The God Effect
Quantum Entanglement, Science's Strangest Phenomenon
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ISBN10: 031255530X
ISBN13: 9780312555306
Trade Paperback
288 Pages
$19.99
CA$27.25
The God Effect, by veteran science writer Brian Clegg, is an accessible and equation-free account of entanglement, its history, and its application. In scientific terms, entanglement is a connection between quantum particles, the building blocks of the universe. Once two particles are entangled, a change to one of them is instantly reflected in the other, be they in the same lab or light-years apart. So counterintuitive is this phenomenon and its implications that Einstein himself called it "spooky" and thought that it would lead to the downfall of quantum theory. Yet scientists have since discovered that quantum entanglement, the "God Effect," was one of Einstein's few—and perhaps one of his greatest—mistakes.
The possibilities offered by a fuller understanding of the nature of entanglement read like something out of science fiction: communications devices that could span the stars, codes that cannot be broken, computers that dwarf today's machines in speed and power, teleportation, and more.
Reviews
Praise for The God Effect
"A superb exploration of this weird and wonderful physical phenomenon and the ways it could change our lives."—Popular Science
"A clear, nontechnical guide to entanglement and its fascinating implications."—Physics World
"A masterful account of the phenomenon Einstein thought so crazy it could not possibly be true. (Only it is!)"—Dr. Marcus Chown, author of The Universe Next Door
"A marvelously clear and engaging account of the people and ideas involved in trying to understand the deepest mysteries of the quantum world and convert them into a useful technology."—Gregory Chaitin, author of Meta Math!: The Quest for Omega
"Clegg does an excellent job of explaining [quantum entanglement] in nontechnical terms; he details the many experiments that have consistently suggested that entanglement is real. The implications for future technological advances are huge, and Clegg is at his finest as he embeds potential advances in a broad historical context. Data could be encrypted in unbreakable codes; computers could become thousands of times more powerful than today; objects, and maybe even living organisms, could be instantaneously transported . . . [T]hese possibilities could change our notion of reality."—Publishers Weekly
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
The God Effect
CHAPTER ONE
ENTANGLEMENT BEGINS
Laws are generally found to be nets of such a texture, as the little creep through, the great break through, and the middle-sized are alone entangled in.
--WILLIAM...
About the author
Brian Clegg
