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Putting it into practice

Jim Baggott

Published Apr 16, 1992• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Now that we have satisfied ourselves of the need for a quantum theory of radiation and matter, and we have seen the different positions taken up by the major figures in the theory’s early development, we must interrupt our historical narrative and turn our attention to details of how the theory works in practice. Readers are reminded that this is not a textbook, and so the description we will give here is a highly selective one.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198555766.003.0002

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Abstract Now that we have satisfied ourselves of the need for a quantum theory of radiation and matter, and we have seen the different positions taken up by the major figures in the theory’s early development, we must interrupt our historical narrative and turn our attention to details of how the theory works in practice. Readers are reminded that this is not a textbook, and so the description we will give here is a highly selective one.
Abstract The development of quantum theory was driven by a consistently repeated failure of classical physics to accommodate the results of ever more sophisticated experiments on the microphysical world of radiation, elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. Each break-through in the development of the theory’s conceptual structure was followed (sometimes very rapidly) by new experimental data that just did not fit, pointing to the need for yet further refinements. As is typical in such a radical change in the approach to acquiring scientific understanding, old and often unsuitable concepts were forced into service to meet the needs of the new description. Confusion reigned. The major figures in the theory’s early development took up radically different positions on the theory’s interpretation, and, as we will see, the debate became polarized in ways that remain relevant today.
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