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Title: Q Is for Quantum : An Encyclopedia of Particle Physics by John R. Gribbin, Mary Gribbin, Jonathan Gribbin, John Gribbin ISBN: 0-684-85578-X Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.64 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Q is for Quintessential Quantum Reference Book
Comment: This quantum physics encyclopedia is beautifully crafted to be as entertaining as it is informative. John Gribbin is a master at providing an element of human interest to each of the entries in Q IS FOR QUANTUM, along with photographs and illustrations in every place you'd wish for them, in order to further enhance the reading experience. I love browsing through this book any time I have the slightest excuse, and I suspect you will, too!
Rating: 5
Summary: Quality quanta.
Comment: If you read physics popularizations you have noticed (and appreciated) the glossaries that appear in the back of many of these books. If you've wanted a more thorough reference resource for quantum physics terminology -- here it is. Reference texts are not generally going to tempt the reader to start at the beginning and read through the entire volume, but this one will. Gribbin, familiar to many readers of physics books, writes clearly and covers all of the significant developments, personalities, and ideas of particle physics over the past century. An excellent resource, from 'Absolute zero' to 'Z particles.'
Rating: 3
Summary: An adequate dictionary of quantum terms
Comment: This book is actually a dictionary. I own similar works in other fields (eg, medicine, law, economics) that are called dictionaries. I think of an encyclopedia as a book that consists of articles on broader topics that can be referred to as a primary source (ie, a stand-alone work). I think of a dictionary as a book that contains entries (not articles) on specific terms (not topics) that is used as a secondary source (ie, a work that explains something discussed in a primary source). For example, my standard desk dictionary includes the following definition for a kaon: "an unstable meson that occurs in both charged and neutral forms and is about 970 times more massive than an electron" while "Q is for Quantum" includes a definition for kaons that is longer (13 lines) and more detailed, but still very much a dictionary-style entry. In contrast, I would expect that an encyclopedia might refer the reader to a longer article on mesons and include much of the specifics on kaons in a table providing similar information on the other mesons while including a detailed textual explanation of mesons. There is nothing wrong with providing dictionary-style entries, but if buying this book my mail-order, the buyer might be quite surprised to receive a dictionary when expecting an encyclopedia.
Another complaint I have is that the entries do not include pronunciation guides. If someone does not know what Gargamelle is, they are not very likely to know how to pronounce it either. The same holds true for many of the personal name entries.
The illustrations are not of the caliber I would expect from an encyclopedia and seem almost an afterthought. There is on average about one illustration for every two pages and they are not especially relevant. For example, the caption under an image captured by the Gargamelle bubble chamber reads: "Inside Gargamelle. These seemingly insignificant bubble tracks actually provided the first direct evidence for neutral currents." In another excellent book I read (The Particle Odyssey by Close, Marten, Sutton) such an illustration would have been accompanied by a detailed explanation of the relevant particle tracks.
I am not sure who the target audience is for this book. It is not for the person who has no knowledge of quantum physics because the user must know what words to look up. It can be useful for someone who is reading another work on quantum physics when they need to look up a particular term. The entries seem too basic to be of use to a professional in the field of quantum physics, but I can see it being useful for someone who is being exposed to quantum terms as part of their work in another field (eg, a computer programmer who is writing code for a quantum experiment and wants to know what the physicists are talking about).
Before buying this book, it might be worthwhile to take a look at a copy in your local library. If you are reading another work on quantum physics and find that you need more detailed descriptions than those provided by your standard desk dictionary, this specialized dictionary might by worth having on hand.
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Title: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene ISBN: 0375708111 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics And Reality by John Gribbin ISBN: 0553342533 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality : Solving the Quantum Mysteries Tag: Author of In Search of Schrod. Cat by John Gribbin ISBN: 0316328197 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: In Search of the Edge of Time: Black Holes, White Holes, Wormholes by John Gribbin ISBN: 0140248145 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Hyperspace : A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension by Michio Kaku ISBN: 0385477058 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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