The intensive path of development of science has led not only to the compilation of a large amount of poorly systematized knowledge about nature but also to the fact that under this "cultural layer" many magnificent ideas of the luminaries of the last century were found. This primarily concerns quantum theory, which has departed from the principles of quantization of Planck–Einstein and degenerated into a formal science, which not only does not need to be understood but also is forbidden to be understood. However, starting from the Planck–Einstein spatial resonances called quanta, we get a transparent physical picture and can correct a number of theories. The foundation of this book was laid by the popular science article "Uncombed Physics and the Particle of God" (https://rusnor.org/pubs/articles/8058.htm). This is what the Higgs boson was pompously called when Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize. This work was continued by the author in subsequent books in which the author deliberately (for self-control) tried to include only the material that had passed the examination in scientific journals. This book includes both the author's early scientific works, which identified problems in elementary basic models, and the author's latest, which gave ways to solve fundamental problems.
The intensive path of development of science has led not only to the compilation of a large amount of poorly systematized knowledge about nature but also to the fact that under this "cultural layer" many magnificent ideas of the luminaries of the last century were found. This primarily concerns quantum theory, which has departed from the principles of quantization of Planck–Einstein and degenerated into a formal science, which not only does not need to be understood but also is forbidden to be understood. However, starting from the Planck–Einstein spatial resonances called quanta, we get a transparent physical picture and can correct a number of theories. The foundation of this book was laid by the popular science article "Uncombed Physics and the Particle of God" (https://rusnor.org/pubs/articles/8058.htm). This is what the Higgs boson was pompously called when Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize. This work was continued by the author in subsequent books in which the author deliberately (for self-control) tried to include only the material that had passed the examination in scientific journals. This book includes both the author's early scientific works, which identified problems in elementary basic models, and the author's latest, which gave ways to solve fundamental problems.
The Schrödinger equation describes the basic physical models in a very contradictory way. And its canonization, which gives a catastrophic divergence of the energy of electronic levels with an increase in the mass of an atom, in principle, stalled the development of science. Nevertheless, it allowed, albeit roughly, to systematize and describe many phenomena of the microworld, primarily the hydrogen atom. And approximate descriptions of many “quantum” effects were obtained, but with the use of numerous adjustable parameters. So the bottom line from the century of development of quantum theory (QT) is, in fact, the development of some quantum mechanical methods.
The announcement in 2012 that the Higgs boson had been discovered was understood as a watershed moment for the Standard Model of particle physics. It was deemed a triumphant event in the reductionist quest that had begun centuries ago with the ancient Greek natural philosophers. Physicists basked in the satisfaction of explaining to the world that the ultimate cause of mass in our universe had been unveiled at CERN, Switzerland. The Standard Model of particle physics is now understood by many to have arrived at a satisfactory description of entities and interactions on the smallest physical scales: elementary quarks, leptons, and intermediary gauge bosons residing within a four-dimensional spacetime continuum. Throughout the historical journey of reductionist physics, mathematics has played an increasingly dominant role. Indeed, abstract mathematics has now become indispensable in guiding our discovery of the physical world. Elementary particles are endowed with abstract existence in accordance with their appearance in complicated equations. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, originally intended to estimate practical measurement uncertainties, now bequeaths a numerical fuzziness to the structure of reality. Particle physicists have borrowed effective mathematical tools originally invented and employed by condensed matter physicists to approximate the complex structures and dynamics of solids and liquids and bestowed on them the authority to define basic physical reality. The discovery of the Higgs boson was a result of these kinds of strategies, used by particle physicists to take the latest steps on the reductionist quest. This book offers a constructive critique of the modern orthodoxy into which all aspiring young physicists are now trained, that the ever-evolving mathematical models of modern physics are leading us toward a truer understanding of the real physical world. The authors propose that among modern physicists, physical realism has been largely replaced—in actual practice—by quasirealism, a problematic philosophical approach that interprets the statements of abstract, effective mathematical models as providing direct information about reality. History may judge that physics in the twentieth century, despite its seeming successes, involved a profound deviation from the historical reductionist voyage to fathom the mysteries of the physical universe.
We tried to introduce the idea of quantization in Chapter 9 as a completion of a one semester course. However, we skipped over some really interesting events in the history of Science between 1900 and 1913 when Bohr derived the quantized energy of the H atom. First we want to carry out the 1901 Planck derivation of the formula for blackbody radiation [1]. Many texts just show the curve, write e¼ hn, and move on. As a student, this author found that limited explanation very frustrating since energy quantization is a fundamental concept. Even among graduate texts in quantum mechanics, we are aware of only one that does the complete treatment which we will draw upon for the mathematics [2] but supplement with a narrative that we have found helpful to students over the years. Then in 1905, Albert Einstein (1879-1955), one of the most influential scientists of all time, gave an explanation of the photoelectric effect [3] for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1921. Even reducing our list to essential topics, we need to discuss the Davisson-Germer experiment [4]. The photoelectric effect introduces the idea that light waves can act as particles while the Davisson-Germer experiment showed that particles can act like waves and confirmed the De Broglie equation [5]. However, you can be assured that it will not be as difficult as you might have anticipated and if you can absorb the meaning of just these three key experiments you should be able to begin thinking in terms of quantum mechanics! Despite our slow historical development, this is 2010 and we have to get to the twenty-first century somehow!
Scientists have been debating the meaning of quantum mechanics for over a century. This book for graduate students and researchers gets to the root of the problem; the contextual nature of empirical truth, the laws of observation and how these impact on our understanding of quantum physics. Bridging the gap between non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, this novel approach to quantum mechanics extends the standard formalism to cover the observer and their apparatus. The author demystifies some of the aspects of quantum mechanics that have traditionally been regarded as extraordinary, such as wave-particle duality and quantum superposition, by emphasizing the scientific principles rather than the mathematical modelling involved. Including key experiments and worked examples throughout to encourage the reader to focus on empirically sound concepts, this book avoids metaphysical speculation and also alerts the reader to the use of computer algebra to explore quantum experiments of virtually limitless complexity.
At the close of the nineteenth century, we stood on the threshold of one of the greatest periods of science, in which the entire world and understanding of science would be shaken to the core and greatly modified. This explosion of knowledge led ultimately to that same information revolution that we live in today. Planck and Einstein showed that light was not continuous but made of small corpuscles that today we call photons. Einstein changed the understanding of mechanics with his theory of relativity: airplanes became conceivable; radio and television blossomed; and the microelectronics industry, which drives most of modern technology, came into being. New areas of science were greatly expanded and developed, and one of these was quantum mechanics, which is the story to be told here. Yet, the development of quantum mechanics and the leadership of Niels Bohr have distorted the understanding of quantum mechanics in a strange way. There are some who would say that Bohr set back the real understanding of quantum mechanics by half a century. I believe they underestimate his role, and it may be something more like a full century. Whether we call it the Copenhagen interpretation, or the Copenhagen orthodoxy, it is the how for the continuing mysticism provided by Mach that is still remaining in quantum mechanics. It is not the why. Why it perseveres and why it was forced on the field in the first place is an important perception to be studied. In this book, I want to trace the development of quantum mechanics and try to uncover the why.
Scientists have been debating the meaning of quantum mechanics for more than a century. This book for graduate students and researchers gets to the root of the problem: how the contextual nature of empirical truth and the laws of observation impact on our understanding of quantum physics. Bridging the gap between non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, this novel approach to quantum mechanics extends the standard formalism to cover the observer and their apparatus. The author demystifies some of the aspects of quantum mechanics that have traditionally been regarded as extraordinary, such as wave-particle duality and quantum superposition, emphasizing the scientific principles rather than the mathematical modelling. Including key experiments and worked examples throughout, the author encourages the reader to focus on empirically sound concepts and avoid metaphysical speculation. Originally released in 2017, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.