The undivided universe

Those of you who have an interest in quantum mechanics will know that there are several different interpretations of the subject. 'The undivided universe' deals with one of those interpretations, Bohm's ontological interpretation. If you have read some of Bohm's popular accounts then you might have felt that his ideas were a bit 'wooly'. This book shows that, on the contrary they are precisely thought out - indeed I would say they are better thought out than many of the other interpretations. The book uses undergraduate level mathematics and a previous knowledge of 'orthodox' quantum theory would be useful, but no specific prior knowledge of the subject is required.

The authors show how their interpretation can be used to deal with the quantum measurement problem and the emergence of a classical limit. They also demonstrate how it can be extended to encompass quantum field theory. Their interpretation is non-local, but they show how relativistic invariance can be derived on the macroscopic scale.

The book looks at other interpretations of quantum theory, including the Copenhagen and Many-Worlds interpretations. If you are interested in the different interpretations then this book would be a good place to get a firm grounding of what they say and what their problems are.