Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science (ISBN 0061209198)

Just get it...:
If quantum mechanics and all of its philosophical implications tickles your fancy, BUY THIS BOOK! Heisenberg jumps off the pages with an eloquence long forgotten in our day.

a physicist with philosophical depth:
This is an excellent work due in large part to Heisenberg's acumen both as a physicist and a philosopher. Unfortunately, even some of the great physicists have been somewhat shallow philosophers. For whatever reason(probably the fact that his father was a professor of classical studies), Heisenberg had a very good grasp of many philosophical viewpoints. He was able to mostly avoid the cartesian bifurcation that traps most physicists even to this day. He understood that much of the "trouble" with Quantum Mechanics was caused by our unwillingness to let go of the bad metaphysical assumptions that became implicit in classical physics. Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand the beauty of Quantum Mechanics with eyes wide open.

Turning Point:
I will only mentioned a few aspects of the world of quantum mechanics and then if you get bored you can read the last part where I mention some aspects of the book. Werner Heisenberg is one of the most important figures within the world of quantum mechanics. Since Max Planck discovered that electromagnetic energy could be emmited in quantized forms a series of new discoveries revolutionised the world of physics. Albert Einstein confirmed Plancks's discoveries and theorized that light was composed of discrete quanta. This discovery was just too strange. How can light behave as a wave and as a particle. You can see the double slit experiment and observe how light behave when one slit is open and when the two slits are open, just amazing.So it seems that dualistic thought can not be applied here. Is light particle or wave, the answer: BOTH!As Heisenberg says in the book: "that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning". Thus observer and observed are in some way connected and not separated as in cartesian-newtonian world.In the introduction is written clearly: "...the act of of measurement defines the thing being measured, or that the thing being measured and the thimg doing the measuring are inextricably interwined" This is why there have been some analogies between this new physics and eastern traditions (like Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics)like buddhism and the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna, founder of the Madhamyaka school that developed the concept of emptyness, that is, all phenomenon had no "self-nature" "or idependent origins", there is no such thing as Parmenide's Being.All is interconnected,like Indra's jewels in Hinduism there is no gap between the observer and the observed in the world of quantum physics. Quantum mechanics is more familiar with Heraclitus where Change is the main principle, Becoming and not Being.Particles are not "things" but are like Aristotle's potentia. Heisenberg tell us: "A quantum object, in itself, is neither one thing not the other. If you decide to measure a wave-like property, the thing you are observing will look like a wave. Measure a particle property (position or velocity), on the other hand, and you will see particle-like behaviour." Note that Heisenberg that one can measure position OR velocity, this is the pillar of the uncertainty principle. In Heisenberg's words: 2The better you measure the position of a particle, the less you can find out its velocity, and vice versa." Thus, the first years of the 1920s was a turning point in the world of physics. The Copenhagen Interpretation established the principles of quantum mechanics, some of this are: The uncertainty principle, the Complementary Principle (wave-particle duality of light) and that the description of nature is probabilistic. Now you can have a little clue about the book subtitle: "The revolution in modern science". Newtonian mechanics can' t be applied to the subatomic world.Thus, the view of nature as a Big, impersonal Machine and that it was a matter of time that "all mighty rational humanity" was to discover all its laws is far from true. Even Einstein was not happy with this group of physicians that were saying "there is no such thing called objectivity" "newtonian laws are like a fish in the desert". Einstein after the theory of special and general relativity spent much of his time lookink for a Theory of Everything (TOE), and in some isolated himself from this great discoveries being made in the field of quantum mechanics. Today there is this String Theory or M Theory wandering arround, and could be the best candidate that will unify the 4 forces: Gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak interaction. Time will tell... About the book: Heisenberg explains the developmet pf pshysics reviewing Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes (the three Milesians)Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Leucippus, then a quntum leap to Descartes and Kant. He explains relativity, space, time, the Copenhagen Interpretation, the limits of language to describe the quantum world, the role of scientists, his Nobel Lecture and much more. I think it is not a difficult book, but don't expect to understand quantum mechanics, because if you do, you really didn't understand a thing about it. So forget about binary-aristotelic logic and start developing fuzzy logics to understand a lot of weird things.

From one observer to another:
As I was reading this intelligent and provocative manuscript, I could not help think why this was not part of my undergraduate physics course. For anyone who wants to know how quantum physics came to be, this is certainly the book to read. I was completely surprised how many of the aspects of modern science we take for granted today would not be in the classroom if not for quantum physics. The linking to classical philosophy was equally stirring.

A Wonderful Overview Of Modern Physics And Its Possible Implications:
The world paradigm described by physics seemed to have changed with discoveries in the early 20th century, and yet due to the complexity of the science involved society has not been able to fully accompany that change. With that in mind, it's perhaps unfortunate that this book has not been given more prominent publicity since it was first published in 1958. In the book, Werner Heisenberg, one of the founders of quantum theory, gives a broad and insightful overview of relevant discoveries in physics in the first half of the 20th century and discusses their implications for science, philosophy, and everyday life. He relates important discoveries in physics to the history of philosophical and scientific ideas since ancient Greece, Descartes, Kant and Newton. With special insight based on his personal relationship with many great scientists of the last century, including Einstein and Bohr, he introduces the meaning of ideas such as the Theory of Relativity and his own Uncertainty Principle relating to the physical laws governing the behavior of subatomic particles. Despite dealing with complex subjects, he does a great job, in most cases, in translating concepts for the lay reader. Among many subjects, here are some things that he talks about: how "matter" is fundamentally composed of energy, how the search for a basic fundamental particle, or building block, of all other materials is influenced by our interference during the process of searching, how common notions about the nature of space and time disseminated among the general public since Newton need additional qualification, how the geometry of the universe, understood since the time of the Greeks may be understood differently in light of recent discoveries in physics. If you are looking for an explanation of 20th century physics in plain language by a top expert in the field, this is it, or probably as close as you will get. I would recommend this book for anyone in the general public who is interested in obtaining a basic understanding of the topics under examination in modern physics, and perhaps also for aspiring scientists who want to gain an understanding of the history of ideas that has led to current research. A great read.