The fascination of the quantum world in two free downloadable pdf books.

Motion Mountain cover Motion Mountain page 136 Motion Mountain page 148

Explore the foundations of quantum physics and its applications in nature, life and technology. Read about molecular motors, the counting of light quanta, and the effects of randomness in nature. Enjoy the simplicity and beauty of microscopic motion. The volumes guarantee to be interesting, vivid and surprising on every page: they include many colour animations, photographs, riddles and curiosities. Reading about quantum effects is a fascinating adventure!

pdf   Free download of volume IV : THE QUANTUM OF CHANGE        

pdf   Free download of volume V : PLEASURE, TECHNOLOGY AND STARS        

Volume IV presents the foundations of quantum physics in a simple way, with little math, using many puzzles and observations taken from everyday life. You can discover that colours, atoms and living beings only exist because nature features a quantum of action, also called Planck's constant. The quantum of action is the smallest possible change in nature; its existence leads to wave functions, probabilities, tunnelling and to all colours around us. This volume is a simple and appealing introduction to quantum mechanics, with all its fascination and its paradoxes. It explains the Schrödinger equation and the behaviour of quantum particles.

Volume V explores motion inside matter: discover how chemistry, biology, material properties, the solid state, stars, nuclear reactors and particle physics follow from the quantum of action. The adventure leads from molecular motors in muscles to the colour of gems, from the working of nerves to the processes that make volcanoes erupt. Explore the structure of DNA, gauge symmetry, the Dirac equation, and the reasons that stars shine!

Get the printed volumes from AMAZON (in colour or in black & white).

pdfDownload volume IV THE QUANTUM OF CHANGE
        1 Minimum action - quantum theory for poets 13
        2 Light - the strange consequences of the quantum of action 35
        3 Motion of matter - beyond classical physics 60
        4 The quantum description of matter and its motion 74
        5 Permutation of particles - Are particles like gloves? 94
        6 Rotations and statistics - visualising spin 105
        7 Superpositions and probabilities - quantum theory without ideology 120
        4 Colours and other interactions between light and matter 145
        8 Quantum physics in a nutshell 169
  Appendix A Units, measurements and constants 175
  Appendix B Numbers and vector spaces 192

 
You are welcome to help making these two books the best available introductions to quantum physics: please send your improvements and suggestions to christoph@motionmountain.net. And enjoy the reading!

 

pdfDownload volume V MOTION INSIDE MATTER - PLEASURE, TECHNOLOGY AND STARS
        1 Motion for enjoying life 14
        2 Changing the world with quantum theory 44
        3 Quantum electrodynamics - the origin of virtual reality 81
        4 Quantum mechanics with gravitation - the first approach 98
        5 The structure of the nucleus - the densest clouds 118
        6 The sun, stars and the birth of matter 147
        7 The strong interaction 156
        8 The weak nuclear interaction and the handedness of nature 175
        9 The standard model of elementary particle physics - as seen on television 190
        10 Dreams of unification 195
        11 Bacteria, flies and knots 203
        12 Quantum physics in a nutshell – again 232
  Appendix A Units, measurements and constants 246
  Appendix B Composite particle properties 260
  Appendix C Space, algebras and shapes 276