With vigor and elegance, Kumar describes the clash of titans that took place in
the world of physics in the early 20th century, between physicists who did and
those who did not believe in the quantum.the strange concept that we now know to
be the underpinning of reality. The titans in Kumar's account of the conflict are
Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. In 1900, Max Planck discovered that electromagnetic
radiation and the energy of light are transmitted not in a continuous flow but in
small packets called quanta (singular, quantum). Bohr applied the idea of quantum
to electrons, leading to the development of quantum mechanics. Bohr's theory
explained experimental results that were inexplicable in classical theory. Einstein
rejected Bohr's theory overturning reality in dangerous but also thrilling ways.
The clash culminated at the 1927 Solway conference. Kumar, founding editor of
Prometheus and a consulting science editor for Wired UK, recounts this meaty, dense,
exciting story, filled with vivid characters and sharp insights. With physics
undergoing another revolution today, Kumar reminds us of a time when science turned
the universe upside down.

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