David Lindley's book on interpretations of quantum theory won wide acclaim when it was first published in the US last year. Infuriatingly, the original Basic Books hardback remained almost unobtainable in Europe. I know of at least one major UK bookshop that has been trying to reorder it since last May, so this paperback edition is most welcome. Lindley does an excellent job of describing the conceptual problems of quantum mechanics in a way that is accessible to the layperson. He sets out to tell the tale in a logical rather than a historical order, yet we get a good flavour of the way in which the scientific consensus has progressed. We are also reminded how the prejudices of some of the main contributors, notably Einstein, Bohr and David Bohm, may have been just as influential as their scientific contributions.
David Lindley's book on interpretations of quantum theory won wide acclaim when it was first published in the US last year. Infuriatingly, the original Basic Books hardback remained almost unobtainable in Europe. I know of at least one major UK bookshop that has been trying to reorder it since last May, so this paperback edition is most welcome. Lindley does an excellent job of describing the conceptual problems of quantum mechanics in a way that is accessible to the layperson. He sets out to tell the tale in a logical rather than a historical order, yet we get a good flavour of the way in which the scientific consensus has progressed. We are also reminded how the prejudices of some of the main contributors, notably Einstein, Bohr and David Bohm, may have been just as influential as their scientific contributions.
This book provides the reader with an explanation of the origin and establishment of quantum mechanics together with a descriptive survey of developments up to the present day. The mathematics is presented in a digestible form yet following the original approach. This second edition presents two new chapters to supplement and extend the first edition material. "Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics" surveys a wide range of current topics, including the multiverse, 't Hooft's ideas for a deterministic local field theory, a summary of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory and Anthony Valentini's development of it, and speculative concluding comments on the way ahead.
Quantum theory confronts us with bizarre paradoxes which upset the logical edifice of classical physics. At the sub-atomic level, one particle seems to know what the others are doing (so-called 'non-locality'), and according to Heisenberg's 'uncertainty principle', there is a limit on how accurately nature can be observed. And yet the theory is amazingly accurate and widely applied, explaining all of chemistry and most of physics. This book takes us on a step-by-step tour with the key figures, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger. Each contributed at least one crucial concept to the theory. The puzzle of the wave-particle duality is here, along with descriptions of the two questions raised gainst Bohr's 'Copenhagen Interpretation' - the famous 'dead and alive cat' and the EPR paradox. Both remain unresolved at the beginning of the 21st century.
In paperback for the first time, this compact volume presents quantum mechanics for the general reader. It offers a lucid description of the intellectual challenges and disagreements in the study of the behavior of atomic and sub-atomic particles--a field that has completely changed our view of the physical world, but that is still the subject of unresolved debate about its own fundamental interpretation. The work is accessible to those with no background in higher mathematics, but will also interest readers who have a more specialized knowledge of scientific topics. The author has spent most of his working life as a theoretical elementary particle physicist and from 1968 to 1979 was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge. In 1979 he resigned to train for the ministry of the Church of England, and he is now an ordained priest. Here he describes a theory that has been spectacularly successful in predicting the behavior of objects the size of atoms and smaller but that has aroused conflicting views about the nature of reality and the degree of independence between the world around us and ourselves as observers.
Introduction This contribution to the book in honour of J. S. Bell will probably differ from the remaining ones, in particular since only a part of it will be devoted to specific technical arguments. In fact I have considered it appropriate to share with the community of physicists interested in the foundational problems of our best theory the repeated interactions I had with him in the last four years of his life, the deep discussions in which we have been involved in particular in connection with the elaboration of collapse theories and their interpretation, and the contributions he gave to the development of this approach at a formal level, as well as championing it on repeated occasions. In brief, I intend to play here the role of one of those lucky persons who became acquainted with him personally, who has exchanged important views with him, who has learned a lot from his deep insight and conceptual lucidity, and, last but not least, whose scientific work has been appreciated by him. Moreover, due to the fact that this book intends to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the derivation of the fundamental inequality which bears his name, I will also devote a small part of the text to recalling his clearcut views about the locality issue, views that I believe have not been grasped correctly by a remarkable part of the scientific community. I will analyze this problem in quite general terms at the end of the paper. Some of Bell's Scientific Achievements Bell received bachelor's degrees in experimental physics and in mathematical physics at Queen'sUniversity of Belfast in the years 1948 and 1949, respectively, and a PhD in physics at the University of Birmingham. We all know very well that already at that time he was absolutely unsatisfied with the conceptual structure of quantum mechanics and with the way in which it was taught. This is significantly expressed by the statement he made during an interview to Jeremy Bernstein: I remember arguing with one of my professors, a Doctor Sloane, about that. I was getting very heated and accusing him, more or less, of dishonesty. He was getting very heated too and said, ‘You're going too far.’
The universe we live in is both strange and interesting. This strangeness comes about because, at the most fundamental level, the universe is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. This is the most spectacularly accurate and powerful theory ever devised, one that has given us insights into many aspects of the world, from the structure of matter to the meaning of information. This textbook provides a comprehensive account of all things quantum. It starts by introducing the wavefunction and its interpretation as an ephemeral wave of complex probability, before delving into the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and exploring its diverse applications, from atomic physics and scattering, to quantum computing. Designed to be accessible, this volume is suitable for both students and researchers, beginning with the basics before progressing to more advanced topics.
David Bohm is one of the foremost scientific thinkers of today and one of the most distinguished scientists of his generation. His challenge to the conventional understanding of quantum theory has led scientists to reexamine what it is they are going and his ideas have been an inspiration across a wide range of disciplines. Quantum Implications is a collection of original contributions by many of the world' s leading scholars and is dedicated to David Bohm, his work and the issues raised by his ideas. The contributors range across physics, philosophy, biology, art, psychology, and include some of the most distinguished scientists of the day. There is an excellent introduction by the editors, putting Bohm's work in context and setting right some of the misconceptions that have persisted about the work of David Bohm