The Quantum Universe

(And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)

By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw

Narrated by: Samuel West

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way. There is a lot of mileage in the "weirdness" of the quantum world, and it often leads to confusion and, frankly, bad science. The Quantum Universe cuts through the Wu Li and asks what observations of the natural world made it necessary, how it was constructed, and why we are confident that, for all its apparent strangeness, it is a good theory.

The quantum mechanics of The Quantum Universe provide a concrete model of nature that is comparable in its essence to Newton's laws of motion, Maxwell's theory of electricity and magnetism, and Einstein's theory of relativity.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Epic

I can listen to this over and over again

The only downside, if I had to name any is that Brian Cox can only be heard at the beginning.

Interesting book, well-presented, but….

I liked the book. Well written, well presented, solid narration. I got this book to learn more (I’m not a scientist, just have an active interest in physics). I did learn more, but there is a big caveat. If you have to keep referring to the pdf and some of the key sections are equation-dense, maybe this isn’t the right book to be an Audible book. That drags it down to three stars.

Just an amazing listen

So, as I cut my teeth on particle physics, I needed a refresher, and Brian and Jeff were brilliant. I must admit, I can not listen to the reader at 1x speed, and I had to bump it up, knowing that when Brian speaks, it's practically warp speed. But the chapters are laid out perfectly, and I am planning on a second listen too.

Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!

I love this book! The roadmap in the book was a joy to travel along!

Inappropriate as a pure audiobook

This is a fantastic book and covers in detail some very interesting concepts about Quantum theories. However, this book is almost impossible to comprehend purely by listening.

It refers to charts in the accompanying PDF that aren’t explained well enough through audio. It refers to equations that are tough to follow without seeing them visually.

If you have time to sit down with the companion PDF, this book is great. If you want to listen to this audio-only, then you need a very strong background in mathematics to be able to follow along.

Great Listen

Great listen... very detailed information with great explanation and easy to understand analogies. making a very difficult complex topic a bit more understandable and easier to wrap your mind around.

Fantastic explanation!

I am going to buy the print version of this book because the way the subject matter is presented is so logical and well thought out, I believe with a little more focus on the details, I might come to a greater understanding of the subject than I ever expected would be possible.
I recommend this book very strongly.

One of the best popular science books I’ve ever read and the best popular book on quantum mechanics

I’ve read an obscene amount of popular science books on physics and quantum mechanics in general, but this is the best popular-level description I’ve come across. The authors do such an incredible job of diving in much deeper into the subject matter than almost any other I’ve read. This isn’t a surface-level book; it gives a very deep insight into quantum mechanics and doesn’t shy away from making you think.

Clocks

Great insight into particle physics. Have a background in physics and the math skills to go with, otherwise I would recommend passing on this one. Pretty much loved the whole thing, but if I have to think about one more clock. . .

Who is this for?

The worst audiobook about physics i’ve listened to. For professionals to easy, tor laymans way to “technical”. “Accompanying pdf” and “equations” in the second part of the book instead of clear thoughts about concepts. “E=mc3” was great, this one is at most average.