David Bohm: A Life Dedicated to Understanding the Quantum World

Description

This authoritative biography addresses the life and work of the quantum physicist David Bohm. Although quantum physics is considered the soundest physical theory, its strange and paradoxical features have challenged - and continue to challenge - even the brightest thinkers. David Bohm dedicated his entire life to enhancing our understanding of quantum mysteries, in particular quantum nonlocality. His work took place at the height of the cultural/political upheaval in the 1950's, which led him to become the most notable American scientist to seek exile in the last century. The story of his life is as fascinating as his ideas on the quantum world are appealing. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Living Through Cold War Storms, Attempting to Understand the Quantum (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 1-18 From Wilkes-Barre to a Physics Ph.D. at Berkeley (1917–1945) (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 19-45 Teaching and Doing Research at Princeton, Caught up in the Cold War Storms (1947–1951) (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 47-76 The Long Campaign for the Causal Interpretation (1952–1960). Brazil, Israel, and the U.K. (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 77-117 From the Causal Interpretation to the Wholeness and Order—The First Stage of the London Years (1960–1979) (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 119-168 The Quest for Compatibility Between the Causal Interpretation and the Wholeness Approach (1979–1992) (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 169-203 Epilogue (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 205-222 The Legacy of David Bohm in Physics—An Essay in Scientometry (Olival Freire Junior)....Pages 223-240 Back Matter ....Pages 241-250