QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Penguin Press Science)

I've read quite a few physics book, in particular a few introducing quantum mechanics. Whilst the subject never fails to enthrall me, I've found that authors' explanations can sometimes be long winded and dreary (e.g. Brian Cox - The Quantum Universe), however this book manages to maintain interest for the whole length. Whether it be the relatively short size or Feynman's witty and conscientiously explanatory writing style, this book manages to do two things: educate the reader quite a lot about particle physics and quantum theory, and also be highly entertaining, even amusing at times - this is something I have never observed in a physics book before. This collection of lectures defies its age, and if you are an amateur who wants to learn and also to be mildly entertained, them you need look no further.

When I bought this book I already had a degree in Physics and was already a Feynman fan. Once again, he does not disappoint! This short book, split into four lectures, is a highly accessible introduction to QED. Rather than on presenting any Maths, the book focuses on trying to tell the reader what is actually going on in QED. I especially liked the lecture on photons and their behaviour, which revealed deep insights without getting bogged down in any advanced maths. The last lecture also has a nice little introduction to Feynman diagrams. Highly Recommenced.

I was excited and optimistic about reading Richard Feynman’s famous and historic book, especially after reading many positive reviews. I discovered that he does indeed use everyday language, visualisations, clever spatial concepts without using any complex mathematical equations to describe the extraordinary physics behind his quantum electrodynamic theory. Feynman does have a unique ability to get this difficult message across. And his occasional humour helps to lift the reader’s spirits such as when he notes that there are many more students at the second lecture than the first. So they won’t understand this one. But then the attendees of the first won’t understand it either – because I don’t! My feeling throughout this book is that I must read it again – but do I really want to? It must have been wonderful to hear these lectures live. His humour and descriptions would have been entrancing. However I didn’t get the full effect of this from the book. Without doubt it is a Masterwork. It is a “must-read” for any physics student. And it is an essential volume on the book shelf of anyone interested in quantum theory – but it is a bit dry and quite hard work, especially the last chapter. And keep in mind that later developments render some of it to lose relevance.

A very thought-provoking book about quantum mechanics and in particular the theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED) as it was understood in the 1960-80s. Since then some ideas have moved on such as how elementary particles get their mass - now explained by the Higgs field. But this should not distract from the central theme of the book how to explain in simple terms the weird and wonderful world of quantum physics. Good job that Feynman had a brilliant sense of humour since nature is so absurd we can never fully understand it - light does not always travel in straight lines, or is even limited to the speed of light.

By far the best explanation of quantum phenomena I've come across. It's literally changed the way I look at the world. Now I can't look at a mirror, soap bubble, CD or piece of glass without imagining the crazy dance of probability amplitudes going on hidden in plain sight. I previously read Six Easy Pieces but found it a bit too simple. This book, on the other hand, was pitched just right for me. I only studied physics up to A-level but I've kept my knowledge up with a few popular science books and sprinkling of Wikipedia. Highly recommended and only shows its age a little in the last chapter.

I believe this is a very manageable book for many levels of scientific background, personally I have just finished my A-levels and found it at a comfortable level. All the key points in the lectures are explained with Feynman's characteristic clarity! It is a really easy book to get into as it feels as if you are having a conversation with an old friend. I recommend reading each lecture in single sittings, rather than breaking them up. This helps keep the ideas fresh in your head - though Feynman does do an excellent job of revisiting major points, so no worries if you don't remember everything!

Book and price are great but it was delivered to my next door neighbours house while I was sat watching on my CCTV. No attempt made to deliver to my address straight to next door?? Delivery is usually spot on so just put it down to experience. Thank you.

His style of writing and logical thought makes it all that much easier to understand the theory and he brings into account natural real-life examples, surprising you or making you think about something you never really took into consideration. The book focuses on QED as you might expect but you may not realise how hard it is to find a book in this day that gives you lectures on one particular topic. I would rather read five books on five topics than read five books with less depth and overlaps between content, but that is merely my opinion. I enjoyed knowing this in depth rather than having it described to me.

Loved the book, I love how straight to point Feynman is with what is known and what is "meh, we think things work like this". For someone that wants to have a general idea of what quantum electrodynamics is, and no more than that, this is it.

Superbe livre. C'est la magie de Feynman. Ce livre ouvre nos esprits à la physique et à la façon dont nous la regardons.

Caveat - Be sure to read Professor Zee's introduction as well as Feynman's introduction before you read the rest of the book. More about this at the end of this review. In my opinion this is one of the best of Feynman's introductory physics books. He does close to the impossible by explaining the rudimentary ideas of Quantum Electro Dynamics (QED) in a manner that is reasonably accessible to those with some physics background. He explains Feynman diagrams and shows why light is partially reflected from a glass, how it is transmitted through the glass, how it interacts with the electrons in the glass and many more things. This is done via his arrows and the rules for their rotation, addition and multiplication. One reviewer has criticized this book because Feynman does not actually show how to determine the length of the arrows (the square of which is the probability of the action being considered occurring) and the how you determine their proper rotation. True, but as is stated in Feynman's introduction, this was never the intention of the book. If you want to learn how to create the arrows used in a Feynman diagram and use them to solve even the most rudimentary problem, you have to major in physics as an undergraduate, do well enough to get into a theoretical physics graduate program and then stick with the program until the second year, when you will take elementary QED. You will then have to take even more classes before you can solve harder problems. Clearly, it is not possible to do all this in a 150-page book aimed at a general audience. He does, however, give the reader a clear indication of what these calculations are like, even if you are not actually given enough information to perform one on your own. Feynman is fair enough not to hide the difficulties involved in actually computing things. He briefly discusses the process of renormalization (that he admits is not mathematically legitimate), which is required to get answers that agreed with experimental data and the difficulties in determining the coupling constants that are also required. In the end, he admits that there is no mathematically rigorous support for QED. Its virtue lies in the fact that it provides the correct answers, even if the approach to getting them involve a bit of hocus-pocus (again his words). The last 20 pages of the book show how the approaches used in QED, as strange as they are, were used to create an analogous approach for determining what goes on in the nucleus of an atom. This short section shows complexity of nuclear physics and the role that QED has played in trying to unify a baffling plethora of experimental data. Unfortunately, this last section is largely out of date and is hopelessly complicated. Fortunately, it is only 20 pages long. As mentioned in the beginning of this review, you should read Zee's introduction as well as Feynman's, before you get into the rest of the book. Zee puts QED into proper perspective. Along with wave and matrix mechanics, the Dirac-Feynman path integral method that is described in this book is another approach to quantum mechanics. Zee also points out that while it is a very powerful approach for many problems, it is unworkable for others that are easily solved by wave or matrix mechanics. Feynman's introduction is very important because he emphatically states that photons and electrons are particles and that the idea of their also being waves stems from the idea that many features of their behavior could be explained by assuming that they were waves. He shows that you can explain these effects using QED, without having to assume that they are waves. This eliminates the many paradoxes that are created when one assumes that photons and electrons exhibit dual, wave/particle behavior. QED is not, however, without its own complications. Some of this behavior depends upon the frequency of the photon or electron. Frequency is generally thought of as a wave property, but it can also be thought of a just a parameter that defined the energy of the photon or electron. This is a fundamental idea separating QED from wave based quantum theories. Feynman does not try to speculate why photons and electrons obey the rules of QED because he does not know why, nor does anyone else and we probably are incapable of knowing why. He is completely satisfied that his calculations agree with experimental data to a degree that is unsurpassed by any other theoretical physics calculation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting an idea of what QED is all about and to those who seek a deeper understanding of physical phenomena. You will learn how QED explains many things, some of which from the basis for the paradoxes discussed at length in books such as "In search of Schrodinger's cat". Reading this book is a good antidote for the head spinning paradoxes described in that book. Feynman believes that they stem from using a poor analogy (that of waves) to explain the behavior of particles. As far as the deeper questions of why photons and electrons obey the ruled of QED, he does not care, so long as he can get the right answer. This may therefore not be the book for you if you are interested in this deepest WHY, but it definitely is if you want to know more about Feynman's powerful approach to quantum mechanics.

清潔で綺麗な本をとてもお安く購入でき、大変満足しています。ハードカバーで最も安価だったため、多少の書き込みがあっても仕方がないと思っていましたが、実際には書き込みもなく、想像以上に状態の良い本でした。必要な情報や該当ページが確認できれば十分だと思っていたのですが、こんなに綺麗な本が届いて本当に嬉しかったです。ありがとうございました。

Richard Feynman è una delle menti più brillanti del XX secolo. Divulgazione di altissimo livello. Profondità e originalità nel presentare l'interazione della luce con la materia.