Kenneth W. Ford – författare

As Kenneth W. Ford shows us in The Quantum World, the laws governing the very small and the very swift defy common sense and stretch our minds to the limit. Drawing on a deep familiarity with the discoveries of the twentieth century, Ford gives an appealing account of quantum physics that will help the serious reader make sense of a science that, for all its successes, remains mysterious. In order to make the book even more suitable for classroom use, the author, assisted by Diane Goldstein, has included a new section of Quantum Questions at the back of the book. A separate answer manual to these 300+ questions is available; visit The Quantum World website for ordering information.There is also a cloth edition of this book, which does not include the "Quantum Questions" included in this paperback edition.

Ken Ford’s mission is to help us understand the “great ideas” of quantum physics—ideas such as wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, superposition, and conservation. These fundamental concepts provide the structure for 101 Quantum Questions, an authoritative yet engaging book for the general reader in which every question and answer brings out one or more basic features of the mysterious world of the quantum—the physics of the very small.Nuclear researcher and master teacher, Ford covers everything from quarks, quantum jumps, and what causes stars to shine, to practical applications ranging from lasers and superconductors to light-emitting diodes. Ford’s lively answers are enriched by Paul Hewitt's drawings, numerous photos of physicists, and anecdotes, many from Ford’s own experience. Organized for cover-to-cover reading, 101 Quantum Questions also is great for browsing.Some books focus on a single subject such as the standard model of particles, or string theory, or fusion energy. This book touches all those topics and more, showing us that disparate natural phenomena, as well as a host of manmade inventions, can be understood in terms of a few key ideas. Yet Ford does not give us simplistic explanations. He assumes a serious reader wanting to gain real understanding of the essentials of quantum physics.Ken Ford's other books include The Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone (Harvard 2004), which Esquire magazine recommended as the best way to gain an understanding of quantum physics. Ford's new book, a sequel to the earlier one, makes the quantum world even more accessible.

Dieses Buch handelt von Ideen, nicht von experimentellen oder theoretischen Methoden. Es ist ein Versuch zu zeigen, wie sich, nach den Entdeckungen dieses Jahrhunderts insbesondere im Bereich des sehr Kleinen, die Welt in den Augen des modernen Physikers darstellt. Natürlich werden einige wichtige Experimente beschrieben, aber im großen und ganzen wird darauf verzichtet, die komplizierten Metho­ den zu erörtern, die heute zur Untersuchung des Subatomaren ange­ wandt werden, um dafür um so ausführlicher auf die Struktur der Theorien und auf die Vorstellungen eingehen zu können, die die Grundlage unseres Verständnisses der Vorgänge bilden, die gegenwärtig die Front der physikalischen Forschung darstellen. Es bedürfte eines eigenen Buches, um den komplizierten und großartigen Geräten gerecht zu werden, die die Natur zwingen, unsere Fragen über die Welt der Elementarteilchen zu beantworten - ein Buch, das geschrieben werden sollte. Ich bitte den Leser dieses Buches zweierlei im Auge zu behalten . . Erstens, die Physik ist eine experimentelle Wissenschaft. Jede Theorie, jeder Begriff und jede Vorstellung über die Natur beruht letzten Endes auf experimentellen Tatbeständen, darauf, was in der Natur geschieht. Alle Abstraktionen und gedanklichen Konstruktionen haben kein ande­ res Ziel, als experimentelle Fakten in einfacher und übersichtlicher Weise zu beschreiben.

This reissued version of the classic text Basic Physics will help teachers at both the high-school and college levels gain new insights into, and deeper understanding of, many topics in both classical and modern physics that are commonly taught in introductory physics courses. All of the original book is included with new content added. Short sections of the previous book (174 in number) are labeled "Features." These Features are highlighted in the book, set forth in a separate Table of Contents, and separately indexed.Many teachers will value this book as a personal reference during a teaching year as various topics are addressed. Ford's discussions of the history and meaning of topics from Newton's mechanics to Feynman's diagrams, although written first in 1968, have beautifully withstood the test of time and are fully relevant to 21st-century physics teaching.

This reissued version of the classic text Basic Physics will help teachers at both the high-school and college levels gain new insights into, and deeper understanding of, many topics in both classical and modern physics that are commonly taught in introductory physics courses. All of the original book is included with new content added. Short sections of the previous book (174 in number) are labeled "Features." These Features are highlighted in the book, set forth in a separate Table of Contents, and separately indexed.Many teachers will value this book as a personal reference during a teaching year as various topics are addressed. Ford's discussions of the history and meaning of topics from Newton's mechanics to Feynman's diagrams, although written first in 1968, have beautifully withstood the test of time and are fully relevant to 21st-century physics teaching.

In this engaging scientific memoir, Kenneth Ford recounts the time when, in his mid-twenties, he was a member of the team that designed and built the first hydrogen bomb. He worked with — and relaxed with — scientific giants of that time such as Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, Stan Ulam, John von Neumann, and John Wheeler, and here offers illuminating insights into the personalities, the strengths, and the quirks of these men. Well known for his ability to explain physics to nonspecialists, Ford also brings to life the physics of fission and fusion and provides a brief history of nuclear science from the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 to the ten-megaton explosion of “Mike” that obliterated a Pacific Island in 1952.Ford worked at both Los Alamos and Princeton's Project Matterhorn, and brings out Matterhorn's major, but previously unheralded contribution to the development of the H bomb. Outside the lab, he drove a battered Chevrolet around New Mexico, a bantam motorcycle across the country, and a British roadster around New Jersey. Part of the charm of Ford's book is the way in which he leavens his well-researched descriptions of the scientific work with brief tales of his life away from weapons.