Einstein's Dice and Schringer's Cat: How Two Great Minds Battled Quantum Randomness to Create a Unified Theory of Physics (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780465096831)

"A fascinating and thought-provoking story, one that sheds light on the origins of . . . the current challenging situation in physics." -- Wall Street Journal

When the fuzzy indeterminacy of quantum mechanics overthrew the orderly world of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrer were at the forefront of the revolution. Neither man was ever satisfied with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, and both rebelled against what they considered the most preposterous aspect of quantum mechanics: its randomness. Einstein famously quipped that God does not play dice with the universe, and Schrer constructed his famous fable of a cat that was neither alive nor dead not to explain quantum mechanics but to highlight the apparent absurdity of a theory gone wrong. But these two giants did more than just criticize: they fought back, seeking a Theory of Everything that would make the universe seem sensible again.

In Einstein's Dice and Schrer's Cat, physicist Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schrer searched, first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a theory that transcended quantum weirdness. This story of their quest-which ultimately failed-provides readers with new insights into the history of physics and the lives and work of two scientists whose obsessions drove its progress.

Today, much of modern physics remains focused on the search for a Theory of Everything. As Halpern explains, the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson makes the Standard Model-the closest thing we have to a unified theory- nearly complete. And while Einstein and Schrer failed in their attempt to explain everything in the cosmos through pure geometry, the development of string theory has, in its own quantum way, brought this idea back into vogue. As in so many things, even when they were wrong, Einstein and Schrer couldn't help but get a great deal right.

Author: Paul Halpern
ISBN-10: 0465096832
ISBN-13: 9780465096831
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 11/08/2016
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.90d