Overview

A century after the complete formulation of quantum mechanics, this book retraces this scientific revolution through its key figures and locations, from the quiet colleges of Cambridge to the cliffs of Helgoland, blending captivating biographies with passionate correspondence in an engaging narrative of this remarkable era in science. Quantum mechanics is the ultimate theory of nature, explaining all fundamental physical interactions. However, it introduces a paradox: rather than offering certainty, it asserts that probability governs the universe. This concept, unprecedented in scientific thought, challenges the foundations of science, philosophy, and epistemology. At its core, quantum mechanics imposes a limit on the precision with which we can measure quantities like a particle's position and velocity, revealing nature's inherent granularity. It also uncovers strange correlations between events that defy common sense, contradicting centuries of classical knowledge, from Newton’s laws to the early 20th century. Quantum mechanics introduces inherent ambiguity, rooted in the duality of matter's particle and wave behaviors and the observer’s influence on measurements. Even Einstein questioned this, famously asking, ""Do you really believe the moon isn't there when no one is looking?"" God Plays Dice with the World offers a vivid account of the revolutionary shift in science, from early 20th-century challenges to classical physics to the experimental proof of Bell's inequalities. It explores the development of quantum theory, including the wave equation, the Uncertainty Principle, and quantum field theory, while chronicling the golden age of physics, its brilliant minds, and intellectual battles in an engaging and accessible way.

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9783032147387

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Professor of Theoretical Physics (SISSA), Scientific Director of the Journal of Statistical Mechanics and Applications and author of several scientific monographs on quantum field theory, including ""Statistical Field Theory"", Oxford University Press 2020. He has written various popular science books, including: ""Dio gioca a dadi con il mondo La storia della meccanica quantistica"" (Castelvecchi 2025); ""Maksimovic: The Story of Bruno Pontecorvo"" (Castelvecchi 2023); ""The ABC’s of Science"" (Springer 2022), ""Sky and Earth. Travelling with Dante Alighieri and Marco Polo"" (Springer 2023). He is Academician of the oldest Italian academy, Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Firenze). Author of 5 scientific documentaries, including ""Galois: A Revolutionary Mathematician"" (2017). Among his recognitions are the Italian Physical Society Outreach Award (2013), the Kramers Chair at Utrecht University (2017), and the Cosmos Award (2024).

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