LAUSR

2015 saw ground-breaking Bell-test results that have spurred a wide range of publications on the weird quantum world. Both for the layman and the professional a re-think of approach and emphasis has been needed; Quantum Physics is one of these. Over many years there have been countless attempts to describe and demystify the quantum world for the layman. Some books err on the side of a description of chronological and historical development of the ideas without the maths but fail to indicate where these efforts have led. Others try to cut to the chase by stating outcomes without any form of conceptual justification and yet others stick to an over emphasis on wave-particle duality. But the best limber us up with ideas we can at least begin to relate to then push us towards the unbelievable in easy stages leaving the wowok-we’ve-got-to-accept-that moment to the end. Raymer’s book is firmly in this last category. Raymer has been at pains to introduce ideas in a way that makes them palatable by picking on those few iceberg tips of quantum behaviour that sick out of the conventional continuumof everyday large-scale physics and engineering, and then by extrapolating from them into the mad world of the underlying description. The counter-intuitive consequences of each irrational step seem somehow natural and when he finally comes the concepts of quantum vacuum and Higgs field Raymer makes it all seem the most natural thing in the world, or rather perhaps not quite so mind-blowingly unacceptable. Quantum Physics is a pleasure to read and, almost inevitably, re-read. Except for those already working in the world of photonics and quantum optics, everyone reading this will learn from its detailed description and style of expression. Ideas are sequential but not chronological; the conceptual obstacles, that have been notorious in preventing understanding, have been circumvented by careful use of hindsight. Most of the readers are not (yet) going to develop the field so why force them into a mathematical and philosophical mire before they have seen the promised land of current achievement? If readers are inspired, then the need for proper tools will have to follow but they’ll be provided by more conventional means. The modern topics that this book introduces include quantum encryption, sensing, entanglement, computing and, of course, Bell tests and their significance. There is a lot to puzzle over here but Raymer leads us on rather than putting us off and successfully gets the reader to understand the challenges and achievements of the subject.