Andrew Zimmerman Jones

Articles & Books From Andrew Zimmerman Jones

Teaching STEM For Dummies
Spark a passion for STEM Teaching STEM For Dummies is an easy-to-read and exciting new guide for teachers who want to inspire their students with engaging lessons and thoughtful discussions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This practical roadmap to developing hands-on classroom material relevant to the real world shows you how to define STEM topics and overcome the most common challenges to teaching these complex subjects to younger students.
String Theory For Dummies
Unravel the secrets of the universe and untangle cutting-edge physicsYes, you actually can understand quantum physics! String Theory For Dummies is a beginner’s guide, and we make it fun to find out about the all the recent trends and theories in physics, including the basics of string theory, with friendly explanations.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-10-2024
This Cheat Sheet is intended to supplement Quantum Physics For Dummies, 3rd edition, by Andrew Zimmerman Jones. It begins by reviewing some useful operators used in quantum mechanics calculations. Then it covers a useful method for solving the Schrödinger equation for the quantum wave function, and then how you can use that wave function to calculate probabilities in quantum physics.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 06-30-2022
String theory, often called the “theory of everything,” is a relatively young science that includes such unusual concepts as superstrings, branes, and extra dimensions. Scientists are hopeful that string theory will unlock one of the biggest mysteries of the universe, namely how gravity and quantum physics fit together.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
In physics, time travel is closely linked to Einstein’s theory of relativity, which allows motion in space to actually alter the flow of time. This effect is known as time dilation and was one of the earliest predictions of relativity. This sort of time travel is completely allowed by the known laws of physics, but it allows only travel into the future, not into the past.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
String theory is at the cutting edge of science. It’s a mathematical theory of nature that, at present, makes few predictions that are testable. This begs the question of what it takes for a theory to be scientific. Before you can figure out whether string theory is scientific, you have to ask, “What is science?
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
When Stephen Hawking described the Hawking radiation emitted by a black hole, he had to use his physical and mathematical intuition, because quantum physics and general relativity aren’t reconciled. One of the major successes of string theory is in offering a complete description of (some) black holes. Hawking radiation takes place when radiation is emitted from a black hole, causing it to lose mass.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Some physicists hope that a “theory of everything,” perhaps even string theory, may provide clear explanations for the underlying physical meaning of quantum physics. Among them, Lee Smolin has cited string theory’s failure to explain quantum physics as a reason to look elsewhere for a fundamental theory of the universe — a view that is certainly not maintained by the majority of string theorists.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Most string theorists believe that matrix theory is equivalent to M-theory. A year after the proposal of M-theory, Leonard Susskind introduced a suggestion for what the “M” could stand for. Matrix theory proposes that the fundamental units of the universe are 0-dimensional point particles, which Susskind calls partons (or D0-branes).
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
In string theory, the multiverse is a theory in which our universe is not the only one; many universes exist parallel to each other. These distinct universes within the multiverse theory are called parallel universes. A variety of different theories lend themselves to a multiverse viewpoint. In some theories, there are copies of you sitting right here right now reading this in other universes and other copies of you that are doing other things in other universes.