Teach Your Dog to Walk a Treadmill – 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist

Teach Your Dog To Walk A Treadmill 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist

When physics professor Chad Orzel went to the pound to adopt a dog, he never imagined Emmy. She wasn’t just a friendly mutt who necessitated a home; she was a talking dog with an active interest in what her new proprietor did for a living and how it could work for her.

Soon Emmy was attempting to use the strange ideas of quantum mechanics for the actually essential things in her life: chasing critters, getting treats, and going for walks. She peppered Chad with questions: Could she use quantum tunneling to get through the neighbor’s fence and chase bunnies? What in regards to quantum teleportation to catch squirrels before they climb out of reach? Where are all the universes in which Chad drops steak on the floor? And what when it comes to the bunnies made of cheese that ought to be appearing out of not one thing in the backyard?

With outstanding humor and clarity, Chad Orzel explains to Emmy, and to humane readers, just what quantum mechanics is and how it works — and why, even though you can’t use it to catch squirrels or eat steak, it’s still bizarre, amazing, and primary to each dog and human.

Follow along as Chad and Emmy talk about the central parts of quantum theory, from corpuscles that behave like waves and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to entanglement (“spooky action at a distance”) and virtual particles. Along the way, they talk about the history of the theory, such as the experiments that came across that electrons are waves and corpuscles at the same time, and Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr’s decades-long debate over what quantum theory in truth meant (Einstein may have been smarter, but Bohr was right more often).

Don’t get caught looking less informed than Emmy. How to Teach Physics to Your Dog will show you the universe that lies under each and everyday reality, in all it is randomness, uncertainty, and wonder.

“Forget Schrödinger’s Cat,” says Emmy, “quantum physics is all when it comes to dogs.” And once you see quantum physics explained to a dog, you’ll never see the world the same way again.

From Publishers WeeklyWhat do dog treats and chasing squirrels have to do with quantum mechanics? Much more than you might imagine, as Orzel explains in this fun introduction to innovative physics based on a series of conversations with his dog Emmy. Dogs make the perfective sounding board for physics talk, because they approach the world with less preconceptions than humans, and always suppose the unexpected. Physicist Orzel begins with the basics, explaining how light may be both particle and wave simultaneously—a bit like a dog that may split itself into two to chase a rabbit no matter which direction it runs. A look at Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle begins with a hunt for a hypothetical bone. Schrödinger’s cat becomes, of course, Schrödinger’s dog. Quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation and virtual atoms (composed, for example, of bunny-antibunny pairs) are all explained with the author’s characteristic lighthearted touch. While Orzel’s activity of formally presenting something may be a bit too cherished for some, readers who’ve shied away from general treatments of physics in the past may find his cheerful discussion a real treat. (Dec.)
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From BooklistParticle physicist Orzel has a smart and energetic German shepherd-mix, Emmy, who’s fascinated in what he does for a living that keeps her in treats and kibble. So she asks him when it comes to it, and he tells her, with a great deal of chaseable bunnies and squirrels illustratively standing-in for photons, electrons, and other particles. He cheerfully and uncommonly distinctly explains particle-wave duality; Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle (and the popular-media misuse of it); photon superposition and polarization; wave-function collapse and Bohr’s rigorous discrimination among quantum and classical physics; the many-worlds view of quantum mechanics that defies wave-function collapse; the quantum Zeno effect; quantum tunneling (right through “solid” barriers); entanglement and how it enables teleportation (at the quantum scale, that is); virtual molecules and quantum electrodynamics; and the fraudulence of quantum-mechanics-exploiting “free energy” and healing schemes. Emmy’s attempts to implement her new cognition practically (to catch squirrels and bunnies) keeps the speech moving. It’s hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to perceive basic quantum physics. –Ray Olson

Review

“[D]on’t let Orzel’s laid back nature or clever sense of humor fool you—he is explaining numerous gorgeous severe stuff. A level-headed and convinced guide, he takes Emmy (and the reader) through everything from wave-particle duality and superpositions to quantum tunneling and the so-called “many worlds” interpretation (“many worlds, a great deal of treats”).” –NewScientist.com

Teach Your Dog To Walk A Treadmill 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist Pic

Teach Your Dog To Walk A Treadmill 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist Photo

Teach Your Dog To Walk A Treadmill 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist Image

Teach Your Dog To Walk A Treadmill 2009 Canis Film Festival Finalist Photo

Most helpful client reviews

94 of 95 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent conceptual introduction to quantum mechanics, with history and humor.
By Two kids mom
First let me say that I have a degree in physics and in education. I may not be the typical reader but I think I may provide a reasonable review of this book.

The book is a very clear and well delineated comprehensible statement of the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. Orzel provides the applicable background necessitated to perceive each division along with a historical outline of how the physics developed. His instructing is lucid and straightforward (think Carl Sagan or Isaac Asimov). The examples and questions are provided outlined in a tongue in cheek manner as discussions with his dog. I am more or less torn with regards to the verbiage relating to his dog, it is most times funny, but may likewise be distracting. I think in the classroom the humor would come all over more consistently. It does add a level of ridiculousness to the book, and if quantum mechanics is anything, it is from time to time rather foolish to those of us living our each and everyday lives in a classical world.

I also laughed out piercing numerous times while reading the chapter on debunking the snake oil salesmen who undertake to use respective garbled versions of quantum mechanics to explain how their gizmos may provide “free energy” or “improve your health”. I have had a lot of conversations with persons when it comes to these contraptions (and those Amish space heaters advertized in the paper all the time, but that is another issue).

The historical perspective in each section is excellent, distinctively the development of wave/particle duality and the Copenhagen interpretation. Orzel’s activity of formally presenting something of the manner in which theories are invented and tested is superb. For students this is may be eye opening, a lot of of them seem to believe that science formulates in a linear and straightforward manner and the examples staged by Orzel show the more convoluted path ofttimes taken.

I took a class from Murray Gell-Mann a few years ago (well more than a few years) and we read “The Quark and the Jaguar” as percentage of our class assignment. After reading the Gell-Manns book and taking his class I felt like I knew a lot more when it comes to quantum mechanics, but I had to break up each section and actually chew on it to reach that understanding. Mind you, I took quantum mechanics in college, I could do the math, but I had little true understanding of the underlying principles. “How to Teach Physics to your Dog” is a lot less mental work (and substantially less math) and yields an overall understanding of the conceptions of quantum mechanics. In a way this book reminds me of Hewitt’s Conceptual Physics textbook, the ideas are the most important and the minimal math plays a secondary and supporting role.

This book is suitable for

* Physics students (after taking classical mechanics) from when it comes to high school AP level.

* To read BEFORE you take quantum mechanics at the college level. This book is not going to help you with the differential equations, Fourier transformations and other math, but at least you might know why you are doing them.

* Those with at least a good deal of background (or a outstanding deal of interest) in science who wish to perceive the conceptions of quantum mechanics. If you have perfectly no science at all you may struggle with a lot of of the vocabulary.

Overall a very gratifying read, laugh out piercing amusive at times and a clear and well coordinated introduction to quantum mechanics for those with interest in science. Highly recommend.

29 of 30 humans found the following review helpful.
Quantum Mechanics for the Lay Person – magnificent occupation with a few minor quibbles
By Joel Avrunin
Writing a book when it comes to physics for laymen may always be a difficult task. I have read more than I may count. Books may either be too technical and unapproachable to be of interest to the lay person, or they may be so ridiculous and not relevant that not sufficient meaty selective information is contained within. As a background on myself, I am an engineer by training, and as a wise man on Magrathea once said, “I am a great fan of science.”

The book itself is geared towards somebody with a decent cognition of physics and math, but not inevitably quantum mechanics. I would say high-school level will have to be fine, but then again, with what passes for high school education, it’s possible that it could be beyond some humans (some may have issue with words like exponential). The reader must note that the book is genuinely “How to Teach Quantum Mechanics To Your Dog” as Physics in usual is not covered (and it even fends off relativity). This is not a negative, but just an FYI.

Overall, magnificent book—I in all likelihood picked up something new in each chapter. Some of the science was familiar, even though I was not conscious of all the players and fun stories involved. For the science I knew, I cherished having a good way to explain it to friends and family. As the book progressed, I ran into new things when it comes to quantum mechanics which I did not know.

You’ll learn with regards to how the most many times referenced piece of quantum mechanics (Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) is also the most misunderstood. You’ll also learn not only regarding Schrodinger’s Cat, but also his numerous women (who knew physicists were like that?). The book builds on basic quantum mechanics to talk about numerous of the more interesting theories—for instance, the many-worlds theory to explain how things like superposition genuinely work (while Orzel doesn’t mention it, the many-worlds theory likewise helps solve a great deal of mathematical difficulties in both cosmology and evolution). However, no matter what the doctrine you choose to utilize to why sure things happen, it does not modify the equations, which is the point of the book. He likewise discusses quantum zeno (how to stop a quantum state jump by watching it), quantum tunneling, quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation, quantum electrodynamics, and a great deal of misuses of quantum physics (like quantum healing). In short, anything quantum you want to recognise in regards to is likely summarized in this little tome.

Throughout the book, the dialog is staged as a talk amid the scientist and his dog. At times it got a little tedious, but more many times than not, it broke up the scientific jargon with conversation, and most times the analogies to a dog finding a bunny in the backyard genuinely seemed to work (or treats in a bag). I also dug the occasional obligatory Star Trek reference… of course quantum states existent in galore worlds would include the evil worlds where the quantum atoms all have goatees…..

I will knock off 1 star for this—-I don’t feel the book did sufficient to explain how quantum mechanics is used in our each and everyday lives. Quantum tunneling microscopes are cool, but who knows what they are? A few pages on lasers or tunnel diodes might have been nice. There were brief discussions of quantum cryptography and computing, but I thought these could have been expanded. In addition, quantum electrodynamics started to get a little too technical and deep for an intermediate reader (but it was the last technical chapter, so I think it was well placed).

To learn more, I would commend numerous of the splendid books by Simon Singh who has an evenly approachable way with explaining complex science. Chad Orzel brushes the edge of relativity, but distinctively says he is avoiding it for the intents of his book. To read a lot of splendid explanations of relativity and cosmology in a similar voice, you might enlarge or increase this book with “The Big Bang” by Singh.

Overall, I give the book 4 stars—it is an magnificent effort, and I unquestionably learned rather a bit from reading it. While I did get it through the Vine program, this is the kind of book I would unquestionably commend purchasing yourself. I got rid of 1 star because I in truth did want a great deal of more practical apps (and I did feel that the voice from time to time drifted too technical for the intermediate reader), but it is a quality piece of work and will have a place on my shelf by Stephen Hawking and others.

19 of 19 humans found the following review helpful.
A delightful introduction to Quantum Physics
By Robert C. Ross
I was delighted to read scienceteachermom’s positive review of this book here on Amazon; as a usual reader with a superficial interest in science and mathematics, it was very helpful to learn that the science here was well founded. (I thought so, but as our Cavalier King Charles many times reminds me, I’m not always well informed — peculiarly when it comes to how much feed he ought to get to eat.)

Chad Orzel’s conceit is to carry on conversations with his dog when it comes to physics. As an example he describes a solution of the “collapse” problem proposed by Hugh Everett III — “there is no such thing as the collapse of the wavefunction.” After numerous difficult thinking (by me) through a great deal of refined and tasteful and clear prose (by Orzel), I was competent to make “some” sense of a number of mathematical equations. But as Orzel points out they get elaborated very quickly and his dog sets me straight:

“You know, I’m not getting a lot out of these equations.”

“You’re not supposed to understand them in detail. They’re just there to illustrate the increasing complexity of the wave function in a more compact manner.”

“So, basically, they’re just supposed to look scary?”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, good job, then.”

***

Orzel’s book is for the most part fun for me, a usual reader who finds reading with regards to science as much more interesting than closely all science fiction. And, when Orzel takes on what he calls “quantum quackery”, I learn stuff that I may in truth utilise in discussions with my New Age friends. A in particular delightful expose involves analyzing Deepak Chopra’s substitute medicine tome, Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine.

Orzel says that Chopra uses scientific sounding terms that are just word salad. The theory, as Orzel describes it, “the key is to measure yourself as healthful … if you always measure yourself to be in fine health, quantum measurement will see to it that you never get sick.” By this point in Orzel’s text, I had a frequent sense of how that might work on the quantum level.

But, Orzel points out two major problems: Chopra and others are applying quantum ideas to schemes that are far too huge to show quantum effects: they are hard to tease out, the greatest formally presenting something involved “only” a billion electrons and for the Zeno effect, only a single particle. More fundamental, quantum effects are basically random — no matter which wavefunction theory you subscribe to, “there is no way to recognise in advance how a given quantum measurement will turn out.”

***

So long as you have a basic understanding of science and mathematics, and an interest in learning more with regards to both, you will find this charming little book a very pleasant read.

Robert C. Ross 2009

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