★ This is a pocket-sized, minimalist guide to quantum physics—concise yet enough to lift the veil on a corner of the universe’s mysteries.
★ What did Thomson think an atom looked like? What is string theory? How can we understand quantum entanglement? Is teleportation really possible? You’ll find clear, accurate answers to all these questions in this book.
★ From the birth of the quantum concept to the cutting edge of modern applications, this book traces the most fascinating milestones and core theories in the history of quantum physics.
★ It requires no advanced mathematical background; simply turn the pages with curiosity, and you’ll effortlessly grasp the “mad” rules of the quantum world as if listening to a story.
★ Whether you’re a curious middle school student or an adult looking to fill in your knowledge of quantum physics, open this book and you’ll discover that the quantum world is even more thrilling than science fiction.

The prospects opened up by modern quantum physics are more than enough to surpass all imagination. Thus, anyone who reads this book will be able to lift the veil of the universe’s mysteries just a little and see the physical world with entirely new eyes.

What did Thomson think an atom looked like? What is string theory? How can we understand quantum entanglement? Is teleportation really possible?

These questions, along with many other fascinating topics, are all condensed into this concise yet comprehensive little handbook. It takes up only a tiny space on your bookshelf, yet it can bring you an exceptionally rich store of knowledge.

[Author] Anastasia Ogoreva
A Russian popular-science writer, she excels at transforming complex physical theories into accessible, quick‑to‑read, lightweight texts. Her writing style is renowned for being “simple yet elegant”—condensing core concepts with precision within a very short space, eschewing lengthy mathematical derivations, and enabling even readers with no prior background to step effortlessly into the quantum world. In this book, *Quantum Physics: A Minimalist Guide*, she continues her signature minimalist approach, from atomic structure to quantum entanglement, opening a window to the microscopic universe for every curious reader.

Table of Contents

What Questions Does This Book Answer? ... 5
Preface ... 7
Chapter 1: How It All Began ... 8
Chapter 2: Wave-Particle Duality ... 11
Chapter 3: Planck’s High Threshold ... 14
Chapter 4: Dividing the Indivisible ... 18
Chapter 5: The Photon Makes Its Entrance, or Light Is Understood ... 21
Chapter 6: Don’t Trust Your Eyes ... 27
Chapter 7: Bohr’s Genius Conjecture ... 32
Chapter 8: Forbidden or Allowed ... 35
Chapter 9: de Broglie’s Electron Waves ... 38
Chapter 10: The Schrödinger Equation ... 41
Chapter 11: The Establishment of Uncertainty ... 47
Chapter 12: Bohr’s Principle of Complementarity ... 51
Chapter 13: Spin ... 55
Chapter 14: Fermi–Dirac Statistics ... 59
Chapter 15: Bose–Einstein Statistics ... 61
Chapter 16: Superconductivity ... 66
Chapter 17: Quantum Field Theory ... 69
Chapter 18: Relativistic Quantum Mechanics—The Dirac Equation ... 72
Chapter 19: Quantum Electrodynamics ... 75
Chapter 20: The Weak Interaction—Enrico Fermi ... 78
Chapter 21: The Construction of Charged-Particle Accelerators ... 84
Chapter 22: Quarks and Gluons ... 88
Chapter 23: Nuclear Reactions and Nuclear Fusion ... 92
Chapter 24: Paradoxes in Quantum Physics ... 95
Chapter 25: The Quantum Theory of Condensed Matter ... 99
Chapter 26: The Quantum Theory of Solids ... 105
Chapter 27: Quantum Optics ... 108
Chapter 28: Quantum Cryptography ... 113
Chapter 29: Quantum Computers ... 116
Chapter 30: String Theory ... 120
References ... 126