Erwin Schrödinger and the Quantum Revolution

by John Gribbin

A lively, fascinating biography of the father of quantum mechanics by the bestselling author of the science classic, In Search of SchrÖdinger's CatErwin SchrÖdinger, best known for his famous “SchrÖdinger's Cat” paradox, is one of the most famous physicists of the early twentieth century and a member of a new generation of quantum physicists, including Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, and Niels Bohr. Yet SchrÖdinger's scientific discoveries only scratch the surface of what makes him so fascinating. More rumpled than Einstein, a devotee of eastern religion and philosophy, and infamous for his alternative lifestyle, his major contribution to physics—and the work for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933—was to some extent a disappointment to him. Regardless, SchrÖdinger's masterpiece became an important part of the new physics of his time. This book tells the story of SchrÖdinger's surprisingly colorful life during one of the most fertile and creative moments in the history of science.

The first accessible, in-depth biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist Erwin SchrÖdingerTakes you into the heart of the quantum revolution and explains the captivating world of quantum mechanics, which underpins all of modern scienceWritten by bestselling author John Gribbin, one of today's greatest popular science writers whose other books include In Search of SchrÖdinger's Cat , In Search of the Multiverse, and Alone in the Universe

Genres: Science, Biography, Physics, History, Nonfiction, Popular Science, History Of Science

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[Javier Santaolalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen libro. Una biografía clara y completa, maravillosa.
Para mí, lo más destacable es que se adentra en la física, es decir, no solo analiza la vida del científico, sino que se detiene a explicar con detalle el contexto científico así como los descubrimientos científicos necesarios para poder poner en relevancia el trabajo de Erwin. No solo aprendes sobre la vida del científico, sino que también, y mucho, sobre mecánica cuántica.
Además, la vida de Erwin es de esas que los biógrafos tienen que agradecer. Es intensa, agitada, movida, con grandes "hits" en física acompañados de una vida privada de película.
En suma es un libro MUY recomendable y para todos los públicos. Impecable.
Genial John Gribbin.

[Charles Daney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this a high rating because I think it deserves it for what the book seems intended to deliver: not so much a full biography of Schrödinger as a quick history of the "quantum revolution" that's reasonably up-to-date as of 2010 or so and the part Schrödinger played in it. If you don't care about the science (and shame on you) or instead were looking for a more detailed treatment of either the science or Schrödinger, you won't be fully satisfied.

There's no question that the book is a birds-eye view of its topics. But the value of that is you can learn about the broader context of QM and the personalities of the people who developed it. That's very helpful, because it's quite a vast subject. If you happen to find it interesting and want to go further, there are lots of ways to proceed, such as several online courses in QM, introductory textbooks, or more detailed books for general readers who like science. Likewise, there are more detailed biographies of Schrödinger and other quantum pioneers.

What you'll learn from this book, if you know little about Schrödinger, is that he had a fairly colorful life (unlike many scientists), and that you'd probably like to learn a lot more about it. (E. g. how his life was "entangled" with that of Hermann Weyl, a mathematician whose total contributions to both physics and mathematics outshone even Schrödinger's. That's something I'm sorry Gribbin didn't say more about.) You'll learn that he also had various quite human flaws (like everyone else). And you'll also learn that the whole "Schrödinger's cat" business was intended as a mockery of the "Copenhagen interpretation" of QM, and not a serious intellectual argument.

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually biographies get really boring (there is only so much you can hear about one person that doesn't come from them) but this one was well-written, fun and informative. Perhaps John Gribbin is helped by the fact that Schrodinger was himself far from boring, but also I owe Gribbin because only through this book did I find out that my (now ex-favourite) scientist was a pedophile. This is good to know. I was going to put a poster of him on my wall. Due to his crimes I also refuse to copy-paste the accented o for his name.
Regardless, this book is fun to read and explores the science Schrodinger uncovered without burdening you with the maths of it all. Believe me, if you like physics but can't be bothered to study it in-depth this book is great.

[Ceren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the most successful example of its kind, scientific biography.
It is scientific as much as it's funny. Talks enough about other scientists of the era, also gives you a great background about what was happening politically, when all those people were trying to progress in such delicate part of the physics; quantum.

Not only I've learned about Schrödinger's life both science and personal-life wise, I also got the idea of what was it like to study science in the middle of a war.

Just a lil' heads up though, it might be over-scientific at parts for a non-science student/nerd reader.

[Jacob Beckey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave a wonderful insight into the development of the wave theory of quantum mechanics in the 1920s while highlighting the many interesting parts of Schrodinger’s life. Along the way, you also gain insight into the life of an academic during wartime, during peace, through hard times, and after great success. Make sure to read the postscript; it is a really cool addition.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Gribbin has been writing what amounts to the same book for years, so by now he is good at it. The book covers the life of Erwin Schrödinger and the quantum mechanics he worked on. His personal life is certainly interesting. While married to his wife Anny for life, he was always madly in love with someone else. And when that love went well, his scientific output improved. His burst of scientific creativity at the age of thirty eight is explained by Hermann Weyl that "Schrödinger did his great work during a late erotic outburst in his life." Weyl was Anny Schrödinger's lover, so presumably he knew what he was talking about. And apparently the good people at Oxford University were not amused when Schrödinger arrived there with both his wife and girlfriend. So they ended up in Dublin, where "you might expect Erwin's unusual domestic arrangements to have been even more of a problem in Catholic Ireland than in Oxford, but in Dublin there was a marked contrast between what was officially approved and what people actually did. [A friend called it] sowing her wild oats on weekdays and praying for a crop failure on Sunday."

Scientifically, the theme of the book is that Schrödinger, along with Einstein, never accepted the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics that particles have no objective existence, only a probability of being somewhere. The act of measurement causes a "collapse" of the wave function and then we perceive it to exist. His famous wave equation says that when there are two wave/particles their waves do not get added together, instead the waves exist in different dimensions. Max Born interpreted this as being the probability of their existence, in line with the Copenhagen Interpretation, but Schrödinger was never happy with this. The other interesting property of his wave equation is that it results in waves going backwards in time.

John Gribbin is aligned with the minority view in quantum mechanics known as "Many Worlds", and is convinced that Schrödinger pointed the way. This view is supported by the quantum computer, discussed in the last chapter "Schrödinger's Scientific Legacy", which does its calculations in what appears to be multiple universes. Who knows what this really means.

The dedication for this book is "For Terry Rudolph, even though he won't read it." If you find yourself skipping parts of this book, be sure to read the Postscript to catch the happy ending, and the meaning of the dedication.

I really liked this book.

[K De · Rating 4 out of 5]

A excellent biography for the general reader. This biography is for the non math major. Erwin Schrodinger life is very interesting in that he was one of the fathers of quantum theory as well as being influential in biology with the rise of quantum molecular biology/chemistry. John Gribbin's biography writes a objectively about physicist Schrodinger's professional and private life. He writes of Schrodinger's affairs and infatuations with younger women as it relates to his physics creativity. He had a need to be "in love" which powered, to a great degree, his intellectual prowess in delving into the quantum questions of his day. I enjoyed reading Mr. Gribbin's biography.

[Jeff Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent summary of the development of quantum mechanics as well as a biography of Erwin Schrodinger. It starts with Planck's radiation law which first showed that light was quantized and was the first appearance of Planck's constant. Then it goes through the further developments due to Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and others before arriving at Schrodinger's equation and his other contributions. It continues the development of quantum mechanics through the current day, including quantum entanglement and the peculiar questions that arise from it.

The book also provides a history of Schrodinger's life and the background of history that was happening around it. He made the unhappy choice, for example, of accepting a professorship in Vienna just before the Nazis took over that country. His personal life is more colorful than I would have guessed - he had two wives and a number of mistresses, who with one exception all seemed to get along together.

The book is relatively non-technical and should be accessible to anyone who has had a basic course in quantum theory.

[Divya Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quantum theory cannot be understood without an understanding of Newtonian physics – in fact, one must go back to the time of Galileo and then learn about the evolution in the thinking of the physical universe. Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

The author lucidly explains the discoveries of pioneers like Bohr, Heisenberg, Planck, Einstein and other physicists and how Schrodinger built up on these and finally arrived at the wave theory of quantum physics discarding the particle theory. He was validated, in the face of universal opposition, by none other than Einstein himself.

He was greatly influenced by the mystical meanings of Vedanta. On a personal level, Schrodinger was a serial (at times, a parallel) philanderer who did his best work in the throes of erotic passion! The horrors of the two World Wars and the adversities that had to be faced by Austrians may explain the libidinous behaviour prevalent in Europe.

Immensely readable, but towards the end, the author tends to get rather abstruse and turgid.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It'd be five stars if there weren't so many frequent tangents to go into the life stories of other people. There's some value in including these other figures as they relate to the core narrative, but there's no real need to go with, "So and so was actually born in Milan to these people we don't care about in this year...," every few pages.

It's just going overboard with context and it formed a very noticeable pattern that took you out of the book; every time a new scientist showed up, I braced myself for things to get wavy and a flashback to start.

Otherwise it was solid, as Gribbin usually is.

[Kevin Albrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schrödinger was a fascinating person. Both deeply flawed and a genius. What I loved about this book is how the author expertly kept me interested in the complex science which Schrödinger loved by intertwining it with his scandalous love life. Each chapter left me wanting to read the next to find out if he would disprove the competing theories of quantum mechanics and which person would he have an affair with next!

[Aditya Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating how quantum physics evolved during the two world wars, sociology of Copenhagen and Many Worlds interpretations of qp, and beautifully simple description of most complex ideas sprinkled with romantic and philosophical aspects of Schrodinger's life.... Feels like I'll have to go for every book by John Gribbin!

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well . . . the book is a properly (and nice) biography of Schrödinger's life. The author succeeded in describe the paths taken by the scientist and human being, even it give us a great end for the book. What I didn't like are the pages he used to describe interpretations for quantum physics and its variations, it is quite a philosophycal view with lack of objectivity.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sporo mi ta książka wyjaśniła ale nie mogę zaprzeczyć, iż jest ona w sporej mierze opisem historii. Spotykamy nie tylko Schrödingera ale również (a nawet głównie) pozostałe postacie, mniej lub bardziej ważne dla mechaniki kwantowej.

[Romi Versluis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant om te lezen hoe het academici wereldje werkt, maar ik had meer technische nerd inhoud verwacht. Mijn interesse ligt meer bij de inhoud van zijn werk dan bij een opsomming van jaartallen, mensen en plekken.

[Nerd Sniper · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just a normal book - neither boring, nor too detailed. Helped me learn new things about this great scientist for sure.

[Prateek Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant read!

[Guillermo García Rojas C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un muy buen libro sobre la vida de Schrödinger. Muy recomendable. Largo pero con mucha información valiosa.

[Arda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It follows kronologic procces.This is not just a biography but an introduction to this field

[Graham McGrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gribbin's usual slice and dice, like a 5th grade report on manta rays

[Vaishnavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice one to get a balanced view of life

[Evis Vasiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting facts about perhaps the most famous scientific era, in the middle of two wars.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to learn about Schrödinger and his contemporaries in the world of physics. The author does an effective job of telling the story of the controversies within the world of physics as theories were developed, challenged and redeveloped. While the physics was a bit difficult to comprehend for this layperson, Schrödinger's personal story was very interesting.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dry, not perhaps as focused as it might have been.

It took me a while to get into this. I was looking for a biography of Schrodinger, and a lot of the first half of the book was context, more about people before and around him. I understand it's necessary to set the scientific scene, but I found it frustrating. I thought I was getting a bio, but it didn't read that way...

The second half improved somewhat - I got a better sense of the man as a person, even if the science was beyond me (it seems to require prior introductory reading, to be honest; I can't imagine lay readers making anything of this). I rather get the feeling that Gribbin's audience is historically-minded physicists rather than the average person.

For me at least, I know nothing about quantum physics so some of what he was talking about was absolutely incomprehensible (it gave me that fed-up, irritated feeling I get when wading through philosophy. "What is quantum physics? No, what is it really? How do we know we know?" *shudders*).

In sum, I finished this book none the wiser (and considerably less interested) in quantum physics. But Schrodinger himself seems interesting, so I'll probably go looking for a more accessible bio that talks more about him and less about everyone around him.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little insight into Schrödinger as person or intellect; the man as subject seems to be pretense to pontificate about the Multiverse and no-collapse theories- a book he's apparently written repeatedly, given the self-citations. Among people who think about these things, the Copenhagen Interpretation has probably fallen out of favor, but the point that these are all, effectively, philosophical interpretations of a mechanically-sound theory is lost here. An experimentalist cracked me up at a Foundations talk with something along the lines of "I believe in Many-Worlds because it appeals to me... aesthetically, but until I have something to measure, these interpretations are not scientific theory." I agree, which isn't to intellectually dismiss the field or the pursuit. It's just that Gribbon's statement that the concept of the Multiverse "is the only satisfactory way to explain why quantum computers work" is wrong. Nobody disputes the fact that Schrödinger's equation explains-- in the reasonable sense of predicting and giving insight into observables-- why quantum computers work. What you think it all means, man, just depends on what you feel in your heart at this point.

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Schrodinger's influence in his own field as well as peripherals was interesting. When Gribbin starts describing the physics, I get bogged down 1) trying to picture it and 2) trying to solve the problem. This makes for slow going. I end up sitting, staring into space, trying to imagine entanglement. Gribbin lightened the narrative with the Hitchhiker's Guide reference that may some day prove to be the answer to everything.
Funny how shocking his sex life was despite it being up against the backdrop of the 1920s. Apparently academia was rife with wife-swapping which I found more shocking. Must have something to do with how we all think our generation invented sex. Oh well.
Schrodinger's search for financial security for himself and his wife seems sooo Germanic ... and shows he wasn't just thinking about physics and sex. It's that relentless practicality that sounds so much like my family.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was on sale and looked interesting but frankly it didn't really do much for me. There are some interesting anecdotes and details but really as a biography it's sparse at best, never reaching any insight (Einstein is brought more vividly to life in a few asides) and lingering on the superficial.

Likewise as an overview of the development of quantum physics it verges between impenetrable (for the layman) and tedious, often requiring a reasonable amount of prior knowledge. I frequently found myself being distracted while reading.

Gribbin also has an annoying habit of starting off on a subject then stating he will come back to this in chapter so and so. Either tell it now, or wait until we get there.

Disappointing and odd given he seems to have written a lot of books about Schrodinger and this theme.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well...I can't say I understood a lot of the physics described in the book. Mr. Gribbin may have been writing about quantum stuff for decades, I don't think he does a very good job of making the subject approachable (if that is even possible). At some points the book is way too detailed, and in other cases interesting stuff is passed over too quickly. I still gave it two stars because it might also have been my personal shortcoming that it was simply too complex for me to grasp.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good resume about the quantum history in general but in my opinion there is not enough about Schrodinger's life. Anyway I liked to know the evolution and connections between diferent scopes that carried to the quantum theory.

[Brucie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author explains quantum physics (well) and motivation of physicists (imperfectly) with intimate details of Schrodinger's life. Gives a handle to hold quantum thinking in my little mind.