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QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter Later Printing Edition

by Richard P. Feynman (Author)

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Famous the world over for the creative brilliance of his insights into the physical world, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman also possessed an extraordinary talent for explaining difficult concepts to the nonscientist. QED--the edited version of four lectures on quantum electrodynamics that Feynman gave to the general public at UCLA as part of the Alix G. Mautner Memorial Lecture series--is perhaps the best example of his ability to communicate both the substance and the spirit of science to the layperson.

The focus, as the title suggests, is quantum electrodynamics (QED), the part of the quantum theory of fields that describes the interactions of the quanta of the electromagnetic field-light, X rays, gamma rays--with matter and those of charged particles with one another. By extending the formalism developed by Dirac in 1933, which related quantum and classical descriptions of the motion of particles, Feynman revolutionized the quantum mechanical understanding of the nature of particles and waves. And, by incorporating his own readily visualizable formulation of quantum mechanics, Feynman created a diagrammatic version of QED that made calculations much simpler and also provided visual insights into the mechanisms of quantum electrodynamic processes.

In this book, using everyday language, spatial concepts, visualizations, and his renowned "Feynman diagrams" instead of advanced mathematics, Feynman successfully provides a definitive introduction to QED for a lay readership without any distortion of the basic science. Characterized by Feynman's famously original clarity and humor, this popular book on QED has not been equaled since its publication.

ISBN-10

0691024170
ISBN-13

978-0691024172
Edition

Later Printing
Publisher

Princeton University Press
Publication date

October 1, 1988
Language

English
Dimensions

5.63 x 0.43 x 8.58 inches
Print length

176 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Physics Nobelist Feynman simply cannot help being original. In this quirky, fascinating book, he explains to laymen the quantum theory of light, a theory to which he made decisive contributions." ― The New Yorker

"Feynman's lectures must have been marvelous and they have been turned into an equally entrancing book, a vivid introduction to QED which is leavened and enlivened by his wit. Anyone with a curiosity about physics today should buy it, not only to get to grips with the deepest meaning of quantum theory but to possess a slice of history."---Pedro Waloschek, Nature

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Later Printing edition (October 1, 1988)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691024170
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691024172
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1270L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.63 x 0.43 x 8.58 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #356,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Particle Physics
- #34 in Applied Physics
- #10,586 in Unknown

Customer Reviews:
4.6 134 ratings

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Richard P. Feynman

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Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 and grew up in Far Rockaway, New York. At the age of seventeen he entered MIT and in 1939 went to Princeton, then to Los Alamos, where he joined in the effort to build the atomic bomb. Following World War II he joined the physics faculty at Cornell, then went on to Caltech in 1951, where he taught until his death in 1988. He shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965, and served with distinction on the Shuttle Commission in 1986. A commemorative stamp in his name was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2005.

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Charles

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024

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Good explanation of QED

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Weight Watcher

Excellent, but a crucial question NOT explained

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2014

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I bought this book to understand WHY and HOW two magnets pull my hands forcefully towards each other. All the commonplace and trite talk about a "Field" explains actually nothing (no details, no mechanism).

I believe this is a major question of interest to many and many, and that this question is directly related to the subject of this book - QED. The author says many words about QED explaining everything in physics besides gravitation and nuclear forces and candidly acknowledges some inexplicable facts of Nature, but he is mum on my question.

The book is excellent and very easy to read. It gives a lot of very valuable information but I finished it disappointed and would be very thankful to any helpful comment.

2 people found this helpful

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Dojo Master

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2011

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This book is intriguing, which is odd because I'm not a physics major and certainly know very little of the subject.That being said, however, I can't help but feel interest when I read the book because it is intuitively explained and for a novice, that's a big thing.There are times when the things simply can't be explained that well given their difficulty and that's acceptable because this book succeeds in everything else it attempts to do, which is to inform the reader of something which we encounter and yet do not normally think about.

One person found this helpful

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Eric

It will suck you in and you will be amazed at how ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015

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Absolutely incredible. It will suck you in and you will be amazed at how clearly Feynman can explain concepts without making you feel like a moron. While some paragraphs will require a couple glances the material is easy (for the most part) to understand and follow. Absolute must for those who enjoy science and physics.

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5X Space Cadet

Nobody Understands it Including Me

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015

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This book is the edited transcription of a lecture series given by renowned physicist, Richard P. Feynman, at UCLA in 1983. These lectures were designed for an audience of intelligent individuals who are interested in physics but only the good stuff, not the dirty work of slogging through all the math. That said, unless you are a physicist, masochist or perhaps need something to put you to sleep at night this book is not for you.

Feynman in my opinion is one of the greatest physicists of all times, mostly because of his ability to explain just about anything at a level lay people, or at least those like myself with a lowly bachelor's degree in physics, could understand. When I was in college pursuing such I relied heavily on my three volume set of "Feynman's Lectures on Physics" to help me understand certain theories where my college texts failed to explain them sufficiently. Thus, when I obtained this book I expected it to provide a better understanding of quantum electrodynamics than I had previously, which of course was essentially null so it could only increase. That did, indeed, happen, but not to the level I'd hoped for.
Feynman warns his readers right up front in the Introduction on page 9 when he says, "It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see, my physics students don't understand it either. That is because I don't understand it. Nobody does."

Great. It was considerate to point out right up front that I would feel either lost or stupid throughout, which certainly proved to be the case. For me even the various diagrams he uses to explain these phenomena (which ultimately became known as Feynman diagrams) were more confusing than not. He did note that it took his graduate student three years to grasp them which was somewhat comforting. Nonetheless, toward the end they reminded me more of Abbott and Costello's famous skit we know as "Who's on first?" then the interaction of fundamental particles. However, Feynman's humor and witty style kept me reading for such jewels as "I have delighted in showing you that the price of gaining such an accurate theory has been the erosion of our common sense."

Nonetheless, as I lay this book to rest on my shelf I will admit that it does contain numerous dog-eared pages and lots of highlighting. I'm fascinated by the fact that some particles at the quantum level go backward in time. I mean, seriously, how cool is that? I now understand that QED is about the mysterious interaction between photons and electrons, which of course makes sense with a title of "quantum electrodynamics." Duh. I now also understand more fully what a Feynman diagram comprises. Thus, even though he was correct in assuming that I wouldn't understand it, I do know more than I did when I started reading so the experience was not a total loss.

One thing to bear in mind if you should decide to take on this book is that since 1983 when these lectures were delivered (and just happens to be the year I started college) much more has been discovered in the field of particle physics. This is explained beautifully by the proofreading notes at the end of this book, the first dated November 1984 which states, "Since these lectures were given, suspicious events observed in experiments made it appear possible that some other particle or phenomenon, new and unexpected (and therefore not mentioned in these lectures), may soon be discovered." The second proofreading note dated April 1985 stated, "At this moment the "suspicious events" mentioned above appear to be a false alarm. The situation no doubt will have changed again by the time you read this book. Things change faster in physics than in the book publishing business."

Probably the biggest news in this field to come in the past few years was the discovery of the "God particle" or Higgs boson. This book certainly prepares you for the existence of new particles and provides some understanding of what is involved in that process and why it's not an easy matter. It you really want to get into this stuff this book is a good primer.

In conclusion, it's worth noting that "Q.E.D." is a term also used in mathematics at the end of a proof as an abbreviation for the Latin saying "quod erat demonstrandum," i.e., "which was to be demonstrated." If nothing else, Feyman truly demonstrated that this stuff really is beyond human understanding even for those who can do the math. In other words, they may be able to determine what is going on but certainly not the why, which lies in another realm. Thus, it is my sincerest hope that since this great man now resides in that very place that he can at last fully understand it. I sure don't.

14 people found this helpful

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Withans

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2009

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I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Very simple explanation of the essence of "e to ix" to any one not exposed to math. I passed the book on to an uncle. Then I was sorry I did it as soon as I handed the book because I remembered it's now out of publication. In the end still happy to have an English teacher exposed to this book.

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Nun yabizness

Wonderful book, people are not exaggerating when they say ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017

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Wonderful book, people are not exaggerating when they say Feynman was skilled at explaining complex/more advanced topics in a simple way that are easy to follow. I highly recommend this book.

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I. Robertson

Title is misleading, next to nothing on the mechanism of photons interacting with matter

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

OK, I have to a give a book by Feynman at least three stars. It did give me something, a crude idea of how physicists solve these problems. But As Feynman states pretty early, its just a procedure, no one really understands what is going on, what the mechanisms are. I'd like to ask some other physicists if they agree with that, perhaps its true. But what I actually wanted was a discussion of the mechanisms by which photons interact with matter. I think the title is misleading, it implies that the book explains how photons interact with matter. If it is really true that the mechanism is a complete mystery as Feynman states, then why exactly should I want to follow a very esoteric technique for solving problems in optics?
Also, this is not a book for a layperson, even with its lack of equations, the knowledge it presumes is far beyond a layperson, layperson here means someone with a doctorate in some other branch of physics. I have no idea why a genuine layperson should be interested in this book. I have an undergraduate background in math and physics and a doctorate in molecular biology, have done work involving biophysics using FRET to measure the motion of proteins interacting. The level of this discussion was not for a layperson.

5 people found this helpful

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