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Quanta

Peter Joshua Atkins

Published Mar 13, 2003• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We have been hovering on the edge of quantum theory, with one toe dip- ping into its dangerously infested pool. It is time to take the plunge. To appreciate the significance of the impact of this extraordinary theory we need to note that until the end of the nineteenth century waves unambiguously waved and particles were unambiguously particulate. Unfortunately for naive understanding, though, this distinction did not survive the turn of the century. From a scatter of observations towards the end of that century a virus entered classical physics. A few decades into the twentieth century the disease it brought had destroyed classical physics completely.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198606642.003.0008

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