Abstract The systematic study of the physical world had its orgins in philosophy; two-and-a-half millennia later, the scientific advances of the twentieth century are bringing the two fields closer together again. In this brilliant new textbook, Lawrence Sklar gives a broad overview of contemporary philosophy of physics which readers at all levels, especially students, should find accessible and engaging. Professor Sklar provides a clear and accurate guide to the key topics: the nature of space and time, the problems of probability and irreversibility in statistical mechanics, and, of course, the many notorious problems raised by quantum mechanics. He discusses sophisticated scientific questions, but avoids the use of technical formalism, so that the discussion will be accessible to those without a training in philosophy or physics.
Abstract The systematic study of the physical world had its orgins in philosophy; two-and-a-half millennia later, the scientific advances of the twentieth century are bringing the two fields closer together again. In this brilliant new textbook, Lawrence Sklar gives a broad overview of contemporary philosophy of physics which readers at all levels, especially students, should find accessible and engaging. Professor Sklar provides a clear and accurate guide to the key topics: the nature of space and time, the problems of probability and irreversibility in statistical mechanics, and, of course, the many notorious problems raised by quantum mechanics. He discusses sophisticated scientific questions, but avoids the use of technical formalism, so that the discussion will be accessible to those without a training in philosophy or physics.
There are several (general) philosophy of physics textbooks on the market.1 An
obvious question to ask at the outset then is: Why another one? In his “Some
Philosophical Aspects of Particle Physics”, Michael Redhead bemoans the common practice of philosophers of science of dealing with examples “which are no
longer of current research interest in science” ((1980), p. 279). This practice is
still common even among many philosophers of physics, and, for the most part,
the available textbooks continue to engage in this practice. Generally, one finds a
little spacetime, a little statistical mechanics, and a little quantum theory. Now,
these are of course the ‘pillars’ of modern physics, so it is what we should expect
to be covered in any textbook on the philosophy of physics worth its salt (and,
indeed, they are well represented in this book). However, the issues that are
dealt with are usually very old fashioned and very limited in scope: ‘spacetime’
means ‘the twins paradox’ (and possibly conventionalism); ‘statistical mechanics’
means ‘time asymmetry’; and ‘quantum theory’ means ‘the measurement problem’. Redhead is surely right that this leads physicists to “regard philosophy of
science as somewhat irrelevant”. Rightly so, too, if this were in fact representative of much of what actually goes on in philosophy of physics. However, the
state of play as represented in philosophy of physics and (some) philosophy of
science journals shows a very different level of engagement, with philosophers
of physics investigating the frontiers of scientific research. This disparity (or the
impression of such) is the raison d’eˆtre for the book you are now reading. The result is an introductory textbook covering those portions of philosophy of physics
research that other textbooks fail to cover, or cover only very briefly or very
simplistically. The three pillars of modern physics-relativity, quantum theory
and statistical mechanics-are still represented, then, but from a more advanced
and contemporary perspective.
Abstract This book provides the reader with a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to Quantum Mechanics. It is suitable for beginners as well as for more advanced university students. Quantum mechanics is presented in a pedagogical fashion, with a clear logical organization. The various concepts and methods are introduced first in elementary terms, and later developed into more precise formulations. Systematic studies of approximation methods and the discussion of a wide class of physical applications follow. Part I of the book, together with the opening sections of Part II, provide adequate material for an introductory course of one semester at most universities. The rest of the book might be used in an advanced course on Quantum Mechanics. The basic material is fairly standard, even though some discussions such as those on general systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians, on metastable systems, as well as the discussions in some of the Complement sections, may not be found in other textbooks. The book also contains many original observations or new ways of illustrating even well-known subjects. In fact, the authors wish to convey in this book the sense of wonder in the logical simplicity and at the same time the beauty of subtle and far-reaching consequences of Quantum Mechanics, to young physics students in particular. Problem sets are provided at the end of each chapter, to be solved either analytically or by numerical methods. The solutions to both types of problems are given as separate pdf files or as Mathematica notebooks (there are 88 of them), all together on a CD accompanying the textbook. The presence of such a collection of numerical analyses enriches the main text and is one of the characteristic features of the book. With the many interesting systems discussed, the book will also be a useful reference for researchers and teachers. It provides the reader with a unique, enjoyable and rather complete textbook of Quantum Mechanics, destined to set a new standard for many years to come.
Does the future exist already? What is space? Are time machines physically possible? What is quantum mechanical reality like? Are there many universes? Is there a 'true' geometry of the universe? Why does there appear to be an arrow of time? Do humans play a special role in the world? In this unique introductory book, Dean Rickles guides the reader through these and other core questions that keep philosophers of physics up at night. He discusses the three pillars of modern physics (quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and the theories of relativity), in addition to more cutting-edge themes such as econophysics, quantum gravity, quantum computers, and gauge theories. The book's approach is based on the idea that philosophy of physics is a kind of 'interpretation game' in which we try to map physical theories onto our world. But the rules of this game often lead to a multiplicity of possible victors: rarely do we encounter a simple answer. The Philosophy of Physics offers a highly accessible introduction to the latest developments in this exciting field. Written in a lively style, with many visual examples, it will appeal to beginner-level students in both physics and philosophy.
Philosophical reflections on physics and its theories have been shaping the agenda of general philosophy of science, including issues such as the nature of scientific theories, the meaning of scientific terms, and scientific modeling. But physics is also well worth being considered a special science of its own, whose methods and tools raised specific questions for philosophers of science: this is the approach followed in this chapter, which has as its main thread the role of mathematics in physical theories. It tackles classical issues concerning measurement and determinism and long-standing controversies in the philosophy of statistical mechanics (how may the reversible laws of mechanics account for the irreversible principles of thermodynamics?) and in the philosophy of quantum physics (does quantum mechanics provide us a with a complete description of quantum phenomena?). It also addresses emerging issues in the field, such as computer simulations and their role between theory and observation.
In this book, Tim Maudlin, one of the worlds leading philosophers of physics, offers a sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The briefest, clearest, and most refined account of his influential approach to the subject, the book will be invaluable to all students of philosophy and physics. Quantum mechanics holds a unique place in the history of physics. It has produced the most accurate predictions of any scientific theory, but, more astonishing, there has never been any agreement about what the theory implies about physical reality. Maudlin argues that the very term quantum theory is a misnomer. A proper physical theory should clearly describe what is there and what it doesyet standard textbooks present quantum mechanics as a predictive recipe in search of a physical theory. In contrast, Maudlin explores three proper theories that recover the quantum predictions: the indeterministic wavefunction collapse theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber; the deterministic particle theory of deBroglie and Bohm; and the conceptually challenging Many Worlds theory of Everett. Each offers a radically different proposal for the nature of physical reality, but Maudlin shows that none of them are what they are generally taken to be.
Over the course of the past two to three decades, new tools of presentation and mathematical treatment have emerged and the subject matter of quantum mechanics has gone through significant changes. A Textbook on Modern Quantum Mechanics presents the selected elementary, intermediate, and advance topics with rejuvenated approach to the subject matter. Newly merged topics from contemporary physics and chemistry are included in the text as well as solved examples. The book covers: (i) fundamental discoveries that are the foundation of modern quantum mechanics; (ii) solution of Schrödinger’s wave equation for 1D problems and their importance; (iii) matrix and vector formulation of quantum mechanics; (iv) transformations, symmetries, and conservation laws; (v) angular and spin momenta; (vi) solution of Schrödinger equation for central potentials; (vii) time-independent perturbation theory, variational method and WKB approximation; (viii) quantum theory of scattering; (xi) many-particle systems and their quantum mechanical treatments; (x) time-dependent perturbations and the interaction of fields with matter; (xi) relativistic quantum mechanics; and (xii) quantization of fields and the second quantization. Key Features: It provides everything a student needs to know for succeeding at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate studies. It covers most of the topics that are taught under (a) elementary, (b) intermediate, and (c) advance courses of quantum mechanics at universities and colleges. It has detailed and elegant mathematical treatment with contemporary style of interpretation and presentation in simple English. Solved examples and unsolved exercises that are part of each chapter to consolidate the readers' understanding of fundamental concepts. The subject matter of the book is well tested on the students taught by the author over a period of 30 years. This is a valuable textbook for students pursuing Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, and materials science in India, South Asian countries, the United States, and Europe.