The history of the development of quantum theory since its discovery by Planck in 1900 is outlined. The great achievements of quantum mechanics and its contribution to science and mankind are summarized briefly. Judged by all possible criteria, namely, esthetics and scientific criteria and contribution to society in general, quantum mechanics can be ranked in as the highest one. It is stressed that our scientific efforts should be focused on eight to ten most important problems, which could benefit our economy or national defense.At the same time, we should also pay attention to some purely basic research topics that seems “useless” and devoid of any applications. The ongoing fourth breakthrough in physics is the one that deserves attention.
The history of the development of quantum theory since its discovery by Planck in 1900 is outlined. The great achievements of quantum mechanics and its contribution to science and mankind are summarized briefly. Judged by all possible criteria, namely, esthetics and scientific criteria and contribution to society in general, quantum mechanics can be ranked in as the highest one. It is stressed that our scientific efforts should be focused on eight to ten most important problems, which could benefit our economy or national defense.At the same time, we should also pay attention to some purely basic research topics that seems “useless” and devoid of any applications. The ongoing fourth breakthrough in physics is the one that deserves attention.
Quantum mechanics is one of the great success stories of modern physics, making sense of the very small just as Einstein's theory of relativity made sense of the very large. But, for most students, the ideas that make quantum mechanics powerful can be confusing and counterintuitive. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science series provides a history of quantum mechanics from the early breakthroughs of Planck and Einstein, at the beginning of the 20th century, to the present frontiers of quantum computing and quantum gravity. The approach is entirely non-technical, and is aimed at the general reader who may not have much mathematical background but who has a strong curiosity about some of the most important developments in modern science. Quantum Mechanics: A Historical Perspectivetraces the history of this powerful theory, including: ; The early discoveries by Max Planck and Albert Einstein regarding the quantization of radiation ; The early quantum theory, including Neils Bohr's theory of the atom ; The birth of modern quantum mechanics through the work of Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Born, Dirac and others ; Applications of quantum mechanics in chemistry, nuclear physics, electronics, and many other areas ; Recent work in quantum computation and quantum information theory The book emphasizes the fact that despite the great success of quantum mechanics, many exciting intellectual frontiers remain open for further researchers to explore. It includes a glossary, a timeline, and a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.
2025 is the year UNESCO selected to celebrate 100 years of this novel science, quantum mechanics, based on Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” discovery. However, quantum mechanics began with the discovery of quantum packets of energy emission formulated by the German physicist Max Planck, and it incorporated additional discoveries and principles from Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli, de Broglie, and many others in the early 1900s. Since then, many advancements and breakthroughs have been made. Such scientific contributions have influenced the culture and technology of humanity from the 20th century onwards, with the first quantum revolutions bringing innovations in technology and engineering, including the omnipresent light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (Laser), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), microprocessor manufacturing and design for computers and nuclear energy. Thus, at the beginning of the Second Quantum Revolution in the 21st century, amid a new wave of novel quantum technologies promising to create the 5th Industrial Revolution and transform humanity, a brief history of these marvellous sciences is condensed, connecting the wonders of the new quantum technogenesis that is being forged, linking its past with classical mechanics and also with novel relativistic mechanics. Understanding these developments highlights the significance of quantum technologies shaping our future and what lies ahead for us. This article explores technologies that are presently under research and development (R&D) in the quantum physics realm, including quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum simulation. It also discusses emerging careers in the quantum field and the unresolved mysteries that continue to challenge scientists. The discussion follows the ancient griot tradition of storytelling, a method that the distinguished physicist, great professor, and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman encouraged us to use to explain complex scientific ideas.
Abstract We present the current state of quantum mechanics, the prospects for its development, and the strengthening of its influence on scientific and technological progress. We look at quantum mechanics from four perspectives. The first perspective astonished physicists already with the advent of quantum mechanics—it is (1) a new way of looking at the world. Over the course of a hundred years of development, quantum mechanics has acquired three more perspectives: (2) an independent field of knowledge, (3) a new physical theory, and (4) a radical change in paradigm in the history of human thought. We have named the new paradigm “neo-Copenhagen” to emphasize both its development from and its continuity with the Copenhagen interpretation. We review the problems of quantum mechanics: how experimental research progresses, how basic concepts develop, how practical applications of paradoxical ideas expand. We indicate ways to solve three Ginzburg’s “great” problems. We formulate the features of the neo-Copenhagen paradigm that have already emerged. We present a look at the future of science and technology on the three time scales.
It was exactly one hundred years ago on 14 December 1900 that the great physicist Max Planck (1858–1947) presented to the German Physical Society his revolutionary concept of the quantum of action, using which he successfully explained the spectrum of radiation emitted by a black body. Planck was aided in this momentous discovery by, first, his insistence on empirical veracity and second, the laws of thermodynamics. This history is narrated in several places1, I shall just briefly recall the main features.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Max Planck's creation of the quantum concept, an idea so revolutionary that it took nearly 30 years for scientists to develop it into the theory that has transformed the way scientists view reality. In this month's essay, Daniel Kleppner and Roman Jackiw recount how quantum theory, which they rate as "the most precisely tested and most successful theory in the history of science," came to be, how it changed the world, and how it might continue to evolve to make the dream of ultimate understanding of the universe come true.
Quantum mechanics is a most intriguing theory, the empirical success of which is as great as its departure from the basic intuitions of previous theories. Its history has attracted much attention. In the 1960s, three leading contributors to this history, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Forman, and John Heilbron, put together the Archive for the History of Quantum Physics (AHQP), which contains manuscripts, correspondence, and interviews of early quantum physicists. In the same period, Martin Klein wrote clear and penetrating essays on Planck, Einstein, and early quantum theory; and Max Jammer published The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics , still the best available synthesis. Since then, this subfield of the history of science has grown considerably, as demonstrated in accounts such as the five-volume compilation by Jagdish Mehra and Helmut Rechenberg; the philosophically sensitive studies by Edward MacKinnon, John Hendry, and Sandro Petruccioli; Bruce Wheaton’s work on the empirical roots of wave-particle dualism; my own book on the classical analogy in the history of quantum theory; and a number of biographies. These sources nicely complement one another. There have been, however, a couple of bitter controversies. Historians notoriously disagree about the nature of Planck’s quantum work around 1900. Whereas Klein sees in it a sharp departure from classical electrodynamics, Kuhn denies that Planck introduced any quantum discontinuity before Einstein. Here I take Kuhn’s side, although it follows from Allan Needell’s insightful dissertation that neither Klein nor Kuhn fully identified Planck’s goals.