QED was designed to be a popular science book, written in a witty style, and containing just enough quantum-mechanical mathematics to allow the solving of very basic problems in quantum electrodynamics by an educated lay audience.

But unlike in a typical textbook, the mathematics is taught in very simple terms, with no attempt to solve problems efficiently, use standard terminology, or facilitate further advancement in the field.

— Richard FeynmanMuch of Feynman's discussion springs from an everyday phenomenon: the way any transparent sheet of glass partly reflects any light shining on it.

Videotapes of these lectures were made publicly available on a not-for-profit basis in 1996 and more recently have been placed online by the Vega Science Trust.

The book is based on Feynman's delivery of the first Alix G. Mautner Memorial Lecture series for the general public at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1983.