In this marvelous book, the reader is introduced to the bizarre concepts of modern physics as the only way to solve a casebook of otherwise impossibly paradoxical crimes. Murder on a royal train. Divers dead of heatstroke at the bottom of an icy sea. An epidemic of insanity among the world's top scientists. This is the story of the great paradigm shifts of science, told as never before: in Sherlock Holmes adventures set amid the grandeur and squalor of Victorian London. Holmes, Watson, and other beloved characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle are challenged by mysteries, each of which hinges on a scientific paradox or principle. Colin Bruce has recreated the atmosphere of the original Sherlock Holmes stories to give a truly compulsive read. You won't even realize you've learned something until it's too late!
This book is the most complete collection of John S Bell's research papers, review articles and lecture notes on the foundations of quantum mechanics. Some of this material has hitherto been difficult to access. The book also appears in a paperback edition, aimed at students and young researchers.This volume will be very useful to researchers in the foundations and applications of quantum mechanics.
The untold story of Albert Einstein's role as the father of quantum theory Einstein and the Quantum reveals for the first time the full significance of Albert Einstein's contributions to quantum theory. Einstein famously rejected quantum mechanics, observing that God does not play dice. But, in fact, he thought more about the nature of atoms, molecules, and the emission and absorption of light—the core of what we now know as quantum theory—than he did about relativity. A compelling blend of physics, biography, and the history of science, Einstein and the Quantum shares the untold story of how Einstein—not Max Planck or Niels Bohr—was the driving force behind early quantum theory. It paints a vivid portrait of the iconic physicist as he grappled with the apparently contradictory nature of the atomic world, in which its invisible constituents defy the categories of classical physics, behaving simultaneously as both particle and wave. And it demonstrates how Einstein's later work on the emission and absorption of light, and on atomic gases, led directly to Erwin Schrödinger's breakthrough to the modern form of quantum mechanics. The book sheds light on why Einstein ultimately renounced his own brilliant work on quantum theory, due to his deep belief in science as something objective and eternal.
The first edition of this work appeared in 1930, and its originality won it immediate recognition as a classic of modern physical theory. The fourth edition has been bought out to meet a continued demand. Some improvements have been made, the main one being the complete rewriting of the chapter on quantum electrodymanics, to bring in electron-pair creation. This makes it suitable as an introduction to recent works on quantum field theories.
Although the debate about the true nature of the quantum behavior of atomic systems has never ceased, there are two periods during which it has been particularly intense: the years that saw the founding of quantum mechanics and, increasingly, these modern times. In 1954 Max Born, on accepting the Nobel Prize for his 'fundamental researches in quantum mechanics', recalled the depth of the disagreements that divided celebrated quantum theorists of those days into two camps: . . . when I say that physicists had accepted the way of thinking developed by us at that time, r am not quite correct: there are a few most noteworthy exceptions - namely, among those very workers who have contributed most to the building up of quantum theory. Planck himself belonged to the sceptics until his death. Einstein, de Broglie, and Schriidinger have not ceased to emphasize the unsatisfactory features of quantum mechanics . . . . This dramatic disagreement centered around some of the most funda mental questions in all of science: Do atomic objects exist il1dependently of human observations and, if so, is it possible for man to understand correctly their behavior? By and large, it can be said that the Copenhagen and Gottingen schools - led by Bohr, Heisenberg, and Born, in particula- gave more or less openly pessimistic answers to these questions.
"I find the idea quite intolerable that an electron exposed to radiation should choose of its own free will, not only its moment to jump off, but also its direction. In that case, I would rather be a cobbler, or even an employee in a gaming house, than a physicist." -Albert Einstein A scandal hovers over the history of 20th century physics. Albert Einstein-the century's greatest physicist-was never able to come to terms with quantum mechanics, the century's greatest theoretical achievement. For physicists who routinely use both quantum laws and Einstein's ideas, this contradiction can be almost too embarrassing to dwell on. Yet Einstein was one of the founders of quantum physics and he spent many years preaching the quantum's importance and its revolutionary nature. The Danish genius Neils Bohr was another founder of quantum physics. He had managed to solve one of the few physics problems that Einstein ever shied away from, linking quantum mathematics with a new model of the atom. This leap immediately yielded results that explained electron behavior and the periodic table of the elements. Despite their mutual appreciation of the quantum's importance, these two giants of modern physics never agreed on the fundamentals of their work. In fact, they clashed repeatedly throughout the 1920s, arguing first over Einstein's theory of "light quanta"(photons), then over Niels Bohr's short-lived theory that denied the conservation of energy at the quantum level, and climactically over the new quantum mechanics that Bohr enthusiastically embraced and Einstein stubbornly defied. This contest of visions stripped the scientific imagination naked. Einstein was a staunch realist, demanding to know the physical reasons behind physical events. At odds with this approach was Bohr's more pragmatic perspective that favored theories that worked, even if he might not have a corresponding explanation of the underlying reality. Powerful and illuminating, Einstein Defiant is the first book to capture the soul and the science that inspired this dramatic duel, revealing the personalities and the passions-and, in the end, what was at stake for the world.
The work published by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) in 1935 is a classic in modern physics. It discusses, for the first time, the central feature of the quantum theory: entanglement. In general, systems are intertwined with each other in nature; that is, they have only one common, non-divisible state. This fact is responsible for all the oddities commonly associated with quantum theory, including the famous thought experiments with Schrödinger's cat and Wigner's friend. The entanglement of quantum mechanics plays a central role in experiments with atoms and photons (Nobel Prize 2012 for Haroche and Wineland) and the planned construction of quantum computers. This book presents EPR's original work amplified with a detailed commentary, which examines both the historical context and all aspects of entanglement. In particular, it focuses on the interpretation of quantum theory and its consequences for a basic understanding of nature.
A Guide through the Mysteries of Quantum Physics! Yakir Aharonov is one of the pioneers in measuring theory, the nature of quantum correlations, superselection rules, and geometric phases and has been awarded numerous scientific honors. The author has contributed monumental concepts to theoretical physics, especially the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the Aharonov-Casher effect. Together with Daniel Rohrlich, Israel, he has written a pioneering work on the remaining mysteries of quantum mechanics. From the perspective of a preeminent researcher in the fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, the text combines mathematical rigor with penetrating and concise language. More than 200 exercises introduce readers to the concepts and implications of quantum mechanics that have arisen from the experimental results of the recent two decades. With students as well as researchers in mind, the authors give an insight into that part of the field, which led Feynman to declare that "nobody understands quantum mechanics". * Free solutions manual available for lecturers at www.wiley-vch.de/supplements/
"Niels Bohr was a central figure in quantum physics, well-known for his work on atomic structure and his contributions to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In this book, philosopher Slobodan Perović explores the way Bohr practiced and understood physics, and the implications of this for our understanding of modern science, especially contemporary quantum experimental physics. Perović's method of studying Bohr is philosophical-historical, and his aim is to make sense of both Bohr's understanding of physics and his method of inquiry. He argues that in several important respects, Bohr's vision of physics was driven by his desire to develop a comprehensive perspective on key features of experimental observation as well as emerging experimental work. Perović uncovers how Bohr's distinctive breakthrough contributions are characterized by a multi-layered, phased approach of building on basic experimental insights inductively to develop intermediary and overarching hypotheses. The strengths and limitations of this approach, in contrast to the mathematically or metaphysically driven approaches of other physicists at the time, made him a thoroughly distinctive kind of theorist and scientific leader. Once we see that Bohr played the typical role of a laboratory mediator, and excelled in the inductive process this required, we can fully understand the way his work was generated, the role it played in developing novel quantum concepts, and its true limitations, as well as current adherence to and use of Bohr's complementarity approach among contemporary experimentalists"--
With contributions by leading quantum physicists, philosophers and historians, this comprehensive A-to-Z of quantum physics provides a lucid understanding of key concepts of quantum theory and experiment. It covers technical and interpretational aspects alike, and includes both traditional and new concepts, making it an indispensable resource for concise, up-to-date information about the many facets of quantum physics.
