New Book by Jim Al-Khalili. Following the Best Sellers "WORMHOLES" and "QUANTUM PARADOXES", THE DEMONS OF PHYSICS is a work tailored for you! The master in popularizing quantum physics, Jim Al-Khalili, skillfully transforms the most impressive logical problems and the most famous paradoxes of science into innocent, entertaining "chit-chats".
Famous physicists, such as Maxwell and Laplace, invented mythical entities – their Demons – which, through thought experiments, violated the laws of physics and logic. Then, through the deconstruction of the paradox, they turned the "unsolvable" puzzle into a powerful cognitive tool and gained a better understanding of their science.
Today, the talented nuclear physicist, with disarming ease, "pulls back the curtain" and – with the vigor of a television showman – points out the logical fallacies and exalts the allure of the "demonic" paradoxes of Physics.
Discover why the swift-footed Achilles will never win the race against the turtle. Explore why darkness prevails at night, even though the light of countless brilliant stars "bathes" the sky. Learn how Maxwell's demon reverses physical processes and how Schrödinger's cat can be both dead and alive at the same time.
Question how the age difference between two twins is explained and why objects moving at high speed appear smaller. Finally, consider the relationship of Laplace's demon to free will and whether a machine can attain consciousness.
The author, Jim Al-Khalili, was born in 1962 in Baghdad and studied physics at the University of Surrey in England. Today, he teaches quantum mechanics and presents the weekly program The Life Scientific on BBC Radio 4, thereby contributing to the popularization of science through television documentaries.
