The Historical Development of Quantum Theory
The Historical Development of Quantum Theory

Author: Jagdish Mehra

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2000-12-28

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 9780387951744

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Quantum Theory, together with the principles of special and general relativity, constitute a scientific revolution that has profoundly influenced the way in which we think about the universe and the fundamental forces that govern it. The Historical Development of Quantum Theory is a definitive historical study of that scientific work and the human struggles that accompanied it from the beginning. Drawing upon such materials as the resources of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics, the Niels Bohr Archives, and the archives and scientific correspondence of the principal quantum physicists, as well as Jagdish Mehra's personal discussions over many years with most of the architects of quantum theory, the authors have written a rigorous scientific history of quantum theory in a deeply human context. This multivolume work presents a rich account of an intellectual triumph: a unique analysis of the creative scientific process. The Historical Development of Quantum Theory is science, history, and biography, all wrapped in the story of a great human enterprise. Its lessons will be an aid to those working in the sciences and humanities alike.

Weird Scientists – the Creators of Quantum Physics
Weird Scientists – the Creators of Quantum Physics

Author: Jeffrey Strickland

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2011-09-04

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1257976249

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Weird Scientists is a sequel to Men of Manhattan. As I wrote the latter about the nuclear physicists who brought in the era of nuclear power, quantum mechanics (or quantum physics) was unavoidable. Many of the contributors to the science of splitting the atom were also contributors to quantum mechanics. Atomic physics, particle physics, quantum physics, and even relativity are all interrelated. This book is about the men and women who established the science that shook the foundations of classical physics, removed determinism from measurement, and created alternative worlds of reality. The book introduces fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics, roughly in the order they were discovered, as a launching point for describing the scientist and the work that brought forth the concepts.

The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics
The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics

Author: Daniel F. Styer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2000-02-24

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1316101878

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This is an exceptionally accessible, accurate, and non-technical introduction to quantum mechanics. After briefly summarizing the differences between classical and quantum behaviour, this engaging account considers the Stern-Gerlach experiment and its implications, treats the concepts of probability, and then discusses the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and Bell's theorem. Quantal interference and the concept of amplitudes are introduced and the link revealed between probabilities and the interference of amplitudes. Quantal amplitude is employed to describe interference effects. Final chapters explore exciting new developments in quantum computation and cryptography, discover the unexpected behaviour of a quantal bouncing-ball, and tackle the challenge of describing a particle with no position. Thought-provoking problems and suggestions for further reading are included. Suitable for use as a course text, The Strange World of Quantum Mechanics enables students to develop a genuine understanding of the domain of the very small. It will also appeal to general readers seeking intellectual adventure.

Crafting the Quantum
Crafting the Quantum

Author: Suman Seth

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780262013734

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"Seth examines the practical origins of much of the research undertaken by Arnold Sommerfeld at the University of Munich, some of which addressed problems carried over from his years of teaching at an engineering school"--OCLC

The Creation of Quantum Mechanics and the Bohr-Pauli Dialogue
The Creation of Quantum Mechanics and the Bohr-Pauli Dialogue

Author: J. Hendry

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 9400962770

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Many books have been written on the history of quantum mechanics. So far as I am aware, however, this is the first to incorporate the results of the large amount of detailed scholarly research completed by professional historians of physics over the past fifteen years. It is also, I believe, the first since Max Jammer's pioneering study of fifteen years ago to attempt a genuine 'history' as opposed to a mere technical report or popular or semi-popular account. My aims in making this attempt have been to satisfy the needs of historians of science and, more especially, to promote a serious interest in the history of science among phYSicists and physics students. Since the creation of quantum mechanics was inevitably a technical process conducted through the medium of technical language it has been impossible to avoid the introduction of a large amount of such language. Some acquaintance with quantum mechanics, corresponding to that obtained through an undergraduate physics course, has accordingly been assumed. I have tried to ensure, however, that such an acquaintance should be sufficient as well as necessary, and even someone with only the most basic grounding in physics should be able with judicious skip ping, to get through the book. The technical details are essential to the dialogue, but the plot proceeds and can, I hope, be understood on a non technical level.

Einstein and the Quantum
Einstein and the Quantum

Author: A. Douglas Stone

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-10-06

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0691168563

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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 Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson
The Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson

Author: Arkady Plotnitsky

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-26

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 3319320688

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The book considers foundational thinking in quantum theory, focusing on the role the fundamental principles and principle thinking there, including thinking that leads to the invention of new principles, which is, the book contends, one of the ultimate achievements of theoretical thinking in physics and beyond. The focus on principles, prominent during the rise and in the immediate aftermath of quantum theory, has been uncommon in more recent discussions and debates concerning it. The book argues, however, that exploring the fundamental principles and principle thinking is exceptionally helpful in addressing the key issues at stake in quantum foundations and the seemingly interminable debates concerning them. Principle thinking led to major breakthroughs throughout the history of quantum theory, beginning with the old quantum theory and quantum mechanics, the first definitive quantum theory, which it remains within its proper (nonrelativistic) scope. It has, the book also argues, been equally important in quantum field theory, which has been the frontier of quantum theory for quite a while now, and more recently, in quantum information theory, where principle thinking was given new prominence. The approach allows the book to develop a new understanding of both the history and philosophy of quantum theory, from Planck’s quantum to the Higgs boson, and beyond, and of the thinking the key founding figures, such as Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and Dirac, as well as some among more recent theorists. The book also extensively considers the nature of quantum probability, and contains a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, “the statistical Copenhagen interpretation.” Overall, the book’s argument is guided by what Heisenberg called “the spirit of Copenhagen,” which is defined by three great divorces from the preceding foundational thinking in physics—reality from realism, probability from causality, and locality from relativity—and defined the fundamental principles of quantum theory accordingly.