vi
Foreword
it is enough to recall the Quantum Technologies Flagship (a major initiative by the European Commission to support quantum technology research)
and, of course, similar initiatives worldwide. We are already fully immersed
in a second quantum revolution, with untold scientific and technological
consequences for everyone.
The book of Barrett and Delsanto is ideally suited in this context, since it
covers all major fields of current research in physics, with a language which
is simplified as much as possible, but not oversimplified (to quote one more
time Einstein), and devoid of any mathematical formula. Well, to be honest,
there is one formula, and I will let everyone try to figure out for themselves,
which one. In short, the book should represent an entertaining reading for
curious minds, since it also offers nice short stories, to illustrate the contents
of each chapter, plus a myriad of anecdotes and asides.
The main purpose of the book should be, in my opinion, as a textbook
for courses of science for college students majoring in a non-scientific field,
since it teaches a great amount of modern physics without being a burden for
them. But it also can be very useful for students majoring in a scientific field,
since very seldom are they offered courses covering all the topics discussed
in the book. Equally important, the first part of the book analyses concepts,
which are prerequisite to a solid formation in science, such as the meaning of
understanding, reality and accuracy, both from a philosophical and a scientific
point of view.
It is a sad fact of life that in an epoch in which most people enjoy the
benefits of modern technologies, and new relevant discoveries are made on a
daily basis in all disciplines from physics to chemistry to biology to medicine,
in spite of all of that, superstition, prejudices against science and profound
ignorance coexist and often prevail. Part I of the book should help to let
people around us gain an understanding of why we need good science.
Finally, from a personal point of view, what I probably like most is Part
III, which provides an anticipation of the future directions of the field and
possible solutions of the current open problems. Here, everything seems to
be non-dogmatic, well-motivated and very reasonable. Yet, at the end of a
long discussion, we are left permeated by an almost unshakeable certainty
that the future will reserve to us a quite different scenario, with wonderful
unpredictable surprises. Science is all but boring!
To conclude, the book encompasses essentially all relevant modern physics
and is described in a language comprehensible to the non-scientist. The
authors, physicist Ross Barrett, former Research Leader at the Defence
Science and Technology Organisation, Adelaide, Australia, and Pier Paolo
Foreword
it is enough to recall the Quantum Technologies Flagship (a major initiative by the European Commission to support quantum technology research)
and, of course, similar initiatives worldwide. We are already fully immersed
in a second quantum revolution, with untold scientific and technological
consequences for everyone.
The book of Barrett and Delsanto is ideally suited in this context, since it
covers all major fields of current research in physics, with a language which
is simplified as much as possible, but not oversimplified (to quote one more
time Einstein), and devoid of any mathematical formula. Well, to be honest,
there is one formula, and I will let everyone try to figure out for themselves,
which one. In short, the book should represent an entertaining reading for
curious minds, since it also offers nice short stories, to illustrate the contents
of each chapter, plus a myriad of anecdotes and asides.
The main purpose of the book should be, in my opinion, as a textbook
for courses of science for college students majoring in a non-scientific field,
since it teaches a great amount of modern physics without being a burden for
them. But it also can be very useful for students majoring in a scientific field,
since very seldom are they offered courses covering all the topics discussed
in the book. Equally important, the first part of the book analyses concepts,
which are prerequisite to a solid formation in science, such as the meaning of
understanding, reality and accuracy, both from a philosophical and a scientific
point of view.
It is a sad fact of life that in an epoch in which most people enjoy the
benefits of modern technologies, and new relevant discoveries are made on a
daily basis in all disciplines from physics to chemistry to biology to medicine,
in spite of all of that, superstition, prejudices against science and profound
ignorance coexist and often prevail. Part I of the book should help to let
people around us gain an understanding of why we need good science.
Finally, from a personal point of view, what I probably like most is Part
III, which provides an anticipation of the future directions of the field and
possible solutions of the current open problems. Here, everything seems to
be non-dogmatic, well-motivated and very reasonable. Yet, at the end of a
long discussion, we are left permeated by an almost unshakeable certainty
that the future will reserve to us a quite different scenario, with wonderful
unpredictable surprises. Science is all but boring!
To conclude, the book encompasses essentially all relevant modern physics
and is described in a language comprehensible to the non-scientist. The
authors, physicist Ross Barrett, former Research Leader at the Defence
Science and Technology Organisation, Adelaide, Australia, and Pier Paolo