Review by New York Times Review
The nuclear physics of breakfast may not sound particularly appetizing, but Orzel is W3?s determined to put it on the menu. A physics ??????? professor at Union College, he is (rightly) concerned that quantum physics usually conjures up images of the bizarre and exotic, when its effects are in fact with us every day. "Even the most ordinary of activities, those that make up our morning routine, are fundamentally quantum," he reminds us. Indeed, the phenomena that drove the development of the theory are surprisingly prosaic: The quantum revolution was kicked off by Max Planck in 1900, when he successfully discovered a law governing the different colors of light emitted by hot glowing things, like an electric stovetop or campfire embers. Using his morning routine as an example, Orzel sets out to show the reader how quantum physics is a part of our everyday lives, and he largely succeeds in this informative and friendly book. He gives clear, detailed explanations of a wide variety of quotidian physical phenomena and how we came to understand them. Indeed, the book is largely dedicated to revealing that the quantum is ordinary, that there is magic in the mundane. Orzel makes this all highly engaging, though he occasionally slips a bit too far into the language of a college lecturer. The book also dives deep in places, requiring more work from the reader than some popular-science books - but that effort will be rewarded with a richer understanding of the physics hidden in our everyday lives than many books on the subject provide. This is a serious introduction to quantum physics and the history of its initial development, disguised under hot tea and toast. The conceit of following Orzel around for his morning routine offers the barest of frames, but he uses it to great effect, "showing the deep strangeness that exists in the foundations of our ordinary, everyday reality."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 14, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
In this tribute to quantum physics, physicist and science blogger Orzel (How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog , 2012) attempts to dispel the typical trepidation surrounding the field by relating aspects of it to readily recognizable, daily morning activities. Your alarm clock? Thank Neils Bohr and his 1913 proposal about the oscillation of light produced by electrons as they jump between atomic quantum states. Your tea kettle? Just apply the Plank formula as you look for the red glow that tells you you've turned on the right stove burner. Each chapter considers a different venture and addresses related aspects of quantum physics, providing technical background, the history and individuals associated with initial studies and developing theories, and how the principles actually work, whether in the home or in larger contexts, such as neutron stars and white dwarfs. It's interesting to note how often Einstein's name comes up, despite his disdain for quantum theory. Non-techies may find some of the going a little tough, but fans of quantum physics will be informed and entertained.--Kathleen McBroom Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Orzel (How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog) offers another helpful guide to modern physics, using an especially creative hook. After describing in the introduction a typical morning routine-waking up, making breakfast, checking his computer-Orzel breaks those actions down in order to "show how an ordinary weekday routine depends on some of the weirdest phenomena ever discovered." For example, his alarm clock allows him to discuss, cogently, how the "modern accounting of time" that the device embodies is "deeply rooted in the quantum physics of atoms." He concisely summarizes the history of timekeeping, which evolved beyond reliance on physical objects, such as pendulums, susceptible to even small variations, to measuring time by counting light wave oscillations caused by moving electrons. Orzel provides similar explanation for such phenomena as the different colors of light emitted by objects heated to different temperatures, using as an entry point the glowing coils of the burner on his stove top. The science is not intuitive, and readers will need to pay close attention to follow Orzel's points, but that required effort is unavoidable with such a complex subject. This erudite book will be best read in multiple sittings by curious readers keen on absorbing all the weird science on display all around them. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Orzel (physics & astronomy, Union Coll.; Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist) explains how quantum physics enables many aspects of our everyday lives. His unique approach to the subject highlights an imagined morning breakfast routine and demonstrates how subatomic particles explain the rising sun, an alarm clock, a smoke detector, the heating of water for morning tea and the release of steam, magnets on a refrigerator door, a toaster oven, aromas in a kitchen, and why a computer works as it does. Orzel manages to explain the underlying subatomic particle rationale for these everyday experiences, including the reason for the illusion of solid objects and why hard objects do not collapse into themselves, and paints a rich understanding of this fascinating field of science. Jonathan Todd Ross's impressive reading maintains listener attention to this intriguing new way of connecting the paradoxical world of subatomic particles with everyday laypersons. The author's amazing introductory explanation of how the sun works is alone worth the time to delve into this accessible work on quantum theory. VERDICT Orzel opens the door to a better under-standing of the fascinating world of the strange spookiness, the weirdnesses, and the inexplicable paradoxes that make up the quantum world.-Dale -Farris, Groves, TX © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
