We may not realize it but almost everyone uses quantum mechanics (QM) on a daily basis.
People who know a bit about QM tend to associate it with its weirder, more esoteric properties.
For example, according to the laws of QM, particles can be separated by vast distances but still communicate with each other instantaneously, or even be in more than one place at once.
Though these properties make QM sound like a strange branch of theoretical physics with few practical functions, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Many common technologies employ QM, including computers, digital cameras and cellphones as well as laboratory equipment, lasers, atomic clocks and so on.
To address this topic, physicist and writer Chad Orzel has written Breakfast with Einstein: The Exotic Physics of Everyday Objects.
Meant for a popular audience, the book explains how and why common technologies use QM.
Orzel does an excellent job of illustrating QM theories without over-simplifying them.
Among other things, he defines what we know about the ever-elusive properties of quantum objects, which can be both waves and particles, can be in more than one state at once and can affect one another instantly regardless of the distance between them.
Einstein earned his place in the title by making enormous contributions to the understanding of quantum mechanics.
Orzel’s book is available at local libraries.
