Author: David Z. ALBERT
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674020146
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 219
Book Description
This account of the foundations of quantum mechanics is an introduction accessible to anyone with high school mathematics, and provides a rigorous discussion of important recent advances in the understanding of quantum physics, including theories put forward by the author himself.
After Physics
Author: David Z Albert
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674731263
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
Here the philosopher and physicist David Z Albert argues, among other things, that the difference between past and future can be understood as a mechanical phenomenon of nature and that quantum mechanics makes it impossible to present the entirety of what can be said about the world as a narrative of “befores” and “afters.”
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674731263
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
Here the philosopher and physicist David Z Albert argues, among other things, that the difference between past and future can be understood as a mechanical phenomenon of nature and that quantum mechanics makes it impossible to present the entirety of what can be said about the world as a narrative of “befores” and “afters.”
Time and Chance
Author: David Z Albert
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674020138
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 188
Book Description
This book is an attempt to get to the bottom of an acute and perennial tension between our best scientific pictures of the fundamental physical structure of the world and our everyday empirical experience of it. The trouble is about the direction of time. The situation (very briefly) is that it is a consequence of almost every one of those fundamental scientific pictures--and that it is at the same time radically at odds with our common sense--that whatever can happen can just as naturally happen backwards. Albert provides an unprecedentedly clear, lively, and systematic new account--in the context of a Newtonian-Mechanical picture of the world--of the ultimate origins of the statistical regularities we see around us, of the temporal irreversibility of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, of the asymmetries in our epistemic access to the past and the future, and of our conviction that by acting now we can affect the future but not the past. Then, in the final section of the book, he generalizes the Newtonian picture to the quantum-mechanical case and (most interestingly) suggests a very deep potential connection between the problem of the direction of time and the quantum-mechanical measurement problem. The book aims to be both an original contribution to the present scientific and philosophical understanding of these matters at the most advanced level, and something in the nature of an elementary textbook on the subject accessible to interested high-school students.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674020138
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 188
Book Description
This book is an attempt to get to the bottom of an acute and perennial tension between our best scientific pictures of the fundamental physical structure of the world and our everyday empirical experience of it. The trouble is about the direction of time. The situation (very briefly) is that it is a consequence of almost every one of those fundamental scientific pictures--and that it is at the same time radically at odds with our common sense--that whatever can happen can just as naturally happen backwards. Albert provides an unprecedentedly clear, lively, and systematic new account--in the context of a Newtonian-Mechanical picture of the world--of the ultimate origins of the statistical regularities we see around us, of the temporal irreversibility of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, of the asymmetries in our epistemic access to the past and the future, and of our conviction that by acting now we can affect the future but not the past. Then, in the final section of the book, he generalizes the Newtonian picture to the quantum-mechanical case and (most interestingly) suggests a very deep potential connection between the problem of the direction of time and the quantum-mechanical measurement problem. The book aims to be both an original contribution to the present scientific and philosophical understanding of these matters at the most advanced level, and something in the nature of an elementary textbook on the subject accessible to interested high-school students.
Helgoland
Author: Carlo Rovelli
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593328906
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593328906
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.
The Wave Function
Author: Alyssa Ney
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019979054X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Book Description
This is a new volume of original essays on the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. The essays address questions such as: What fundamental metaphysics is best motivated by quantum mechanics? What is the ontological status of the wave function? What is the nature of the fundamental space (or space-time manifold) of quantum mechanics?
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019979054X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Book Description
This is a new volume of original essays on the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. The essays address questions such as: What fundamental metaphysics is best motivated by quantum mechanics? What is the ontological status of the wave function? What is the nature of the fundamental space (or space-time manifold) of quantum mechanics?
Mastering Quantum Mechanics
Author: Barton Zwiebach
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262366894
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1105
Book Description
A complete overview of quantum mechanics, covering essential concepts and results, theoretical foundations, and applications. This undergraduate textbook offers a comprehensive overview of quantum mechanics, beginning with essential concepts and results, proceeding through the theoretical foundations that provide the field’s conceptual framework, and concluding with the tools and applications students will need for advanced studies and for research. Drawn from lectures created for MIT undergraduates and for the popular MITx online course, “Mastering Quantum Mechanics,” the text presents the material in a modern and approachable manner while still including the traditional topics necessary for a well-rounded understanding of the subject. As the book progresses, the treatment gradually increases in difficulty, matching students’ increasingly sophisticated understanding of the material. • Part 1 covers states and probability amplitudes, the Schrödinger equation, energy eigenstates of particles in potentials, the hydrogen atom, and spin one-half particles • Part 2 covers mathematical tools, the pictures of quantum mechanics and the axioms of quantum mechanics, entanglement and tensor products, angular momentum, and identical particles. • Part 3 introduces tools and techniques that help students master the theoretical concepts with a focus on approximation methods. • 236 exercises and 286 end-of-chapter problems • 248 figures
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262366894
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1105
Book Description
A complete overview of quantum mechanics, covering essential concepts and results, theoretical foundations, and applications. This undergraduate textbook offers a comprehensive overview of quantum mechanics, beginning with essential concepts and results, proceeding through the theoretical foundations that provide the field’s conceptual framework, and concluding with the tools and applications students will need for advanced studies and for research. Drawn from lectures created for MIT undergraduates and for the popular MITx online course, “Mastering Quantum Mechanics,” the text presents the material in a modern and approachable manner while still including the traditional topics necessary for a well-rounded understanding of the subject. As the book progresses, the treatment gradually increases in difficulty, matching students’ increasingly sophisticated understanding of the material. • Part 1 covers states and probability amplitudes, the Schrödinger equation, energy eigenstates of particles in potentials, the hydrogen atom, and spin one-half particles • Part 2 covers mathematical tools, the pictures of quantum mechanics and the axioms of quantum mechanics, entanglement and tensor products, angular momentum, and identical particles. • Part 3 introduces tools and techniques that help students master the theoretical concepts with a focus on approximation methods. • 236 exercises and 286 end-of-chapter problems • 248 figures
Topics in Advanced Quantum Mechanics
Author: Barry R. Holstein
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486499855
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 451
Book Description
This graduate-level text is based on a course in advanced quantum mechanics, taught many times at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Topics include propagator methods, scattering theory, charged particle interactions, alternate approximate methods, and Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. Problems appear in the flow of the discussion, rather than at the end of chapters. 1992 edition.
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486499855
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 451
Book Description
This graduate-level text is based on a course in advanced quantum mechanics, taught many times at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Topics include propagator methods, scattering theory, charged particle interactions, alternate approximate methods, and Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. Problems appear in the flow of the discussion, rather than at the end of chapters. 1992 edition.
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Author: S.M. Blinder
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128223111
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition provides an accessible, fully updated introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics. It outlines the fundamental concepts of quantum theory, discusses how these arose from classic experiments in chemistry and physics, and presents the quantum-mechanical foundations of current scientific developments.Beginning with a solid introduction to the key principles underpinning quantum mechanics in Part 1, the book goes on to expand upon these in Part 2, where fundamental concepts such as molecular structure and chemical bonding are discussed. Finally, Part 3 discusses applications of this quantum theory across some newly developing applications, including chapters on Density Functional Theory, Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantum Computing.Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert author, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition is a lucid introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics for anyone new to the field, and a useful refresher on fundamental knowledge and latest developments for those varying degrees of background. - Presents a fully updated accounting that reflects the most recent developments in Quantum Theory and its applications - Includes new chapters on Special Functions, Density Functional Theory, Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantum Computers - Presents additional problems and exercises to further support learning
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128223111
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436
Book Description
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition provides an accessible, fully updated introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics. It outlines the fundamental concepts of quantum theory, discusses how these arose from classic experiments in chemistry and physics, and presents the quantum-mechanical foundations of current scientific developments.Beginning with a solid introduction to the key principles underpinning quantum mechanics in Part 1, the book goes on to expand upon these in Part 2, where fundamental concepts such as molecular structure and chemical bonding are discussed. Finally, Part 3 discusses applications of this quantum theory across some newly developing applications, including chapters on Density Functional Theory, Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantum Computing.Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert author, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 2nd Edition is a lucid introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics for anyone new to the field, and a useful refresher on fundamental knowledge and latest developments for those varying degrees of background. - Presents a fully updated accounting that reflects the most recent developments in Quantum Theory and its applications - Includes new chapters on Special Functions, Density Functional Theory, Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantum Computers - Presents additional problems and exercises to further support learning