Overview

What on earth do bananas have to do with quantum mechanics? From a modern perspective, quantum mechanics is about strangely counterintuitive correlations between separated systems, which can be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced computing power. Schro?dinger coined the term ""entanglement"" to describe these bizarre correlations. Bananaworld - an imaginary island with ""entangled"" bananas - brings to life the fascinating discoveries of the new field of quantum information without the mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. The connection with quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but entertaining book that is accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is about the structure of information. What we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are very different than we thought.

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9780198718536

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Reviews

Jeffrey Bub is an outstanding philosopher of physics who has devoted his life to the understanding of quantum mechanics. His recent in depth exploration of the quantum information approach is deeply important. He also has a fine ability to explain the subtle and esoteric points clearly for the non-expert. The book will be an important contribution to the field and very helpful to those fascinated by the recent work in trying to understand quantum mechanics without getting immersed in the technical discussions. Lawrence Sklar, University of Michigan Quantum theory is well known for being counter intuitive, and quantum correlations are especially difficult to grasp. But this is no reason to give up, or for the educated public to have no chance to understand this ongoing scientific revolution. Consequently, this book is most welcome. The author has chosen an amusing way to introduce the subject. This approach is possible because correlations are everywhere around us. Yet quantum correlations have peculiar features that the author introduces slowly. He also provides enough information for more curious readers who are not afraid of (simple) equations. Nicolas Gisin, University of Geneva This is certainly a timely book as the topics of quantum information processing, quantum computation and quantum cryptography are flourishing. The premise of this book is that at the heart of this revolution, which could end up defining the 21st century, is a radically new information-theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics. Although there are already many text books on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the defining feature of this book which will make it stand out from the others is the use of simulation games to demonstrate the difference between classical and quantum information. I can foresee that these simulation games will be useful pedagogic tools, and could be adopted by university teachers as part of their lecture courses. Ifan Hughes, Durham University

Author Information

Jeffrey Bub received his PhD in mathematical physics from the University of London, UK, in 1966, where he studied physics with David Bohm at Birkbeck College and took part in Karl Popper's seminar in philosophy of science at the London School of Economics, UK. His first book, The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Reidel, 1974), was influential in developing the concept of quantum logic. His second book, 'Interpreting the ""Quantum World""' (CUP, 1997; revised paperback edition, 1999), won the prestigious Lakatos Award in 1998. He is currently a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

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