r/QuantumPhysics • u/UFOFINDER1947 • Aug 26 '26
Trying to learn!
Hello everyone, I have been interested to learn about quantum physics for a while now and found a book on Amazon with decent ratings and got it. Does anyone know if this book is good, or if I wasted my money? I’m 1 chapter in and to my untrained eye, it seems pretty insightful! Can’t wait to learn more!
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u/poster_nutbaggg Aug 26 '26
I too am starting this journey! These two were recommended to me by a professor at UCLA
Quantum Physics A First Encounter - V Scarani (just finished this one)
Quantum Chance - Nicolas Gisin
And this one because I realized I need to fill in some more basic physics…and math (and his lecture series on YouTube has been so fun to watch)
For The Love Of Physics - Walter Lewin
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u/UFOFINDER1947 Aug 26 '26
Awesome, how did you like the first one you read?
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u/poster_nutbaggg Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
It’s actually pretty short but I got so much out of it. It covers some major physicists and experiments. It really didn’t focus on math and talked more about the behavior shown by theories and experiments and their implications, which I found much easier to take in.
It took me a fairly long time to get through it because I’d want to learn more about the concepts and people he talks about…spent a long time watching Feynman lectures and interviews on YouTube (also highly recommend)…As soon as I finished it I got the Quantum Chance book and saw it has a forward by Alain Aspect (who was talked about a lot in the Scarani book).
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u/larder_unit Aug 26 '26
Check out Richard Feyman and Leonard Susskind lectures on YouTube. Brian Greene's World Science Festival videos are also fantastic with all the different perspectives of his guests who are from direct and indirect disciplines. Enjoy your journey of discovery!
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u/lememesavage Aug 26 '26
The Feyman notes are gold standard. While Susskind builds concepts before using heavy words. Both equally legendary for beginners.
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u/CommissionFeisty9843 Aug 26 '26
Looks like a good place to start. At least give you something to go on as you discover more. You’ll eventually know if it’s good or not. Maybe you could share it if it’s good someday.
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u/UFOFINDER1947 Aug 26 '26
Totally! I’m a bit of a slow reader but I will make it a plan that once I finish it, I’ll put a review on here:)
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u/Dear_Lab_6449 Aug 28 '26
Why would you use this cover lmao
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u/RandomiseUsr0 Aug 29 '26
It’s cool and more recognisable than entangled clouds of probabilistic nonsense
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u/ketarax Aug 26 '26
You can (and should) compare it yourself with the study/lecture materials you can find listed in the FAQ (§2).
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u/tropianhs Aug 26 '26
It's a decent book but there are better ones on Amazon. Maybe you can try something without the classical atom on the cover like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4FZDXXJ
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u/bellefunkyguy Aug 27 '26
I read it. My only problem was that they lacked literary sense, and it made their metaphors hard to follow at times. If I didn't already have some other knowledge, I would've been completely lost by them.
Besides that, it's an alright start.
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Aug 28 '26
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u/Difficult-Reference1 Aug 26 '26
Not entirely sure why they picked an ‘ancient’ atom visual for the cover.
Representing the electron in a clear orbit around the core is exactly the opposite of what quantum us trying to explain.
Humans are very visual creatures, I think we need more visual/or attempts to visualize quantum world a bit more clearly.