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WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks

Some Comments on the Foundations of Physics

Per‐Olov Löwdin

Published Oct 1, 1998• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This pedagogical monograph describes some of the fundamental laws of physics. The derivations are, however, obtained from a rather unconventional point of view. The Lorentz transformations and the special theory of relativity are derived without mentioning the phenomenon of light, and the de Broglie relations in the wave-corpuscle parallelism are derived without the help of Planck's constant. By the use of Schrödinger's idea of "quantization as an eigenvalue problem", the foundations of wave mechanics are discussed as a mathematical problem without reference to Planck's constant. Finally, the

DOI
10.1142/3331

Related papers

Some Comments on the Foundations of Physics

Per‐Olov Löwdin

This pedagogical monograph describes some of the fundamental views of the laws of physics. The derivations are, however, obtained from a rather unconventional point of view. The Lorentz transformations and the special theory of relativity are derived without mentioning the phenomenon of light, and the de Broglie relations in the wave-corpuscle parallelism are derived without the help of Planck's constant. By the use of Schrodinger's idea of quantization as an eigenvalue problem, the foundations of wave mechanics are discussed as a mathematical problem without reference to Planck's constant. Finally, the Kepler problem in the special theory of relativity is studied starting from the energy law, and the applications to the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar indicate that more data about the unseen companion are needed before the interpretation of the present data may be taken as the ultimate proof of the validity of the general theory of relativity.

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Comments on the Basis of Wave Mechanics

Mohamed Ashraf Farouk

Copenhagen physicists said; The electronics that we use today-radio, televisions, computers, lasers, MRI machines GPS-communications- depend on calculations using Schrodinger’s equation plus a lot of other Mathematics and Measurements, our idea of “shut up and calculate” has worked very well for us technologically. My comment’s these technological achievements do not justify that the equation itself as (I will try show) has any true scientific basis. In 1925, Erwin Schrodinger wrote excitingly to Einstein. “I have been intensely concerned these days with Louis de Broglie’s theory [1]. It is extraordinary, exciting, but still has some very grave difficulties”. So regardless of you are consider Schrodinger’s equation is a fundamental equation (has no derivation from simples forms) or derived one, you cannot deny first that Schrodinger’s equation is a wave equation and second it is shows how (de Broglie hypothesis of) matter wave change with time. i.e. Schrodinger equation describe the evaluation of the physical system in which the quantum effects, the “Wave-particle” duality are significant.

Research & Development in Material Science•Nov 10, 2020•0 citations

Quantum Basis of Lorentz Symmetry

Paul Korbel

An unconventional outlook on relationship between the quantum mechanics and special relativity is proposed. We show that the two fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics of Planck and de Broglie combined with the idea of comparison scale (explained in the paper), are enough to introduce relativistic description. We argue that Lorentz group is the symmetry group of quantum, preferred frame description. We indicate that the departure from the orthodox relativity postulate allows us, in easy way, to make special relativity and quantum mechanics indivisible whole.

arXiv:hep-th/0412267•Dec 21, 2004•0 citations
This pedagogical monograph describes some of the fundamental laws of physics. The derivations are, however, obtained from a rather unconventional point of view. The Lorentz transformations and the special theory of relativity are derived without mentioning the phenomenon of light, and the de Broglie relations in the wave-corpuscle parallelism are derived without the help of Planck's constant. By the use of Schrödinger's idea of "quantization as an eigenvalue problem", the foundations of wave mechanics are discussed as a mathematical problem without reference to Planck's constant. Finally, the
This pedagogical monograph describes some of the fundamental views of the laws of physics. The derivations are, however, obtained from a rather unconventional point of view. The Lorentz transformations and the special theory of relativity are derived without mentioning the phenomenon of light, and the de Broglie relations in the wave-corpuscle parallelism are derived without the help of Planck's constant. By the use of Schrodinger's idea of quantization as an eigenvalue problem, the foundations of wave mechanics are discussed as a mathematical problem without reference to Planck's constant. Finally, the Kepler problem in the special theory of relativity is studied starting from the energy law, and the applications to the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar indicate that more data about the unseen companion are needed before the interpretation of the present data may be taken as the ultimate proof of the validity of the general theory of relativity.
Chapter 2 explains how in constructing quantum mechanics, old ideas had to be discarded and well-established principles had to be modified or even abandoned. First it was necessary to be convinced of the physical reality of the atomic structure of matter; then to show that Newtonian mechanics is not directly applicable to the study of the atom; later to show that Maxwell’s electrodynamics alone does not describe all the elementary processes of interaction between an atom and other quantum particles. The chapter takes us from Planck’s energy quantum to Einstein’s quantization as a universal phenomenon, from Bohr’s quantum atom model, and the early quantization rules, to de Broglie’s waves associated with corpuscles in motion. It ends with a corollary on the electrodynamic nature of quantum mechanics.
This paper presents a pedagogical framework for understanding quantum mechanics through classical and wave-based intuition. Starting from algebraic derivations rooted in Newtonian mechanics and wave properties, and incorporating de Broglie's matter-wave duality, we re-derive Planck's relation E=hf. Using the same classical-wave analogy, we extend the approach to foundational quantum models such as the particle in a box, the quantum harmonic oscillator, and other related systems. The goal is to provide an intuitive, visual way helping learners grasp the physical meaning behind key models without relying solely on abstract formalism. Note: This is an updated version of a previously published paper, with refined derivations and an expanded conceptual framework.
The de Broglie relation is revisited in connection with an ab initio relativistic description of particles and waves, which is the same treatment that historically led to this famous relation. In the same context of the Minkowski four-vector formalism, we also discuss the phase and the group velocity of a matter wave, explicitly showing that both transform as ordinary velocities under a Lorentz transformation. We show that such a transformation rule is a necessary condition for the covariance of the de Broglie relation, and stress the pedagogical value of the Einstein-Minkowski-Lorentz relativistic context in the presentation of the de Broglie relation.
Copenhagen physicists said; The electronics that we use today-radio, televisions, computers, lasers, MRI machines GPS-communications- depend on calculations using Schrodinger’s equation plus a lot of other Mathematics and Measurements, our idea of “shut up and calculate” has worked very well for us technologically. My comment’s these technological achievements do not justify that the equation itself as (I will try show) has any true scientific basis. In 1925, Erwin Schrodinger wrote excitingly to Einstein. “I have been intensely concerned these days with Louis de Broglie’s theory [1]. It is extraordinary, exciting, but still has some very grave difficulties”. So regardless of you are consider Schrodinger’s equation is a fundamental equation (has no derivation from simples forms) or derived one, you cannot deny first that Schrodinger’s equation is a wave equation and second it is shows how (de Broglie hypothesis of) matter wave change with time. i.e. Schrodinger equation describe the evaluation of the physical system in which the quantum effects, the “Wave-particle” duality are significant.
An unconventional outlook on relationship between the quantum mechanics and special relativity is proposed. We show that the two fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics of Planck and de Broglie combined with the idea of comparison scale (explained in the paper), are enough to introduce relativistic description. We argue that Lorentz group is the symmetry group of quantum, preferred frame description. We indicate that the departure from the orthodox relativity postulate allows us, in easy way, to make special relativity and quantum mechanics indivisible whole.