Einstein, Bohr and the Quantum Dilemma

The debate between Bohr and Einstein, which raged in the 1920s and 1930s, involved the two greatest physicists of the twentieth century. The debate concerned the quantum theory, probably the most successful physical theory of all time, and this book explores the details of the conflict, as well as its significance for contemporary views on the foundations of quantum theory.

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The debate between Bohr and Einstein, which raged in the 1920s and 1930s, but which is still highly relevant today, involved the two greatest physicists of the twentieth century, and played a large part in Einstein, perhaps the most famous scientist ever, going into effective scientific exile. The debate concerned the quantum theory, probably the most successful physical theory of all time, and this book explores the details of the conflict, as well as its significance for contemporary views on the foundations of quantum theory. The author gives sympathetic accounts of the views of both Bohr and Einstein, and a thorough study of the argument between them. The book also includes non-technical and non-mathematical accounts of the development of quantum theory and relativity, and also the work of David Bohm and John Bell in the 1950s and 1960s that restored interest in Einstein's views. Also included is a full account of the many current experimental and theoretical developments on quantum theory.