Popular Science Review - Einstein's Moon

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Review - Einstein's Moon: Bell's Theorem and the Curious Quest for Quantum Reality - F. David Peat

The moon in question featured in an ironic question Einstein once asked of physicist Abraham Pais: "Do you really believe that the moon only exists when you are looking at it?" This apparent echo back to Bishop Berkeley's question of whether or not a tree exists in the middle of a forest with no one there to see it was in response to the idea from quantum theory that until we observe a particle it can't truly be said to be anywhere in particular - it is the act of measurement that establishes values such as position and momentum.

To pick an adjective from the title, it's a curious book. A very curious book. It is written in a confident, enjoyable, readable style. Peat manages to introduce some complex and confusing concepts and put them across very well, particularly through effective use of analogy. Yet it's a little difficult to say what the book is really about.

It describes the origins of quantum theory, the conflict between Bohr and Einstein over the effectiveness of quantum theory, the emergence of Bell's Theorem as a way of testing whether or not local reality truly exists (Einstein's hope that underlying the fuzzy probabilistic predictions of quantum theory were real values that we just couldn't measure), and the subsequent experiments that would prove quantum theory won over local reality.

Peat goes on to describe quantum potential, David Bohm's alternative approach to quantum theory in some length, and ends by giving us a bit of philosophising on whether or not there really is (erm) reality.

It's enjoyable, but still there's a feeling of "and?" With a fuzziness that impressively parallels quantum theory itself, it is very hard to identify what has been achieved when you get to the end of the book.

If you are reading widely on the subject of quantum theory, this is a good book to include early on in your reading, as it achieves a simplicity few of its competitors have managed - but it does leave you with that snack food feeling of needing more substance.

Also in hardback (illustration shows hardback cover):

Reviewed by Brian Clegg

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