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When the Uncertainty Principle Goes to 11

By Philip Moriarty

$12.99$17.95

Popular physicist uses principles of heavy metal music to explain concepts in quantum physics in both a fun and informative way.

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ISBN: 9781944648527

Publication Date: July 2018

ISBN: 9781944648534

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Description

There are deep and fascinating links between heavy metal and quantum physics. No, there are. Really.

While teaching at the University of Nottingham, physicist Philip Moriarty noticed something odd—a surprising number of his students were heavily into metal music. Colleagues, too: a Venn diagram of physicists and metal fans would show a shocking amount of overlap.

What’s more, it turns out that heavy metal music is uniquely well-suited to explaining quantum principles.

In When the Uncertainty Principle Goes to Eleven, Moriarty explains the mysteries of the universe’s inner workings via drum beats and feedback: You’ll discover how the Heisenberg uncertainty principle comes into play with every chugging guitar riff, what wave interference has to do with Iron Maiden, and why metalheads in mosh pits behave just like molecules in a gas.

If you’re a metal fan trying to grasp the complexities of quantum physics, a quantum physicist baffled by heavy metal, or just someone who’d like to know how the fundamental science underpinning our world connects to rock music, this book will take you, in the words of a pioneering Texas thrash band, to A New Level.

For those who think quantum physics is too mind-bendingly complex to grasp, or too focused on the invisibly small to be relevant to our full-sized lives, this funny, fascinating book will show you that physics is all around us . . . and it rocks.

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About the Author

Philip  Moriarty

Philip Moriarty is a professor of physics, a heavy metal fan, and a keen air-drummer. His research focuses on prodding, pushing, and poking single atoms and molecules; in this nanoscopic world, quantum physics is all. Moriarty has taught physics for more than twenty years and has always been struck by the number of students in his classes who profess a love of metal music, and by the deep connections between heavy metal and quantum mechanics. He’s a father of three — Niamh, Saoirse, and Fiachra – who have patiently endured his off-key attempts to sing along with Rush classics for many years. Unlike his infamous namesake, Moriarty has never been particularly enamored of the binomial theorem.

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Publication Details

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781944648527

Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 2 in.

Weight: 2 lbs.

Publication Date: July 2018

Format: E-book (epub)

ISBN: 9781944648534

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