Description
Book SynopsisConveys the substance, methods, and profound oddities of the field. This work contains an overview of quantum mechanics. It sketches the early development of the field by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, and others, and makes clear how the quantum outlook flies in the face of common sense.
Trade Review"For quantum mechanics fans looking for a bridge between books that provide vague, qualitative descriptions and those that require an extensive background in mathematics to be understood, Sam Treiman's The Odd Quantum offers a concise introduction to the field's concepts and practices, as well as guides to its most essential equations."--Publishers Weekly "In Treiman's book, we have as good a shot as we may hope for an intelligible (if demanding) account of a very advanced topic in physics. He covers much material in a short space. [A]n exposition of how the exciting intellectual tool of quantum theory has grown in scope and application."--Brian Pippard, Times Literary Supplement "Treiman's book is outstanding... This is not at all a qualitative pictorial description of the quantum world, but a rigorous formulation of its axioms in a casual language... [A] wonderful guided tour through quantum mechanics."--Asher Peres, Physics World "Like a master craftsman intent on reducing his accumulated skills into a compendium of traditions and practices for his apprentices, Treiman tries to be as clear, precise, and succinct as possible. A vast store of experience in research and teaching informs every page."--Hans Christian von Baeyer, Science "Writing for person's with a background in physics or mathematics, [Treiman] does an excellent job of looking at the difficult and unusual aspects of theory."--Choice "A concise and beautifully written summary of an expert's view of the subject."--Barry R. Holstein, American Journal of Physics
Table of ContentsPREFACE vii 1. Introduction 3 Overview. Beginnings. 2. Classical Background 27 Newton's law. Gravity. Energy. Electromagnetism. Special Relativity. 3. The "Old" Quantum Mechanics 61 Electromagnetic Waves. Blackbody Radiation. Early Spectroscopy. The Rutherford Atom. Bohr's Quantum Model. De Broglie's Matter Waves. 4. Foundations 80 The Two-Slit Experiment. Schroedinger's Wave Equation. Probabilistic Interpretation. A Brief Survey of the Rules. Commuting Observables. The Uncertainty Principle. Momentum. The Operator Concept. Angular Momentum. Aspects of Energy. 5. Some Quantum Classics 119 The Free Particle. Particle in a Box. The Harmonic Oscillator. Central Potentials Generally. The One-Electron Atom. The Infinite Solenoid. Decay Processes. 6. Identical Particles 149 Symmetry, Antisymmetry Rules. The Pauli Principle. The Fermi Gas. Atoms. More on Identical Bosons. 7. What's Going On? 173 8. The Building Blocks 191 Particles in Collision, Particles in Decay. Accelerators. Patterns and Regularities. Basic Ingredients. Summary. 9. Quantum Fields 231 Free Fields, Free particles. Interactions. Feynman Diagrams. Virtual Particles. The Standard Model in Diagrams. Again, What's Going On? READINGS 255 INDEX 257
