Learning Quantum Mechanics by Devon Bowen

Learning Quantum Mechanics by Devon Bowen

This book teaches the theory of quantum mechanics using the software-engineering methodology known as object-oriented programming. Readers are led, step-by-step, through the creation of an interactive software library that accurately mirrors quantum mechanics. Along the way, they learn the history and motivation behind the theory, its vocabulary, and many of its implications, such as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and quantum entanglement. Importantly, all of this is accomplished assuming only a secondary-school education in math and physics. The book is of interest to anyone who wants to learn quantum mechanics but is lacking the background needed to read more traditional texts. This includes scientists in disciplines other than physics (geochemists, computer scientists, biologists, and even philosophers), as well as amateur coders and hobbyists who simply have an interest in learning how the universe in which they live really works.

Devon Bowen studied computer science at the University at Buffalo in New York, where he was also active in the nascent free-software movement and taught courses in computer architecture and operating system design. He went on to develop large-scale software platforms and teach programming courses for industry. He holds an additional degree in geoscience, with a focus on geochemistry, from the Open University in the United Kingdom. He is the lead developer of the Easotope software, which is used by laboratories to do clumped isotope analysis. This particular book sprang from his recent interest in quantum computation. He lives in Switzerland.