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(More customer reviews)I have a fascination for books on the meaning of quantum theory. Many target the layman and dispense with mathematics. Others assume the reader is adept at applying both wave mechanics and matrix mechanics to quantum problems. Published by Oxford University Press, "The Meaning of Quantum Theory", strikes a good balance that is ideal for undergraduate students of physics and chemistry, and is especially useful as a companion for a formal text on quantum theory.
The author, Jim Baggott, combines his experience as a freelance science writer with his skill as a respected lecturer in physical chemistry. In 1989 he was awarded the Marlow Medal from the Faraday Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his research contributions in chemical kinetics and spectroscopy. Baggott is an exceptional writer and I enjoy reading sections at random. I have twice read his book and probably will do so again.
About quantum theory Baggott says, "For the first time, students are taught about a theory which they have to accept and which they have to learn how to apply, but which they cannot be expected to be told its meaning." Baggott argues that beneath the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, there exists an interpretation, and a philosophy, that warrants investigation.
The first chapter (40 pages) offers a historical overview of the early development of quantum theory that is probably familiar to many readers.
Chapter 2 (35 pages), titled "Putting it into Practice", differentiates Baggott's work from many others. We learn about operator algebra, and then we encounter experimental evidence that we must either use non-commuting matrices, or non-commuting operators, to describe position-momentum relationships in quantum physics.
Baggott then carefully introduces the underlying postulates of quantum physics (and the mathematical formulation) as described by John von Neumann. We learn about complementary observables, the Dirac bracket notation, state vectors and eigenfunctions, and the usefulness of projection amplitudes. A substantial section is devoted to the Pauli exclusion principal, the polarization properties of photons, measurement operators, and the collapse of the wave function, all topics that are discussed later in the context of experimental results.
After 75 pages of preparation, Baggott asks "What Does it Mean"?, the title of chapter 3. Chapter 4 is "Putting it to the Test", and Chapter 5 is "What are the Alternatives?". A reader that skimmed the mathematical discourse in chapter 2 would still find the last three chapters intriguing, although some sections might be heavy going.
"The Ghost in the Atom: A Discussion of the Mysteries of Quantum Physics" by Davies and Brown is non-mathematical, but offers, nevertheless, an insightful look at alternative interpretations of quantum theory - standard interpretation (Copenhagen interpretation), conscious observer, parallel universes, hidden variables, and a statistical view - that dovetails rather well with Baggott's more detailed and more in-depth analysis. As a precursor to Baggott's book, I also highly recommend Richard Feynman's brilliant lectures published under the title "QED".
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Why is quantum theory so difficult to understand?In this book, written for both undergraduate and graduate students of chemistry and physics, the author looks at the continuing debate about the meaning of quantum theory.The historical development of the theory is traced from the turn of the century through to the 1930s, and the famous debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein.The book examines in detail the arguments that quantum theory is incomplete, as made by Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen; the development of Bell's theorem; and crucial experimental tests performed in the early 1980s.Alternative interpretations -- pilot waves, quantum gravity, consciousness, and many worlds -- are described in the closing chapter.
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