Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Richard P. Feynman
- ISBN：0465025277
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Summary
Learn from a Nobel Peace Prize winner in this entertaining and educational guide to physics， written for the enjoyment of curious beginners and aspiring scientists alike。
It was Richard Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics。 From 1961 to 1963， Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world。 Six Easy Pieces， taken from these famous Lectures on Physics， represent the most accessible material from the series。
In these classic lessons， Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms， basic physics， energy， gravitation， quantum mechanics， and the relationship of physics to other topics。 With his dazzling and inimitable wit， Feynman presents each discussion with a minimum of jargon。 Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations， Six Easy Pieces is the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible physicists of modern times。
"If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be Six Easy Pieces。"- John Gribbin， New Scientist
It was Richard Feynman's outrageous and scintillating method of teaching that earned him legendary status among students and professors of physics。 From 1961 to 1963， Feynman delivered a series of lectures at the California Institute of Technology that revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world。 Six Easy Pieces， taken from these famous Lectures on Physics， represent the most accessible material from the series。
In these classic lessons， Feynman introduces the general reader to the following topics: atoms， basic physics， energy， gravitation， quantum mechanics， and the relationship of physics to other topics。 With his dazzling and inimitable wit， Feynman presents each discussion with a minimum of jargon。 Filled with wonderful examples and clever illustrations， Six Easy Pieces is the ideal introduction to the fundamentals of physics by one of the most admired and accessible physicists of modern times。
"If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be Six Easy Pieces。"- John Gribbin， New Scientist
Reviews
Julio González
，
Lo leí hace muchos años y ahora que vuelvo a leerlo me vuelvo a convencer que necesito encontrar la versión bilingüe de las Lecciones de Física de Feynman。
Alex Salo
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Fun little book that I'd recommend to kids who find physics in school boring （like I did）。 Feynman's wry style， jokes and analogies makes it easier to follow and appreciate。 Most importantly though， he manages to get an aerial view of sciences and explain the relationships and why it matters。 The six chapters selected are indeed mostly super easy - no maths involved - and could be read and understood by a sufficiently smart 9 year old。 I think this makes it a perfect gift to a kid - if they like Fun little book that I'd recommend to kids who find physics in school boring （like I did）。 Feynman's wry style， jokes and analogies makes it easier to follow and appreciate。 Most importantly though， he manages to get an aerial view of sciences and explain the relationships and why it matters。 The six chapters selected are indeed mostly super easy - no maths involved - and could be read and understood by a sufficiently smart 9 year old。 I think this makes it a perfect gift to a kid - if they like this book - they will be hooked on physics， or at least won't suck at it in school; if they don't - then perhaps there is no hope and other areas should be pursued。 。。。more
Kumar Raghavendra
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It was refreshing revisiting some old Physics concepts from high school and under-grad in the voice of Richard Feynman。 If someone studying Physics is finding themselves lost or questioning why they're studying what they're studying， this book might be a good way to rekindle their curiosity。 It was refreshing revisiting some old Physics concepts from high school and under-grad in the voice of Richard Feynman。 If someone studying Physics is finding themselves lost or questioning why they're studying what they're studying， this book might be a good way to rekindle their curiosity。 。。。more
Jamie
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Richard Feynman’s reputation as one of the 20th century’s great physicists is secure， and he was noted as one its foremost explainers and teachers。 His reputation as a person， however， has taken some hits in recent years: misogyny， cruel practical jokes， and contemptuous dismissal of people he considered his intellectual inferiors。 If you wish to hold his memory in high regard， you should avoid reading the things he says about women in his autobiography， and when he joined the committee investig Richard Feynman’s reputation as one of the 20th century’s great physicists is secure， and he was noted as one its foremost explainers and teachers。 His reputation as a person， however， has taken some hits in recent years: misogyny， cruel practical jokes， and contemptuous dismissal of people he considered his intellectual inferiors。 If you wish to hold his memory in high regard， you should avoid reading the things he says about women in his autobiography， and when he joined the committee investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster the other members found him arrogant and difficult to work with （see: https://www。nytimes。com/1986/06/07/us。。。）。Nevertheless， his reputation rests on his physics work， and several generations of physicists have been inspired by his famous three volume Feynman Lectures on Physics from 1963。 Six Easy Pieces collects six of those lectures， ones covering subjects that could be described mostly with analogies and anecdotes rather than relying on advanced math。The first three chapters， Atoms in Motion， Basic Physics， and The Relation of Physics to Other Sciences， are excellent， informative， and make good use of examples。 This is where Feynman makes one of his most famous analogies: “if an apple is magnified to the size of the earth， then the atoms in the apple are approximately the size of the original apple。” （p。5） But of course， atoms are mostly empty space， and later he explains that “If we had an atom and wished to see the nucleus， we would have to magnify it until the whole atom was the size of a large room， and then the nucleus would be a bare speck which you could just about make out with the eye， but very nearly all the weight of the atom is in that infinitesimal nucleus。” （p。 34）Even people who have no interest at all in physics would enjoy these chapters for the insights they shed on the basic stuff of the universe， of everything that exists， including you and me。The other three chapters， on the Conservation of Energy， the Theory of Gravitation， and Quantum Behavior， go a little deeper into the fundamentals of physics but are also illuminating， although I thought his discussion of the famous two-slit experiment got too far down in the weeds with its explanations of all the various permutations and the interference patterns。The book is starting to show its age in some areas， and it is best when it sticks to timeless basic principles。 Reading it made me think of Edward O。 Wilson’s Consilience， which makes the point that today all science pivots on an understanding of basic physics: biology， chemistry， geology， cosmology and the others are incomprehensible without a thorough grounding in first principles。 Feynman would have understood and endorsed this point， for he could see through surface appearances and down into the fundamental forces that bind the universe together。 。。。more
Chuck A
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The title is a wee bit misleading。 “Six ***Easy*** Pieces”。 There is nothing easy about understanding quantum mechanics。 However， is true Feyman style， he takes complicated theories and breaks them down dummy style with analogies that are very easy to visualize。 This book compiles six of the principle theories that are included in his 1963 lectures at a freshman class at CalTech。 The book caters toward people with a high school education， so you don’t have to be a theoretical physicist to unders The title is a wee bit misleading。 “Six ***Easy*** Pieces”。 There is nothing easy about understanding quantum mechanics。 However， is true Feyman style， he takes complicated theories and breaks them down dummy style with analogies that are very easy to visualize。 This book compiles six of the principle theories that are included in his 1963 lectures at a freshman class at CalTech。 The book caters toward people with a high school education， so you don’t have to be a theoretical physicist to understand the concepts mentioned in this book。 I didn’t understand the math too well。 But it was a cool intro to the subjects of gravitation， energy， and quantum mechanics。 Highly recommend and hopefully when I go back and read this in a couple years， i’ll understand more of it。 。。。more
Habeb Alnaqi | حبيب النقي
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This book notified me that I am deep in understanding physics through math and forgot to understand the true physical meaning behind physics。 The book gives a really nice physical analysis to some of the core ideas in physics。 Contrary to modern pop-science physicists， R。 Feynman has a really deep understanding to the scientific method and its limits and postulates。 I really recommend his books to understand the physical analysis although some of the topics he cover is outdated。
Anthony D’Apolito III
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Richard Feynman is a fascinating man。 His ability to break down such complex topics for the lay person shows his deep understanding of physics。I am someone who works based on principles， meta-themes/themes， and faith。 This book strengthened the foundation of the former two。I skipped around and didn’t read every single word of every single page。 But I read the important things for my learning consumption。
Deepak
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Felt a little bit difficult when started reading。 I Pushed myself。It was really Interesting for me。。。
Ronah
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Feynman walks you through Physics in a very welcoming way。 Great for curious thinkers and a good introductory book without the maths。
Paolo Gini
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Come sempre Richard Feynman è un piacevole divulgatore， bravo nel spiegare i concetti e capace di cogliere il nocciolo fisico delle questioni。 I capitoli sull'energia， sulla gravitazione e sul principio di indeterminazione sono particolarmente efficaci e forniscono dei bei spunti per affrontare questi argomenti a livello scolastico in modo diverso da quello standard。Il difetto del libro risiede nell'età dello stesso， è stato scritto nei primi anni sessanta del secolo scorso e in alcuni punti i s Come sempre Richard Feynman è un piacevole divulgatore， bravo nel spiegare i concetti e capace di cogliere il nocciolo fisico delle questioni。 I capitoli sull'energia， sulla gravitazione e sul principio di indeterminazione sono particolarmente efficaci e forniscono dei bei spunti per affrontare questi argomenti a livello scolastico in modo diverso da quello standard。Il difetto del libro risiede nell'età dello stesso， è stato scritto nei primi anni sessanta del secolo scorso e in alcuni punti i sessant'anni di vita si vedono tutti， le parti che riguardano le particelle elementari sono ovviamente obsolete （all'epoca il Modello Standard era molto di là da venire）， lo stesso si può dire per la Cosmologia （e probabilmente anche per Chimica e Biologia）。Feynman utilizza anche il concetto di massa relativistica che è stato abbandonato da tempo （anche se i testi scolastici non se ne sono accorti）。Tutto questo è legato all'età del testo e non si può farne una colpa a Feynman， meno accettabile secondo me è il modo sbrigativo con cui tratta la Relatività Generale che è un pilastro della nostra conoscenza del mondo， ma forse anche questo è frutto del fatto che Feynman era un teorico che lavorava sulla Meccanica Quantistica e all'epoca pochi si interessavano di Relatività Generale。 。。。more
Mario García
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Los primeros capítulos son muy buenos como material de divulgación。 El resto claramente pertenece a Lecciones de Física。
Matthew Greenblatt
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It was a good but complex book about the essentials of physics that I would not recommend if you do not like physics。
Stan
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I understand that this book is dated and some explanations have been overcome by later and current research。 However， the discussions given are all over the map。 Feynman goes on tangents and in some cases tangents on tangents in his explanations。 He is extremely difficult to follow。 It is noted that he is considered a great communicator， but many sources cite the fact that during this - a course in freshman physics - most of his students dropped out and the reason given that he didn't notice was I understand that this book is dated and some explanations have been overcome by later and current research。 However， the discussions given are all over the map。 Feynman goes on tangents and in some cases tangents on tangents in his explanations。 He is extremely difficult to follow。 It is noted that he is considered a great communicator， but many sources cite the fact that during this - a course in freshman physics - most of his students dropped out and the reason given that he didn't notice was colleagues and advanced students were taking their place。 To me， that does not indicate a great communicator - not getting a feel for your intended audience。 He may have been brilliant in his ability to work in the field， but it diminishes when the brilliance cannot be communicated。 。。。more
Sean
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Fabulous。 Want to get the rest of his books now。
s j a paterson
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Brilliant！Why this book is not given to all kids before they choose their exam subjects I do not know。 I am sure if it was， there would be far more scientists in the world。。。
Mariano Sanchez
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8/10
Bea
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The ideas were explained in an interesting way， but I learnt nothing new so it wasn’t very exciting。
Kathie Harper
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I am in a quandary as how to rate/review this book。 Science/math were never my strong suit so I thought I would take a chance to delve into Physics in order to fill a hole in my education。 Well， unlike Feynman's students at Cal Tech whom he lectured to， I don't possess a background for expansion so in many ways this was like learning a foreign language for me。 I came away with some new terms， interesting ways of looking at the world， and a realization that it's too late in life for me to take up I am in a quandary as how to rate/review this book。 Science/math were never my strong suit so I thought I would take a chance to delve into Physics in order to fill a hole in my education。 Well， unlike Feynman's students at Cal Tech whom he lectured to， I don't possess a background for expansion so in many ways this was like learning a foreign language for me。 I came away with some new terms， interesting ways of looking at the world， and a realization that it's too late in life for me to take up a new field。 As a good friend said who took the course with me， "I prefer Shakespeare。" 。。。more
Nikos Korexenidis
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The reason I rate so low this book was because I read so much about Richard Feynman and this particular book ， so i expected to be mind blowing…。 but instead it was an average book about 6 physics subjects which were explained as in every other physics book。 So it was at least disappointing 。
Patricio Arellano
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Simple and easy to understand， Dr。 Feynman did an amazing job。 Cant wait to read more of his work。
Kunal Aneja
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Feynman is a genius！ Someone who looks at everything around with a wonder of a child and explains it with simplicity of a genius。 I've never felt less afraid and comfortable with science。 Must read for everyone interested in understanding nature and universe。 It's a great entry point。 Feynman is a genius！ Someone who looks at everything around with a wonder of a child and explains it with simplicity of a genius。 I've never felt less afraid and comfortable with science。 Must read for everyone interested in understanding nature and universe。 It's a great entry point。 。。。more
Kai
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Superb introduction to a few of physics' "essentials" by the legendary Feynman。 Six Easy Pieces is an introduction to the world we live in from the viewpoint of experimental physics。 Superb introduction to a few of physics' "essentials" by the legendary Feynman。 Six Easy Pieces is an introduction to the world we live in from the viewpoint of experimental physics。 。。。more
Andreic
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Ok， so this comes from a guy who didn't liked anything related to physics in the school。This book is about the basics of physics and its interactions with other disciplines。 Also I may underline that this book is also about the art of teaching。Feynman technique of teaching can be an individual subject of study。 He manages to explain complex ideas in such a simple fashion， by effective analogies and concrete case-studies。From atoms and how are they made to quantum physics， you will gain a basic u Ok， so this comes from a guy who didn't liked anything related to physics in the school。This book is about the basics of physics and its interactions with other disciplines。 Also I may underline that this book is also about the art of teaching。Feynman technique of teaching can be an individual subject of study。 He manages to explain complex ideas in such a simple fashion， by effective analogies and concrete case-studies。From atoms and how are they made to quantum physics， you will gain a basic understanding about how this world works - as we know it now - since there are many things still unexplained， mainly in the quantum part。Great read！ 。。。more
Success
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Great Book
Gabriel Tonini
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Six e p
Nour Chebbi
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Ah Feynman ♥ when you read his books， your vision of everything around you drastically changes。
Bernardo
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Six Easy Pieces consists essentially of some of the initial lectures from the famous Feynman Lectures。 The last chapter of this book， also taken from the lectures， is an introduction to quantum mechanics， namely the double-slit experiment。 If you’ve never read anything from Feynman， here’s a good point to start。 This book is supposed to introduce the basic concepts of physics and is very easy to read。 Feynman was a great teacher。 His enthusiasm could captivate anyone， even in written words， and Six Easy Pieces consists essentially of some of the initial lectures from the famous Feynman Lectures。 The last chapter of this book， also taken from the lectures， is an introduction to quantum mechanics， namely the double-slit experiment。 If you’ve never read anything from Feynman， here’s a good point to start。 This book is supposed to introduce the basic concepts of physics and is very easy to read。 Feynman was a great teacher。 His enthusiasm could captivate anyone， even in written words， and I always find myself listening to his enthusiastic voice inside my head。 He was also famous for making scientific concepts understandable for anyone and you can very easily see his style here。 I had read the first Volume from the Feynman Lectures many years ago， so this was a nice read to get a reminding of how good they were。 The best chapter of this book is definitely the last one， with Feynman demonstrating the double-slit experiment in a brilliant and accessible way。 The only downside is that some of the things he mentions about particle physics might be a bit outdated。 Otherwise， this is an excellent book。 。。。more
Brad
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Despite being titled "Six Easy Pieces，" it only reinforced my belief that I lack the intellectual firepower necessary to be a physicist。 Despite being titled "Six Easy Pieces，" it only reinforced my belief that I lack the intellectual firepower necessary to be a physicist。 。。。more
Maria
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Pues me pareció un librito to mono y simple pero casi demasiodo simple para mí， no me dio mucha más información o insights nuevos y más cada nada era un repaso de 6 conceptos que basan prácticamente todas las ciencias。 Un librito que recomendaría para alguien que no sabe nada de laciencia pero la mayoria del contenido o lo visitamos en gcse o ahora en los as levels， así que personalmente no me ha aportado mucho。Atoms in motionMe da que este libro va a ser un poco demasiado básico para mí que nun Pues me pareció un librito to mono y simple pero casi demasiodo simple para mí， no me dio mucha más información o insights nuevos y más cada nada era un repaso de 6 conceptos que basan prácticamente todas las ciencias。 Un librito que recomendaría para alguien que no sabe nada de laciencia pero la mayoria del contenido o lo visitamos en gcse o ahora en los as levels， así que personalmente no me ha aportado mucho。Atoms in motionMe da que este libro va a ser un poco demasiado básico para mí que nunca pense que estaría diciendo sobre un libro de física pero al menos el primer capítulo es todo sobre atoms y como si toda la física se borrara el concepto más importatnte sería el conocimiento de que todo esta hecho de atoms， y diferenten distribuciones de estos atoms crea todo lo que existe en nuestro mundo al menos。 Habla un poco sobre los atoms cambiando la forma en la que están distrubidos dependiendo en el physical state de la substancia。 Y finalmente， de como aunque todo si que está echo de atoms， algo que parece tan simple como un molecule que crea el oler de las violetas es tan complejo， con tantos diferentes tipo de átomos compuestos de una forma específicaBasics of physicsThe experiemental method of observation， reason and experiment is what allows physics to not only guess new possible rules but also discard those that do not agree with experiements no matter how beautiful the mathematics is。 De aquí va a decir de que como físico uno aprende la reglas del "juego"， pero como el "juego" en verdad es mucho más complicado。 Y dice de como el ultimate goal es briging together todos estos diferentes area bajo un grand unifying theory。 Habla de todas esta generalizaciones que se han hecho uniendo todao los waves y particles y acabas con cuandum physics。 Desde el uncertainty principle que dice que una partícula no tiene una locación y velocidad determinada。 Y luego va a hablar de todos los tipos de partículas y como incluso es la tabla que organiza loas patrticulas por strangeness，， spin y charges， todavía no hay sitio para el photon por ejemplo que no tiene mass， y todos los antineutrons， antiproton， mesons， gluons y aquí me pierdo un poco。 De esta forma quantum electrodynamics es la teoría de todo la química y de la vida。 Y la que no me había dado cuenta es que que el limite de la velocidad de algo en space time es la velocidad de la luz， no es pq hay algo especial con la luz ， pero porque los photons no tienen masa y entonces como que "no son hold back" por eso y echan a tirar hacia el infinito。The relation of physics to other sciencesPhysics describe lo que más de todas la ciencias aunque cuando aumentamos no sabemos tanto en detail。 La primera ciencia con la que esta conectada por el trabajo echo en atoms es inorganic chemistry y de aca se construye la periodic table。 Más tarde se empezó a develop organic chemsitry el estudio de la forma en la que los elements crean estructuras tan dificiles y forman lo que son los living beings。 De acá se entra al biochemistry y muy pronto hemos llegado a la biología。 Acá se encuentra toda la física pumps y pressure dentro del body。 Y se llega a todas las estructuras de los moleculas y los enzimes que hacen que el cuerpo funciona y hace que todos los proteins se crean。 Y fuera de las classical sceinces estamos en astronomy de donde los mismos atomos que fueron given out de los stars make us y nuestros cuerpos。 Luego vienen geology， el weather donde los fluid dynamics nos deja utilizar probabilidades para average out los efectos de los single particles movivng randomly en la atmósfera。 Finalmente， esta psychology y como funciona el cerebro。 Los electrical signals que sse convvierten en chemical signal en los synpses y todo esta es responsable de la memoraciíon y de nuestro conciousness y wanting de saber como funciona el mundo y como que estamos aquí en el first place。Conservation of energyEnergy is conserved， first observed doing experiments with levers and that stuff and how in a pendulum gravitational and kinetic energy are continually tranferred betwee neach other and how energy isn't something that can be counted but an abstract quantity that appears to not change。 Los otros conservation law incluyen el conservation of linear momentum and the conservation of angular momentum， que son exactamente lo que dice el nombre。 Aparte， también tenemos el conservation of charge， el conservation of baryons （que es que el number of strange particles before and after a process will always be the same）。 Y finally esta el conservation of leptons （que incluye los electrons， mu meson and neutrine y todo los anti particles） que también remain the same number before and after all types of processes that we know of。The Theory of GravitationEl simple law of gravitation simplemente dice que every object attract every other object with a force which for any two bodies is porportional to the mass of each and varies inversely as the square of the distance between them。 First， it started with Kepler's three laws que son:tCada planeta mueves alrededor del sol en un ellipse con el son at one focustEll radio vector desde el sol hasta el planeta sweeps out equal area in equal intervals of timetY que the squares of the periods of any two planets are proportional to the cubes of athe semimajor axes of their respective orbitsMas tarde estos same laws fueron enterpretadas por Newton a ser causadaos porque todos los forces estban acting towards el sol。 Adicionalmente， las diferencias en las orbitas de los planetas como uranus y saturn podia ser explicado porque los planetes al lado de ellos afectaba las trayectorias。 De este modo， con el simple law de la gravedad podemos explicar las mareas causadas por la Luna y la luz que mas tarde fue observada siendo bent around el sol cuando hay un eclipse y lo que permitio a los humanos hace anos calcular la masa de la tierra con un simple experimento con hilo y bolas。Quantum BehaviourBasicamente todo el capitulo va a explicar el uncertainty principle que parece ser parte de nature y todo de lo que we are made of。 Utilizando analogías sobre bullets y waves acaba explicando de como todas las particles que conocemos （los photons， electrons， protons， neutrinos…） tienen un particle-wave duality y no es posible conocer el momentum y positición de una partícula。 Explica de como el two slit experiment cause que veamos un interference pattern como si las partículas pasaran por ambos huecos， pero sabemos que las partículas no se pueden dividar más halla de sus little packets de mass/energy。 。。。more
LeeAnn Heringer
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