The Odd Quantum

Physics is beautiful. To understand beauty is rewarding. But beauty has its language. Mathematics is the language of physics. Most popular science books avoid mathematics. They focus on long and boring prose that never seem to get to the point. This book is crystal clear, filled with insights and brilliant explanations. The mathematics is here to help. Fear not. This book will surprise you greatly.

In the opening introduction, Dr. Treiman explains that he wanted to write a book on quantum physics that was somewhere between the mathematical treatments one typically finds in graduate and advanced undergraduate texts, and the almost purely philosophical, "no equations allowed" armchair reading so common in the popular press. I believe that Dr. Treiman has been largely successful in achieving this goal, and I found "The Odd Quantum" to be one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long while.It's not hard to find books in the popular press such as "Schrodinger's Kittens and the search for reality" that deal with the subject of quantum physics. There are other examples, but all of them share one thing in common -- an almost complete lack of any real quantitative analysis or any equations. Some authors complain that a book's popularity has a kind of mathematical inverse relationship between the number of equations in the book and the number of books sold. The result is a plethora of books that deal qualitatively with philosophical issues upon which almost anyone will feel qualified to speculate.Treiman's book is not of that ilk. True, this is not a mathematically rigorous book, nor does it develop many of the mathematical nuances found in modern quantum theory. But the book is no mathematical slouch, either. Without requiring a tremendous amount of mathematical skill, Trieman manages to bring out many of the most interesting aspects of quantum theory with clearly elucidated equations. It's a little difficult deciding exactly what level of mathematical expertise Treiman had in mind for his readers. On the one hand, he presents Maxwell's equations with apology for the mathematical form, yet in later parts of the book he includes much of the same mathematical formalism (partial differentials, for example) with apparent expectation on the part of the reader. I suspect that his perception of the reader's grasp of mathematics is someone who has at least completed a first semester of calculus. Mathematical subjects covered in the book include integration, differentiation, partial differentiation, and some common mathematical operators. The author develops the linear non-relativistic Schrodinger equation, and if you can handle that level of mathematics the rest of the text should present no problem.Another feature of this book is its no-nonsense approach. The author does not delve into issues such as parallel worlds, or even too much of the meaning of reality. These are all common subjects in most armchair texts on quantum theory, but Treiman's book pretty much ignores all that in favor of a basic mathematical description of the core issues in quantum mechanics. This is an ideal text as a companion for an introductory class in quantum mechanics, or as a refresher course for those who have studied the subject, but not been actively involved with it since their formal education. Mathematically i