physics philosophy.