The Dancing Wu Li Masters

The much-loved classic introduction to quantum physics is written for students with no mathematical or technical background. “Wu Li” is the Chinese word for physics. It means “Patterns of Organic Energy,” but it also means “Nonsense,” “My Way,” “I Clutch My Ideas,” and “Enlightenment.” These enchanting ideas form the framework through which Zukav weaves his exploration of quantum mechanics and relativity theory. Surprisingly clear and easy to read, The Dancing Wu Li Masters explains that the Wu Li Master dances with his student. The Wu Li Master does not teach, but the student learns. The Wu Li Master always begins at the center, the heart of the matter. This book deals not with knowledge, which is always past tense anyway, but with imagination, which is physics come alive, which is Wu Li. Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li Masters know that they are only dancing with it. In exquisite detail, Zukav covers such topics as: • Bohr’s model of the atom • Newton’s physics • subatomic “particles” • Organic and inorganic • Schrödinger’s cat • Galilan relativity principle • the S Matrix • the quantum model of the atom • space-time continuum • Gravity and acceleration • quantum field theory • anti-particles • Feynman diagrams • quarks • Hideki Yukawa • Bell’s theorem • quantum logic • John von Neumann • David Finklestein • the distributive law • David Bohm In The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Zukav allows students to look at the world through the eyes of modern physicists and physics.