Preview
  • Quantum

  • A Guide for the Perplexed
  • By: Jim Al-Khalili
  • Narrated by: Hugh Kermode
  • Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (430 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Quantum

By: Jim Al-Khalili
Narrated by: Hugh Kermode
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.52

Buy for $14.52

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From Schrodinger's cat to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, this book untangles the weirdness of the quantum world.

Quantum mechanics underpins modern science and provides us with a blueprint for reality itself. And yet it has been said that if you're not shocked by it, you don't understand it. But is quantum physics really so unknowable? Is reality really so strange? And just how can cats be half alive and half dead at the same time?

Our journey into the quantum begins with nature's own conjuring trick, in which we discover that atoms - contrary to the rules of everyday experience - can exist in two locations at once. To understand this we travel back to the dawn of the 20th century and witness the birth of quantum theory, which over the next 100 years was to overthrow so many of our deeply held notions about the nature of our universe.

Scientists and philosophers have been left grappling with its implications ever since.

Read by Hugh Kermode.

©2003 Jim Al-Khalili (P)2016 Orion Publishing Group
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Quantum

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    263
  • 4 Stars
    117
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    258
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    223
  • 4 Stars
    97
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So far so good. It's not going to let down.

Covering the basics and keeping it technical. Do not dive into this thinking you're going to know it all. Though it does start at the beginning if you don't have a grasp on the standard model good luck.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The fascinating world of the quantum

So many books about quantum physics but no one ever explains it, they only describe the science.

In a typically captivating Al-Khalili style, even that that cannot be understood is explained easily. "Those who think they understand quantum science, don't understand quantum science" don't ask why, just do the math that works.

The author explains why quantum science is so accurate yet defies intuition and any type of reason. Most scientists in this field only care that the science works. Why quantum physics works in the way it does is something they usually run away from, and for good reason. It makes no sense and defies logic.

Great author, great book, highly recommended for those that still don't understand why we don't understand the quantum world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Read

Thoroughly enjoyed the writer's ability to translate complex ideas to a layman reader that only dabbles in the realm of the inconceivable small atoms.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent introduction

an excellent introduction to a complex and profoundly important scientific domain. also an engaging performance by the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

2nd times a charm

read for a 2nd time. loved it 3x more and cant wait to start it over again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it. when I learned to use the rewind 30s

I loved it. when I learned to use the rewind 30s. not because of the narrator. just because it the complexity, my lack of understanding the subject or being sure to understand it all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great non-mathematical coverage of quantum physics

Excellent coverage of a wide range of topics in quantum mechanics. I enjoyed learning about the history of quantum mechanics and who was involved in it's development. It was surprising to me how long it actually took to describe the theory from its first hints in the description of black body radiation to full quantum mechanics. Personally, I hoped for a little more about the mathematical basis for quantum mechanics, but since it did not go deep into the math, I do think this book is accessible to more people. I also enjoyed hearing about real world physics experiments and just how much more there is to learn.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great information. What more is known today?

This is information that anyone with a true interest in physics and chemistry should understand.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

best layman's guide to the quantum wirls

great metaphors, author does not condescend and makes the material accessible. looking forward to learning more on the subject after this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not for beginners

I was going to give it one star but that would not have been fair to the author or to the publisher. The reason I was going to give a low score was because the book was way over my head and again that's not the author's fault, but also the accent by the reader made it harder to understand and comprehend because it was distracting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful