Quanta and Fields
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
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Narrated by:
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Sean Carroll
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Written by:
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Sean Carroll
About this listen
Quanta and Fields, the second book of Sean Carroll’s already internationally acclaimed series The Biggest Ideas in the Universe, is an adventure into the bare stuff of reality.
Sean Carroll is creating a profoundly new approach to sharing physics with a broad audience, one that goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think. He cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in a uniquely accessible way.
Quantum field theory is how modern physics describes nature at its most profound level. Starting with the basics of quantum mechanics itself, Sean Carroll explains measurement and entanglement before explaining how the world is really made of fields. You will finally understand why matter is solid, why there is antimatter, where the sizes of atoms come from, and why the predictions of quantum field theory are so spectacularly successful. Fundamental ideas like spin, symmetry, Feynman diagrams, and the Higgs mechanism are explained for real, not just through amusing stories. Beyond Newton, beyond Einstein, and all the intuitive notions that have guided homo sapiens for millennia, this book is a journey to a once unimaginable truth about what our universe is.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of graphs, equations, and images.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What the critics say
“Readers will be electrified by his discussion of wave functions, entanglement, fields, and so much more. From the most infinitesimal of subatomic particles to the seemingly vast infinities of the universe’s great expanse, Carroll’s latest inquiry illuminates, well, everything.”—Booklist
What listeners say about Quanta and Fields
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Walter Pointner
- 2024-12-21
Far too technical.
A large percentage of the time, the author is simply reading out equations that are far beyond the reach of anyone who doesn't have a physics degree. And yet, it is presented as a lucid explanation of quantum field theory. There are some nuggets between the equations but if you are not a physics majorm, you might want to look elsewhere.
I had just finished a Great Course series "The Higgs Boson and Beyond" given by Sean Carrol. There he did a wonderful job of delivering the material for casual physics enthusiasts. I was quite excited about learning more about the quantum world from the same professor, But alas, it didn't happen here.
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