Foundations of Quantum Physics II (1933-1958)


Book Description

Volume 7 is a direct continuation of Volume 6, which documented the birth of the complementarity argument and its earliest elaborations. It covers the extension and refinement of the complementarity argument from 1933 until Bohrs' death in 1962. All Bohr's publications on the subject, together with selected manuscripts and extracts of his correspondence with friends and fellow pioneers such as Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli, are included.Divided into two, largely independent parts, the volume begins with Bohr's contributions to "Relativistic Quantum Theory". Together with Léon Rosenfeld, Bohr undertook a thorough investigation of the measuring problem in quantum electrodynamics and demonstrated the full accordance between the formalism and the result of idealized thought experiments.The articles in the second part, although also restricted in scope to the field of physics, address a broader audience. One of the most impressive treatises is Bohr's own account of his debates with Albert Einstein, over more than twenty years, on the consistency, the completeness and the epistemological consequences of quantum mechanics.Volumes 6 and 7 of the Collected Works are in turn related to the forthcoming Volume 10 which broadens the scope by presenting Bohr's applications of the complementarity argument beyond the domain of physics. Although each volume may be read independently, careful attention should be paid to the interrelationships between each volume in order to appreciate the subtlety of Bohr's continued elaboration and fine-tuning of his complementarity argument.







Foundations of Quantum Physics II (1933-1958)


Book Description

Volume 7 is a direct continuation of Volume 6, which documented the birth of the complementarity argument and its earliest elaborations. It covers the extension and refinement of the complementarity argument from 1933 until Bohrs' death in 1962. All Bohr's publications on the subject, together with selected manuscripts and extracts of his correspondence with friends and fellow pioneers such as Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli, are included. Divided into two, largely independent parts, the volume begins with Bohr's contributions to "Relativistic Quantum Theory". Together with Léon Rosenfeld, Bohr undertook a thorough investigation of the measuring problem in quantum electrodynamics and demonstrated the full accordance between the formalism and the result of idealized thought experiments. The articles in the second part, although also restricted in scope to the field of physics, address a broader audience. One of the most impressive treatises is Bohr's own account of his debates with Albert Einstein, over more than twenty years, on the consistency, the completeness and the epistemological consequences of quantum mechanics. Volumes 6 and 7 of the Collected Works are in turn related to the forthcoming Volume 10 which broadens the scope by presenting Bohr's applications of the complementarity argument beyond the domain of physics. Although each volume may be read independently, careful attention should be paid to the interrelationships between each volume in order to appreciate the subtlety of Bohr's continued elaboration and fine-tuning of his complementarity argument.




Foundations of Quantum Mechanics


Book Description

Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is accessible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or "modern") physics and includes over a hundred engaging end-of-chapter "Projects" that make the book suitable for either a traditional classroom or for self-study.




Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Soviet Theoretical Physics in the Thirties


Book Description

The true history of physics can only be read in the life stories of those who made its progress possible. Matvei Bronstein was one of those for whom the vast territory of theoretical physics was as familiar as his own home: he worked in cosmology, nuclear physics, gravitation, semiconductors, atmospheric physics, quantum electrodynamics, astro physics and the relativistic quantum theory. Everyone who knew him was struck by his wide knowledge, far beyond the limits of his trade. This partly explains why his life was closely intertwined with the social, historical and scientific context of his time. One might doubt that during his short life Bronstein could have made truly weighty contributions to science and have become, in a sense, a symbol ofhis time. Unlike mathematicians and poets, physicists reach the peak oftheir careers after the age of thirty. His thirty years of life, however, proved enough to secure him a place in theGreaterSovietEncyclopedia. In 1967, in describing the first generation of physicists educated after the 1917 revolution, Igor Tamm referred to Bronstein as "an exceptionally brilliant and promising" theoretician [268].




Physics Meets Philosophy at the Planck Scale


Book Description

Was the first book to examine the exciting area of overlap between philosophy and quantum mechanics with chapters by leading experts from around the world.







Motion Mountain - Vol. 1 - The Adventure of Physics


Book Description

How high can animals jump? What are the fastest thrown balls? How fast can aeroplanes and butterflies fly? What does the sea level tell us about the sun? What are temperature and heat? What is self-organization? This free colour pdf on introductory physics guarantees to be entertaining, surprising and challenging on every page. The text presents the best stories, images, movies and puzzles in mechanics, gravity and thermodynamics - with little mathematics, always starting from observations of everyday life. This first volume also explains conservation laws and the reversibility of motion, explores mirror symmetry, and presents the principle of cosmic laziness: the principle of least action. This popular series has already more than 160 000 readers. If you are between the age of 16 and 106 and want to understand nature, you will enjoy it! To achieve wonder and thrill on every page, the first volume includes the various "colour of the bear" puzzles and the "picture on the wall" puzzle, explains about the many types of water waves, introduces the art of laying rope, tells about the the dangers of aeroplane toilets, explores the jumping height of different animals, presents the surprising motion of moguls on skiing slopes, explains why ultrasound imaging is not safe for a foetus, gives the ideal shape of skateboard half-pipes, estimates the total length of all capillaries in the human body, explains how it is possible to plunge a bare hand into molten lead, includes a film of an oscillating quartz inside a watch, includes the "handcuff puzzle" and the "horse pulling a rubber with a snail on it" puzzle, explains how jet pilots frighten civilians with sonic superbooms produced by fighter planes, presents the most beautiful and precise sundial available today, shows leap-frogging vortex rings, tells the story of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, mentions the world records for running backwards and the attempts to break the speed sailing record, and tells in detail how to learn from books with as little effort as possible. Enjoy the reading!




How is Quantum Field Theory Possible?


Book Description

How can we know the microscopic world without a measurement theory? What are the general conditions of the world that make possible such knowledge? What are the presuppositions of physical theories? This book includes an analysis of quantum field theory, and quantum mechanics and interacting systems are addressed in a unified framework.




Quantum (Un)speakables


Book Description

This outstanding collection of essays in commemoration of John S. Bell is the result of the "Quantum (Un)speakables" conference organised by the University of Vienna. The title was taken from a famous note written by John Bell during the "Schrödinger Symposium" of 1987. The book leads the reader from the foundations of quantum mechanics to quantum entanglement, quantum cryptography, and quantum information, and is written for all those who need more insight into this new area of physics.