Through Two Doors at Once

June 25, 2018
Science writer Ananthaswamy (The Man Who Wasn’t There) guides readers through the odd byways and revelations of one of modern physics’s most groundbreaking experiments. The tale begins some 200 years ago when Thomas Young, a youthful member of the Royal Society of London, challenged Isaac Newton’s assertion that light is made of tiny particles. Young’s experiment—shining light through a barrier with two slits cut into it and a screen beyond—showed the light beams recombined beyond the slits to create a row of alternating bright and dark stripes, or interference fringes, “created when two waves overlap.” But that wasn’t the end of the matter, and the particle versus wave question raised new hackles with the early 20th-century breakthroughs of Albert Einstein and the rise of quantum theory. Over the course of this intellectual journey, Ananthaswamy introduces a fascinating array of ideas, e.g., that quantum mechanics means humans should “give up notions of locality in 3-D space our notions of time too,” and characters, e.g., “quantum cowboy” Marlan Scully, famed for “pioneering research on the nature of reality and beef cattle production.” This accessible, illuminating book shows that no matter how sophisticated the lab setup, the double-slit experiment still challenges physicists.

July 1, 2018

In his latest work, journalist Ananthaswamy (The Man Who Wasn't There) explores the famous "double-slit" experiment. Although simple, the investigation is profound as it defies classical, Newtonian physics as well as the way human beings intuitively perceive reality. It was first performed in 1801, when physicist Thomas Young directed sunlight through a tiny pinhole in a window shutter and then around each side of a paper card. The resulting interference pattern convinced Young that light is made of waves rather than particles. Further double-slit experiments, however, would reveal more perplexing results by showing that light (and electrons) display characteristics of both waves and particles. Throughout, Ananthaswamy depicts the various ways the experiment has been performed and also describes its impact on the greatest scientists of the 20th century, shedding light on how they have interpreted the findings. VERDICT An engaging and accessible history of a fascinating and baffling experiment that remains inconclusive to this day. Recommended for those interested in the subject or anyone wishing to delve further into the double-slit experiment.--Dave Pugl, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2018
A thrilling survey of the most famous, enduring, and enigmatic experiment in the history of science.First conceived in the early 1800s, the so-called "double-slit experiment" has provided essential clues to the nature of the quantum world. Briefly, the experiment shows that light behaves both as a particle and a wave. The mechanics of this seemingly impossible quantum behavior have confounded every scientist who dared attempt an interpretation--and yet the experiment remains among the most powerful available to physicists and has been reimagined in ways that push our notions of reality to the very edge of belief. In this remarkable telling, Ananthaswamy (The Man Who Wasn't There: Investigations into the Strange New Science of the Self, 2015, etc.) traces the experiment as it evolved from a heady thought experiment--famously used by Einstein, Bohr, and Heisenberg as they grappled with an early understanding of quantum theory--to the pioneering experimentalists who have augmented it to demonstrate never-before-seen quantum properties. If the subject matter sounds intimidating, fear not. The author is a brilliant scientific storyteller, and he makes sense of even the most nonsensical concepts in clear, compelling prose. Combining archival research and first-person interviews, Ananthaswamy deftly navigates both the foundational principles of quantum mechanics and the many iterations of the two-slit experiment with such ease that readers of any scientific acumen can revel in the implications without being bogged down by the math. It is no exaggeration to say that the results yielded by the two-slit experiment are among the most fascinating to ever be recorded, and the author does an exceptional job of conveying their profound effect on our understanding of reality.Once again, Ananthaswamy delivers a book that has all the intrigue of science fiction while remaining rooted in the scientific real, however bizarre. A fantastic book for anyone interested in the quantum and what it reveals about the world around us.

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