Schrodinger's Rabbits: the Many Worlds of the Quantum

Science News, Dec 18, 2004

SCHRODINGER'S RABBITS: The Many Worlds of the Quantum

For decades, physicists have stumbled over questions that stand in the way of their complete understanding of the quantum world. Among the difficulties is finding a way to measure the spin of an electron or the polarization of a photon. Bruce argues that problems such as these aren't roadblocks, but rather opportunities to create new conceptual tools. He points to a group of physicists at the University of Oxford--including Roger Penrose, Anton Zeilinger, David Deutsch, and Lev Vaidman--that has seized such an opportunity. The researchers have made strides in explaining the quantum world in the classical fashion, in which things behave predictably rather than randomly. The catch is that in this scenario, countless versions of reality unfold side by side. Bruce has dubbed this new view the Oxford Interpretation. In these pages, he provides an accessible overview of the issues that have plagued physicists working in the quantum world as well as of the Oxford group's possible solutions for those issues. Joseph Henry Pr, 2004, 272 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.95.