An Illustrated Fantasy Guide To Physics, Meet Alice In Quantumland

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The intricacies of science read more like a work of epic fantasy than of fact. The immeasurable expanse of the universe is littered with the unknowable and the known is often unfathomable. There are many branches of modern science dedicated to unravelling these mysteries, but one of the most integral is Quantum Physics. This theory deals with the nature of matter in its most basic and fundamental forms, positing that on an atomic and subatomic level, matter acts as both a particle and a wave and that the correlation between the two is what develops the nature of matter as we know it. If this already sounds like a wild ride, there is a book that can prepare to go down the rabbit hole.

Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics is a work by Robert Gilmore, a scientist from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), he’s written and illustrated the book that breaks down Quantum mechanics to a more digestable format. First published in 1995, the book follows Alice as she dives through a TV screen into a non-sensical, dizzying world of science - Quantumland. She encounters curiouser and curiouser characters, from the mermaid who explains the Many Worlds theory, to modern and classical physicists who battle out their theories over a game of billiards.

The allegorical nature of the novel is a necessity to our understanding, says Gilmore, “The way that things behave in quantum mechanics seems very odd to our normal way of thinking and is made more acceptable when we consider analogies to situations with which we are all familiar, even though the analogies may be inexact.” Though utterly bizarre, the adventures of the original Alice in Wonderland have become such second nature to multiple generations that introducing an element of otherwise incomprehensible science makes the whole concept palatable.

Though intended as a teaching tool for both children and adults wanting to understand physics a bit better. this novel is unique in that it’s leading character is female which flies in the face of many decades of gender stereotyping in the scientific communities. Combining exquisite illustrations and larger than life adventures, Gilmore has woven a world where science is a thrilling escapade and the aim of the quest is a better understanding of the world we live in.