DEEP SECRETS

Quantum mechanics is one of humanity's greatest intellectual achievements. It charts our technological future, has depth, expands the mind, and, most importantly, represents the most violent break from the way we perceive reality, as it clearly separates what we see from what truly exists!

Professor Carroll – one of the most famous scientist-authors – has written a masterful prose that vividly shows, for the first time, that the bold confrontation of the mystery of quantum mechanics completely transforms the way we perceive space and time.

In contrast to the “orthodox” Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics – which claims that questions should not be raised about what happens in the “background” of reality – the "Many Worlds" approach is extremely critical for our progress in understanding quantum gravity and the emergence of spacetime.

Rare book! It demystifies quantum paradoxes and explains how the reconciliation of quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of relativity changes everything.

Carroll takes us by the hand and – with his gentle smile and vivid style – transports us to a place where, at every moment, almost infinite copies of ourselves separate to live each their own life... A wild “conceptual” flight, from the quantum microcosm to black holes.

The Sunday Times
BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Deeply hidden in the innermost parts of the microcosm, quantum phenomena only appear when we observe – through a significantly large magnification – everything that happens. So, how do we measure them? What kind of measuring device do we use? Does it have consciousness?

Whenever a quantum event occurs, infinitely many Worlds are created which comprise different versions of reality; an infinite multitude of realities; each containing a different copy of ourselves. How deeply must we “dig” into the quantum foundations before we learn how, ultimately, our “true” World arises?

How does the universe's “wave function” collapse, crystallizing the reality we live in?

Where do those Worlds we assume we never experienced exist? Are they somewhere, or have they simply vanished into nothing?

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Part 1: THE OTHERWORLDLY

1. WHAT IS HAPPENING
• Looking at the Quantum World •

2. THE BOLD FORMULATION
• A Lean Quantum Mechanics •

3. WHY SHOULD ANYONE THINK ABOUT IT?
• How quantum mechanics emerged •

4. WE CANNOT LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE... IT DOES NOT EXIST
• Uncertainty and complementarity •

5. ENTANGLEMENT
• Wave functions for everything •

Part 2: SEPARATION

6. SEPARATING THE UNIVERSE
• Decoherence and parallel Worlds •

7. ORDER AND RANDOMNESS
• Where probability comes from •

8. AM I SHOWING FATNESS DUE TO THIS ONTOLOGICAL COMMITMENT?
• A Socratic dialogue on quantum puzzles •

9. ALTERNATIVE WAYS
• Alternative theories in the Many Worlds •

10. THE HUMAN SIDE
• How you live and think in a quantum universe •

Part 3: SPACETIME

11. WHY IS THERE SPACE?
• Emergence and locality •

12. A WORLD OF OSCILLATIONS
• Quantum field theory •

13. BREATHING IN EMPTY SPACE
• Finding gravity in quantum mechanics •

14. BEYOND SPACE AND TIME
• Holography, black holes, and the limits of locality •

CONCLUSION
• Everything is quantum •

APPENDIX
• The story of virtual (or potential) particles •

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

INDEX

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE AUTHOR