Quantum

For ordinary people, quantum theory is synonymous with something incomprehensible and mysterious. However, few people know that for decades it has also stunned scientists. It is not for nothing that Niels Bohr, one of the founders of this theory, said: if quantum mechanics does not shock you, then you do not understand it.

“Quantum” is a book primarily historical, something like a collective biography of the most outstanding physicists of the first half of the 20th century. Those were amazing times: it all began with attempts to create a more efficient light bulb, and ended with the collapse of classical science. Kumar describes how, at first glance, insignificant anomalies led to the emergence of new physics and how the greatest minds in the world tried to cope with the fact that quantum theory seemed to deny the existence of reality. Two of those great minds—Einstein and Bohr—completely disagreed over their interpretation of the quantum revolution, and their disagreements led to a profound philosophical debate about what our world is like at its most fundamental level. Without equations or confusing explanations, Kumar uncovers the essence of this heated debate. His work is deservedly considered one of the best historical books on the development of science.