Breakfast with Einstein

Praise

“Using his morning routine as an example, Orzel sets out to show the reader how quantum physics is a part of our everyday lives, and he largely succeeds in this informative and friendly book . . . The conceit of following Orzel around for his morning routine offers the barest of frames, but he uses it to great effect.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Physics is everywhere and in every thing, and no one explains physics better than Chad Orzel. This book is a meal for your mind.”

—John Scalzi

“Fans of quantum physics will be informed and entertained.” 

—Booklist

“Common wisdom paints quantum mechanics as one of the most abstract and esoteric of subjects, daunting for non-experts. Yet, as Chad Orzel wonderfully shows in Breakfast with Einstein, a full gamut of our commonplace daily activities—from boiling water for tea on a glowing range to taking and exchanging photos with our electronic cameras and phones—depends on quantum rules. By focusing on how quantum mechanisms guide the workings of his typical morning routine, Orzel cleverly brings those important principles close to home.”

—Paul Halpern, author of The Quantum Labyrinth: How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality

“Prof. Orzel draws us in with the everyday experience. And then we find we are on a journey of more than 100 years of physics. The reader is rewarded not only with a deeper understanding of everyday things, but also learns how physicists themselves look the world every day.”

—David Saltzberg, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA

“Why don’t light bulbs fry us with deadly radiation? Why can’t you stick your hand through a solid wall? Why isn’t every scrap of metal a magnet? So many science books focus on the latest wacky cosmic discovery, but Orzel shows how the ordinary world around us is already plenty weird.”

—George Musser, contributing editor at Scientific American and author of Spooky Action at a Distance

“William Blake saw the world in a grain of sand. Chad Orzel sees the universe in a slice of toast. Orzel is a master at bringing abstract ideas like relativity and quantum mechanics down to earth without ever skimping on the science. This fun, engaging, and deeply informative book is definitive proof that everything is fascinating when you look closely enough. I’ll never see my breakfast the same way again.”

—Amanda Gefter, author of Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn

“Breakfast with Einstein offers a clear and entertaining introduction to the wonders of quantum mechanics, showing that these principles surround us and are employed regularly in our everyday lives. Chad Orzel is the perfect guide to the world of atoms and photons, demonstrating that even our morning breakfast rituals are not possible without the wonders of modern physics.”

—James Kakalios, professor of physics at the University of Minnesota and author of The Physics of Superheroes and The Physics of Everyday Things

“Chad Orzel’s new book is a masterfully told story about the myriad ways that physics shapes our lives.”

—Sabine Hossenfelder, physicist and author of Lost in Math