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This book shines bright light into the dim recesses of quantum theory, where the mysteries of entanglement, nonlocality, and wave collapse have motivated some to conjure up multiple universes, and others to adopt a "shut up and calculate" mentality. After an extensive and accessible introduction to quantum mechanics and its history, the author turns attention to his transactional model. Using a quantum handshake between normal and time-reversed waves, this model provides a clear visual picture explaining the baffling experimental results that flow daily from the quantum physics laboratories of the world. To demonstrate its powerful simplicity, the transactional model is applied to a collection of counter-intuitive experiments and conceptual problems.
List of contents
Introduction.- The Curious History of Quantum Mechanics.- Quantum Entanglement and Nonlocality.- Reversing Time.- The Transactional Interpretation.- Quantum Paradoxes and Applications of the TI.- Nonlocal Signaling?.- Quantum Communication, Encryption, Teleportation, and Computing.- The Nature and Structure of Time.- Conclusion.- Appendices: A. Frequently Asked Questions about Quantum Mechanics and the Transactional Interpretation.- B. A Brief Overview of the Quantum Formalism.- C. Quantum Dice and Poker - Nonlocal Games of Chance.- D. Detailed Analyses of Selected Gedankenexperiments.
About the author
John G. Cramer is known to many as author of the award-nominated hard-SF novels
Twistor
and
Einstein's Bridge
, and contributor of nearly 200 popular-science articles published in
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine
. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he has five decades of experience in teaching undergraduate and graduate physics. From 1983 - 1990 he served as Director of the UW Nuclear Physics Laboratory. John has done cutting-edge research in experimental and theoretical nuclear physics and ultra-relativistic heavy ion physics, fields in which he has published extensively. He has also worked on the foundations of quantum mechanics and is the originator of its Transactional Interpretation. John and his wife Pauline live in the View Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
Summary
This book shines bright light into the dim recesses of quantum theory, where the mysteries of entanglement, nonlocality, and wave collapse have motivated some to conjure up multiple universes, and others to adopt a "shut up and calculate" mentality. After an extensive and accessible introduction to quantum mechanics and its history, the author turns attention to his transactional model. Using a quantum handshake between normal and time-reversed waves, this model provides a clear visual picture explaining the baffling experimental results that flow daily from the quantum physics laboratories of the world. To demonstrate its powerful simplicity, the transactional model is applied to a collection of counter-intuitive experiments and conceptual problems.
Additional text
“The book … is a fundamental work on the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics, which was proposed by Cramer himself and that provides a different way to look at quantum mechanics. The work is, thus, of major interest for physicists, researchers working on quantum technologies, students learning quantum mechanics as well as researchers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics. … the book is a key work on quantum theory, providing for an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics … .” (Carlos Pedro Gonçalves, zbMATH 1358.81001, 2017)
“As Cramer (emer., physics, Univ. of Washington) notes, the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics has serious flaws that have led to many alternatives. This work presents one of these alternatives: the transactional interpretation. The Quantum Handshake is primarily for nonphysicists, though physicists might find this new approach interesting. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic library collections in physics.” (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 53 (11), July, 2016)
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"The book ... is a fundamental work on the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics, which was proposed by Cramer himself and that provides a different way to look at quantum mechanics. The work is, thus, of major interest for physicists, researchers working on quantum technologies, students learning quantum mechanics as well as researchers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics. ... the book is a key work on quantum theory, providing for an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics ... ." (Carlos Pedro Gonçalves, zbMATH 1358.81001, 2017)
"As Cramer (emer., physics, Univ. of Washington) notes, the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics has serious flaws that have led to many alternatives. This work presents one of these alternatives: the transactional interpretation. The Quantum Handshake is primarily for nonphysicists, though physicists might find this new approach interesting. ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic library collections in physics." (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 53 (11), July, 2016)
