Absolutely Small
How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World
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Narrated by:
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Scott Peterson
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By:
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Michael D. Fayer
About this listen
Our intuition about how things should behave is usually right in the everyday world. We see the baseball soar in the air, arc, drop, and lie stationary on the ground. Through data gathered by our senses and basic knowledge of the laws of classical mechanics, the motion of a ball makes perfect sense.But enter the world of the tiniest particles on earth—the motion of electrons, the shapes of molecules—and everything we think we know about the world radically changes. To understand what’s really happening in the world around us, to comprehend the mysterious, counterintuitive science of the small, we must take a quantum theory view of nature. Like no other book before it, Absolutely Small makes the inherently challenging field of quantum theory understandable to nonscientists, without oversimplifying and without bogging down in complicated math.
Written by an award-winning professor at Stanford University, the book uses clear explanations and real-world examples instead of dense equations to help you understand:
- Why strawberries are red and blueberries are blue
- How particles can change from “mixed states” to “pure states” based solely on observation
- How a single photon can be in two places at the same time
- Why quantum matter sometimes acts like particles, and other times like waves
- Why a piece of metal will glow red when it is hot, and turn blue when it’s even hotter
- What makes salt dissolve in water, while oil does not, and much more
In the tradition of Stephen Hawking and Lewis Thomas, but without the rigorous mathematical requirements, Absolutely Small demystifies the fascinating realm of quantum physics and chemistry, complete with compelling accounts of the scientists and experiments that helped form our current understanding of quantum matter.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2010 Michael D. Fayer (P)2010 Gildan Media CorpListeners also enjoyed...
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What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know? There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later.
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Interesting book, but WOW, the narrator ...
- By UH on 01-10-17
By: Jim Baggott
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How to Speak Science
- Gravity, Relativity, and Other Ideas That Were Crazy Until Proven Brilliant
- By: Bruce Benamran, Stephanie Delozier Strobel
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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As smartphones, supercomputers, supercolliders, and AI propel us into an ever more unfamiliar future, How to Speak Science takes us on a rollicking historical tour of the greatest discoveries and ideas that make today's cutting-edge technologies possible. Wanting everyone to be able to "speak" science, YouTube science guru Bruce Benamran explains - as accessibly and wittily as in his acclaimed videos - the fundamental ideas of the physical world: matter, life, the solar system, light, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, and much more.
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Wowzers!
- By Ralph Temblador on 02-15-21
By: Bruce Benamran, and others
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Paradox
- The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history, scientists have come up with theories and ideas that just don't seem to make sense. These we call paradoxes. The paradoxes Al-Khalili offers are drawn chiefly from physics and astronomy and represent those that have stumped some of the finest minds. With elegant explanations that bring the listener inside the mind of those who've developed them, Al-Khalili helps us to see that, in fact, paradoxes can be solved if seen from the right angle.
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Almost Useless
- By Michael on 06-19-19
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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A Brief Welcome to the Universe
- A Pocket-Sized Tour
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, J. Richard Gott
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A Brief Welcome to the Universe offers a breathtaking tour of the cosmos, from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes and time loops. Best-selling authors and acclaimed astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott take listeners on an unforgettable journey of exploration to reveal how our universe actually works. Propelling you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space, this book builds your cosmic insight and perspective through a marvelously entertaining narrative.
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A brief welcome for everyone
- By Ashley F on 08-24-24
By: Neil deGrasse Tyson, and others
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Life’s Ratchet
- How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos
- By: Peter M. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The cells in our bodies consist of molecules, made up of the same carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules, such as water and sugar, are not alive. So how do our cells - assemblies of otherwise "dead" molecules - come to life, and together constitute a living being? In Life’s Ratchet, physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale.
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For biologists to learn single molecule biophysics
- By A Synthetic Biologist on 09-04-14
By: Peter M. Hoffman
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The Physics of Star Trek
- By: Lawrence M. Krauss
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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What actually happens when the words, "beam me up, Scottie" are uttered? What "warps" when something travels at warp speed? Internationally renowned theoretical physicist and educator Lawrence M. Krauss provides matter-of-fact scientific explanations of the physics of Star Trek in this highly creative and informative guide for both the devoted Trekkie and the physics novice.
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Interesting Book. Quite Technical
- By Christopher B. on 12-07-04
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The World According to Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Jim Al-Khalili
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
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excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-21
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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Our Mathematical Universe
- My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
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Wow!
- By Michael on 02-02-14
By: Max Tegmark
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Life on the Edge
- The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
- By: Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: Nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation?
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More woo than new
- By Gary on 09-09-15
By: Johnjoe McFadden, and others
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Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
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FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
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Knocking on Heaven's Door
- How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World
- By: Lisa Randall
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven's Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall.
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Too Political
- By Allan on 12-14-11
By: Lisa Randall
What listeners say about Absolutely Small
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chris Lunt
- 04-23-13
Not appropriate for an audiobook
This book is very dependent on drawings, graphs and equations, and although the offer has kept it to a minimum, you can't follow large parts of the book purely from audio. Somewhere in chapter 14 I broke down and got the paper book.
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- Michael
- 04-02-11
Not what is advertised....
Absolutely Small suggests it will explain quantum mechanics and (in the introduction) suggests the author will show that quantum mechanics makes sense. Instead this is more of a brief introduction to quantum chemistry. It glosses over all the tricky bits of quantum mechanics, presenting a ???shut up and do quantum chemistry??? attitude. The title ???absolutely small??? is highlighted in the last chapter when the author explains when to use quantum vs. classical mechanics. His answer seems to be ???when it makes a difference.??? He also punts on Schrodinger???s cat. Although I enjoyed this book and learned a few things, I have lots of experience with physics and could easily visualize the atomic shell structure diagrams and did not mind the many audio equations. My guess is most people would find this very frustrating in a written text, let alone an audio book. As a book on the basics of quantum chemistry, it is ok, but as a book on understanding quantum mechanics it fails utterly.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 12-21-10
No math - wrong
Figures and equations don't work in Audiobooks generally. Sometimes the producers will try to make them work with either handouts (hard to read while driving) or detailed descriptions. In this case they did not even try - just a dude reading equations off to you - very frustrating. Chapters 1-4 were good and relatively math free. After that the author gives up on his promise to "keep out the math" and begins inserting equations to "prove his point." I don't need the math to convince me and the narrative is lost with the interruptions of the math.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-30-12
Great book... academically speaking.
Good basis of science required to enjoy it... and by good I mean more than high school level knowledge, otherwise will be hard to digest.
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2 people found this helpful
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- michael
- 01-02-11
interesting but frustrating..
I've always loved science.. never really dug in too deep as far as taking college level courses, but will watch the Science and Discovery Channel all day if left to my own devices.
I bought the book for my holiday trip and have always wanted to learn a bit more about quantum physics and mechanics.
The author mentions in the preface that he's not going to get too math and formula heavy and this can be sort of an everyman's book to help demystify the topic at hand.
The author keeps his promise for a little while, but then proceeds to repeatedly use formulas and refers time and again to diagrams that only appear in the actual book.
This may not be problematic for milder topics or for physics majors.. but for the everyday guy who's just trying to learn a bit of science while driving.. I found it incredibly frustrating.
I hope to make it through the entire book because the subject matter is interesting to me.. but the way it's being presented leaves a bit to be desired.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Think B4 Eating
- 12-27-10
This is more text book than listening material
While the author obviously knows his stuff, he was not able to translate it into a good listening book for non-physicists. The constant references to diagrams that you have to download and have handy while listening was incredibly bothersome. I was hoping for a book similar to "Particle Physics - A Very Short Introduction" by Frank Close. But the author of this book provides very few real-world examples and sticks to pure theory and minutia. I thought way too much time was spent explaining the spins of electrons. Unless real-world implications are discussed, it quickly becomes very dry and boring.
Additionally, the narrator was quite dull. Admittedly, he was probably bored with the material, too.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-09-12
buy the real book
Is there anything you would change about this book?
a subject like this, in this format needs more thought experiments and less greek symbol representation. The formulas are critical to QM but unless you are great at visualizing virtual chalkboards in your mind while driving, get the real book. If you have to reference more than a few visual aides in an audio book, you need to rethink your approach. I feel the same applies to any presentator. I will also take a look at the author's textbook he mentioned. I blame Leonard Suskind for my purchase :)
Has Absolutely Small turned you off from other books in this genre?
no. this is all I listen to.
Did Scott Peterson do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
what characters? bad question
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
I would camp outside in full costume!
Any additional comments?
the author should talk to dawkins and greene. they do a great job explaining complex ideas that work well in this format
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1 person found this helpful
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- Manuel
- 01-07-11
Bad choice for an audio book!
I seriously wonder why anyone thought this would make a good audio book. Far too many references to figures for audio and all of the equations being rattled off without any thought of translating the jargon into English was enough to make me finally give up by chapter 8. Definitely not a good book to listen to while commuting! Maybe with the accompanying reference guide I will try again but if I have to sit and flip through pages of diagrams then I may as well be reading the hard copy.
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5 people found this helpful
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- morton
- 12-13-10
Fascinating Audio
This audio book is great for anyone with a curious mind. Fayer does a wonderful job of explaining Quantum Theory...but be sure to download the pdf of the charts and diagrams that is available when you download the book from Audible.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Joshua
- 04-19-11
Exactly what is needed to get Quantum Theory!
I have read all the other reviews and they all are correct. This is an absolutely fabulous book knowledge wise. Its got everything for knowledge on quantum theory. However with it being an audiobook and the author making references to figure this and figure that. You will need to download the accompanying pdf file with the figures he discusses.
Besides this small inconvenience this is a truly remarkable book. Don't not buy this book just because of this small issue. You will be missing out on a ton of good information!
Joshua
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5 people found this helpful