Book Description
The most successful theory in all of science--and the basis of one third of our economy--says the strangest things about the world and about us. Can you believe that physical reality is created by our observation of it? Physicists were forced to this conclusion, the quantum enigma, by what they observed in their laboratories. Trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics and found, to their embarrassment, that their theory intimately connects consciousness with the physical world. Quantum Enigma explores what that implies and why some founders of the theory became the foremost objectors to it. Schrodinger showed that it "absurdly" allowed a cat to be in a "superposition" simultaneously dead and alive. Einstein derided the theory's "spooky interactions." With Bell's Theorem, we now know Schrodinger's superpositions and Einstein's spooky interactions indeed exist. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all of this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and bits about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, with an emphasis on what is and what is not speculation. Physics' encounter with consciousness is its skeleton in the closet. Because the authors open the closet and examine the skeleton, theirs is a controversial book. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is controversial. Every interpretation of quantum physics encounters consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum physics. Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer a sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves.
Customer Reviews:
Importance of Einstein's inquisitiveness........2007-10-03
Remember "Blue Velvet" movie and frequently shouting "don't you f@#$ look at me!!" Frank (played with raving mania by Dennis Hopper)? Maybe Frank knew something we do not. But.. jokes aside - it is again about Einstein mostly, and about his two famous quips: "I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it" and: "God does not play dice". He related to measurement/observation problem and Nature's randomness. His questions, musings and skepticism spawned further research into "what is going on?" bringing quantum physics and consciousness enigma into the light. As we read the text, we learn that physicists can be divided into two groups: these who does not want to enter the hazy border of physics and philosophy, and much smaller but not less respected cluster of open-minded scientists who are not afraid to investigate and ask dipper questions. Second group consist(ed) among others Schrodinger himself and John Wheeler - dreamer and colleague of Einstein. There is something wrong with the way science is conducted, and authors clearly point at it quoting many names and opinions. For example: reductionism may be soon in retreat and reasoning by induction has logical problems. Mathematics is not always a panacea for theory -says Stephen Hawking: "The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe" (string cosmologists take heed!). Even philosopher and physicist Victor Stenger ("The Unconscious Quantum") - strong believer in empirical facts/observations and total critic of consciousness admits that we do not live in deterministic Newtonian clockwork universe. I mention him here because I read several of his books not without pleasure. In conclusion: "Quantum Enigma" is a fascinating and provocative book. The only small disappointment comes from marginal treatment of Roger Penrose's interpretation of quantum weirdness that goes without any need to invoke observers or parallel universes. For details one may check June 2005 Discover magazine. Soon after this book was published, May 12th 2007 New Scientist magazine printed information about planned experiments at the University of California , Santa Barbara. The researchers believe they will have ruled out one of the most popular explanations for how quantum things turn classical and that decoherence theory cannot be correct. Experiment will offer an inside into the fundamental nature of quantum measurement, and possibility to take a quick peek inside the box, glimpse the cat's state and observe "superposition" marching one step at a time. This could be a very profound discovery..stay alerted.
Quantum questions at their best.......2007-09-12
A good concise format for the most pressing quantum questions.
A very good read. Recomended for anyone needing more input on how our peception of reality, changes as quantum questions arise..
IM
Absolute must-read.......2007-08-24
I just finished reading Quantum Enigma and it has left me stunned.
Although I am sure many folks would not agree, I think the topic of this book examines the most important questions facing us humans -- the fundamental nature of consciousness and "reality", and how the two interact. The authors explain how quantum theory clearly shows that microscopic particles behave in a way that does not "make sense". Not only can those particles exist in two places at once, but the theory shows that they only exist when observed by something or someone. And since our everyday macroscopic objects are theoretically made up of those tiny particles, what does that mean about the chair I am sitting on? Is it there only because I am here? As stated on page 156, "There is no way to interpret quantum theory without in some way addressing consciousness."
This is not a "pop-quantum" book like the Tao of Physics or The Dancing Wu Li Masters. Nor does it present nonsensical extrapolations of quantum theory to spiritual phenomena, as in the "What the Bleep..." movie. But it does explore realms where most physics text books do not go -- the juncture of physics and philosophy. It shines a bright light on physicists' "skeleton in the closet", the enigmatic meaning of quantum theory.
The book is written in a friendly and entertaining manner, without sacrificing depth or seriousness. I enjoyed the photos of the great minds of quantum theory - Bohr, Heisenberg, Einstein, etc - the guys who knew from the start that quantum theory required a different world view.
It may be true, in some sense, that nothing exists unless and until "observed"! How can that possibly be? The authors don't provide an answer, but the beauty of this book for me was the courageous and competent way in which it asks the questions. And they freely admit that "The more deeply you think about quantum mechanics, the more strange it seems." No kidding.
--Joel Nisson
A perspective shaking journey.......2007-08-14
The concepts are simple but profound, mind creates matter. This book takes this idea and a few other mind bending, and mind blowing concepts that quantum physics has shown us about ourselves, and our universe and expands on them in a readable format. The astonishing realization for me is the apparent direct correlation between what quantum physics has told us about reality, and what mystics have been saying for thousands of years, especially the Buddha. This book is a must buy for any inquiring minds out there. It will change the way you look at yourself, and the world!!
Excellent treatment of the subject.......2007-08-10
The authors do a great job of presenting the issue. Some of the basic quantum concepts seem a bit dumbed-down, but their focus on the subject of quantum physics vs. consciousness is precise and well-thought-out. Refreshingly free of all the wooly-headedness that plagues other discussions of this type ("The Holographic Universe" comes to mind as a particularly bad example), which hijack science, broadly and clumsily applied, to justify belief in everything from ESP to reincarnation. They stick to the science, and properly so. Quantum mechanics is already so weird, it doesn't need to be conflated into anything else.
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Coherence and Statistics of Photons and Atoms
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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ASIN: 0471388610 |
Book Description
Up-to-date, expert new research in quantum optics and its applications
Coherence and Statistics of Photons and Atoms provides cutting-edge research in modern quantum optics and complete information about systems of interacting photons and atoms based on the quantum statistical properties of such systems. Editor Jan Perina has collected eleven articles from experts around the world to illuminate the changing science of quantum optics and push the development of new, more powerful, applications such as quantum cryptography, quantum computation, and quantum teleportation.
Recent articles highlight the most interesting directions in the development of contemporary quantum optics with important consequences for other physical sciences and their applications. The first chapter presents a basic analysis of quantum electrodynamics, including cavities, followed by chapters devoted to properties of photons and atoms and their interactions in quantum computers. Other articles cover these vital subjects:
* Nonlinear quantum couplers
* Internal correlations in optical pulses
* Detection and reconstruction of quantum states from the point of view of quantum information
* Quantum interference, coherence, and correlation
* Quantum information and teleportation
* Interaction of atoms with squeezed reservoirs
* Quantum statistics and coherence of trapped atoms
* Dynamics of systems of atoms
Coherence and Statistics of Photons and Atoms extends earlier treatments to include up-to-date results and organizes them into a form suitable for further research in the fundamental concepts of quantum optics and in new optical applications. Comprehensive discussions of preparation, transmission, detection, and reconstruction of quantum states, as well as in-depth coverage of quantum computing, make this the most complete source of new information available to students and professionals.
Book Description
The counter-intuitive aspects of quantum physics have been for long illustrated by thought experiments, from Einstein's photon box to Schrodinger's cat. These experiments have now become real, with single particles - electrons, atoms or photons - directly unveiling the weird features of the quantum. State superpositions, entanglement and complementarity define a novel quantum logic which can be harnessed for information processing, raising great hopes for applications. This book describes a class of such thought experiments made real. Juggling with atoms and photons confined in cavities, ions or cold atoms in traps, is here an incentive to shed a new light on the basic concepts of quantum physics. Measurement processes and decoherence at the quantum-classical boundary are highlighted. This volume, which combines theory and experiments, will be of interest to students in quantum physics, teachers seeking illustrations for their lectures and new problem sets, researchers in quantum optics and quantum information.
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Modern Physics for Engineers
Jasprit Singh
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Quantum Mechanics - Fundamentals and Applications to Technology
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Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition)
ASIN: 0471330442 |
Book Description
Linking physics fundamentals to modern technology-a highly applied primer for students and engineers
Reminding us that modern inventions-new materials, information technologies, medical technological breakthroughs-are based on well-established fundamental principles of physics, Jasprit Singh integrates important topics from quantum mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, and materials science, as well as the special theory of relativity. He then goes a step farther and applies these fundamentals to the workings of electronic devices-an essential leap for anyone interested in developing new technologies.
From semiconductors to nuclear magnetic resonance to superconducting materials to global positioning systems, Professor Singh draws on wide-ranging applications to demonstrate each concept under discussion. He downplays extended mathematical derivations in favor of results and their real-world design implication, supplementing the book with nearly 100 solved examples, 120 figures, and 200 end-of-chapter problems.
Modern Physics for Engineers provides engineering and physics students with an accessible, unified introduction to the complex world underlying today's design-oriented curriculums. It is also an extremely useful resource for engineers and applied scientists wishing to take advantage of research opportunities in diverse fields.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect for engineers.......2000-08-22
This book covers topics in modern physics that are the most important for the engineer. It makes an equilibrated use of figures, tables and conceptual diagrams, thus providing a clear guideline for the student. It also provides small but interesting historic introductions in some chapters, that also help to understand why different theories appeared. This could all be done without forgetting the necessary theoretical and mathematical rigorousness. A very good book for engineers.
Average customer rating:
- Too many typos
- Sufficient Book
- Too bad about all the errors
- Quantum Mechanics Mystified Only Slightly Further
- Heavy Mathematics
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Quantum Mechanics Demystified
David McMahon
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Relativity Demystified
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Math Proofs Demystified
ASIN: 0071455469 |
Customer Reviews:
Too many typos.......2007-06-17
This would have been a good QM book if it weren't for all the typos. Quite honestly, I have never ever seen a legitimately published book with this many typos. The General Relativity book is much better in this regard, but it feels as if *this* book is being sold as an author's first draft, with no editing or reviewing having occurred. For this reason, I will proabably not buy the 2nd QM volume if there is one. While the presence of so many typos does test your understanding, it is very annoying, and getting more annoying with every passing page. And it seems to be impossible to find the promised errata for all the typos. And now that the quantity of typos seems to be increasing, it strikes me that it would take too long and be too much trouble to annotate them all, assuming that I could find the errata in the first place. The idea behind this book is a good one, and I would give it more stars if I didn't feel as if the author had rushed this book into publication before its time. Extremely annoying!
Sufficient Book.......2007-05-15
Early explanations are adequate but no so perfect, good guide to learn the basics of QM.
Too bad about all the errors.......2007-03-18
The aforementioned errors are amazing - I wonder if the author/editor put them in there to force the reader to examine the text more closely.
In some cases, methods are used before they are explained which is annoying. At other times, material is presented without any rationale as to the meaning behind it. I have always wondered where Schrodinger's equation came from and this book doesn't really answer that.
All that said, I have really enjoyed this book and wish there were more books like it.
Quantum Mechanics Mystified Only Slightly Further.......2007-03-13
The first time I read this book, I was shocked at the amount of mathematics without accompanying explanations. A person of college-level education is sure to know what an "outer product" is, but would it really have hurt to include a quick analogy or two to help the inexperienced mathematician get a grasp of the concept? Not only that, I noticed two glaring errors and one outright omission. Overall, not reccomended for anyone, especially the newbie to quantum mechanics.
Heavy Mathematics.......2007-02-04
The cover of the book makes it look like a "dummies" book. I'm sure it's a great book for someone pursuing the field. Note that heavy mathematics begins in the first paragraph of the first page, and continues throughout. It is not a book for reading, but one for solving equations.
Book Description
The book is an introductory text to the physics of Bose-Einstein condensation. This phenomenon, first predicted by Einstein in 1925, has been realized experimentally in 1995 in a remarkable series of experiments whose importance has been recognized by the award of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics. The condensate is actually a new state of matter, where quantum-mechanical wave functions of atoms behave as coherent matter waves in the same way as coherent light waves in the case of a laser. The authors provide a theoretical presentation of the main concepts underlying the physics of dilute atomic gases in conditions of extremely low temperatures where quantum effects play a crucial role. The main effort is devoted to discussion of the relevant theoretical aspects exhibited by these systems, such as the concept of order parameter, long range order, superfluidity and coherence. The mathematical formalism is presented in a form convenient for practical use. The book develops the theory of Bose gases starting from the pioneering Bogoliubov approach and gives special emphasis to the new physical features exhibited by non-uniform gases which are produced in the recent experiments with magnetic and optical traps. These features include the determination of the equilibrium profiles, the collective oscillations, the mechanism of the expansion of the gas after releasing the trap, the interference patterns obtained by overlapping two condensates, the rotational properties revealing the effects of superfluidity (quantized vortices, behaviour of the moment of inertia), the Josephson-like phenomena associated with the coherence of the phase, the beyond mean field phenomena exhibited by quantum gases in conditions of reduced dimensionality (1D and 2D) etc. The book also discusses the analogies and differences with the physics of "classical" superfluids like liquid helium and introduces some of the major features of trapped Fermi gases at low temperature, pointing out the consequences of superfluidity.
Customer Reviews:
Concise slick book. Good but not great. .......2005-03-07
This is not an easy book to read. It starts off with field theory and assumes a lot of knowledge, especially from Landau's books on fluid mechanics and statitstical physics. The format of the writing is concise, almost journal publication style. Chapter 14 on angular momentum and vortices is very slick and hard to follow. Chapter's 7 and 8 on response theory and 4He introduce a lot of notation and constructs without definition or motivation. Their discussion of mean field theory in BEC, derivation of the Gross-Pitaevskii from the operator formalism, and discussion of Fermi gases is clearer than in the BEC book by Pethick and Smith. There is also a discussion of optical lattices and low dimensions that is not discussed in Pethick and Smith. The other standard topics such as dynamics of a BEC in a harmonic trap are covered better in Pethick and Smith. Cooling is not discussed in this book.
Book Description
Presenting a concise, basic introduction to modelling and computational chemistry this text includes relevant introductory material to ensure greater accessibility to the subject.
- Provides a comprehensive introduction to this evolving and developing field
- Focuses on MM, MC, and MD with an entire chapter devoted to QSAR and Discovery Chemistry.
- Includes many real chemical applications combined with worked problems and solutions provided in each chapter
- Ensures that up-to-date treatment of a variety of chemical modeling techniques are introduced.
Download Description
Presenting a concise, basic introduction to modelling and computational chemistry this text includes relevant introductory material to ensure greater accessibility to the subject. Provides a comprehensive introduction to this evolving and developing field Focuses on MM, MC, and MD with an entire chapter devoted to QSAR and Discovery Chemistry. Includes many real chemical applications combined with worked problems and solutions provided in each chapter Ensures that up-to-date treatment of a variety of chemical modeling techniques are introduced.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Overview of a Very Complex Subject.......2006-04-30
I found this book to be really informative. I was looking for something to help decipher the scientific literature around molecular dynamics and protein folding and this book fit the bill perfectly.
The only other comment I have is that the 'for beginners' part of the title may be a little misleading. Someone approaching this book should have a backround in organic chemistry, physics, and some solid math (linear algebra and multivariate calculus) to really enjoy it.
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Quantum Communications and Measurement
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 030645128X |
Book Description
All atomic particles have a particular "spin," analogous to the earth's rotation on its axis. The quantum mechanical reality underlying spin is complex and still poorly understood. Sin-itiro Tomonaga's The Story of Spin remains the most complete and accessible treatment of spin, and is now available in English translation. Tomonaga tells the tale of the pioneers of physics and their difficult journey toward an understanding of the nature of spin and its relationship to statistics. His clear unfolding of the tale of spin is invaluable to students of physics, chemistry, and astronomy, and his description of the historical development of spin will interest historians and philosophers of science.
"This piece of the history of physics will provide excellent and exciting reading. . . . It also provides the personal touch of an expert in the field that is so often lacking in the physics literature. I recommend it very highly."—Fritz Rohrlich, Physics Today
Sin-itiro Tomonaga was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.
Customer Reviews:
From the clouds to the ground.......2007-03-08
A story about the hardships involved in the beginning of the 1900s with the birth of Quantum Mechanics. As a physicist one only hears about the great physicists in text books with theory's, experiments, and equations named after them. One even wonders if these scientists were humans or superhumans because colleagues speak of them so 'godly'. Tomonaga brings these great physicists 'down' to earth and describes the atmosphere at the time of incredible struggle. He brings to the forefront the pains the scientists went through, the frictions between mentor and apprentice, the battle to look for a pattern in the data, and the incredible enlightenment accompanied by the resolution of a problem.
This story is not simply of spin. It is also about LIFE, finding meaning in the struggle. Tomonaga spells out for you the hardships involved for every scientist working on problems; thinking outside the box, the everlasting obstacle. But it is in this where nature speaks truth as Tomonaga describes.
For scientists and laypeople alike, this story is about people trying to figure out nature, quantum nature. The scientists are not superhumans, filled with the spirits or god(s). Real people who really struggled, who cried and cursed to find a solution.
A great book about the great human stuggle written by one who solved a great problem.
A Wonderful Overview.......2006-04-26
This is a series of twelve lectures of the physics of the spin angular momentum, and essentially quantum mechanical notion allied only metaphorically to the macroscopic world. Not, perhaps, in all its implications-the theory of ferromagnetism gets short shrift- but in its essential physical aspects.
The topics include spectroscopy, Thomas precession (which one of my undergraduate professors could never fully believe), relativistic quantum mechanics, and statistical physics. It's all very rewarding.
Expounding on "the wide range of physics with varying degrees of difficulty" that understanding spin requires, the translator's preface quotes the Feynman Lectures, "It appears to be one of the few places in physics where there is a rule which can be stated very simply, but for which no one has found a simple and easy explanation. The explanation is deep down in relativistic quantum mechanics. This probably means that we do not have a complete understanding of the fundamental principle involved." The translator, Takeshi Oka, is a professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, and the introduction is from 1996. We can trust his assessment of the situation and conjecture that it probably hasn't changed much since then.
The approach is collegial rather than academic and to anyone with a modest physics or mathematics background (e.g., someone with physics minor or an elementary understanding of vectors and differential equations), the treatments should be sufficiently accessible to use as an introduction. For an educated reader with no mathematical background, I think only lectures 9 and 11 will be a total wash, although another six will be rough going (but. I'd hope, rewarding).
Although the lectures aren't overly mathematical, at least in the sense that a physicist would use the term, the lectures contain mathematics. Some equations are shown, others swiftly derived and one or two proofs are introduced. Many times, Tomonaga introduces ideas to explain why a particular aspect of the mathematics, i.e., spinors, was needed or created. The intuitive descriptions of the mathematics and intimate explanations of how ideas were derived are invaluable for understanding the nature of spin.
a truly beautiful mind :).......2005-12-31
Mr. Tomonaga deserves that expression more than others because of his sensitivity and sweetness (if such things can be said about physicists ;) .. the book speaks for itself and is a 'must read' for anyone interested in physics or the history of physics :) enuf said ;)
Nice.......2003-03-04
Although you can find the same story in other sources, this one is definitely a time-saving reading. The informal style is a plus for those who are not familiar with quantum theory.
Spin: a beautiful history of Quantum Mechanics.......2002-04-29
This is one of my favourite physics books. I have always had difficulties understanding the nature of spin and this book explains it with unsurpassable style. There are so many aspects to spin that it requires the brilliant exposition of someone like Tomonaga to unpack all its subtleties: spin is not simply the self-rotation of the electron, it is also a subtle property of isotropic space. As well, spin is at the heart of particle statistics in quantum field theory. In nuclear physics, the concept of spin was also coopted into a description of iso-tropic space! Not only does Tomonaga describe the theoretical aspects of spin, but he patiently recounts the breakthough (now obscure) experiments that measured it. Some of the highlights of the book include an discussion of the nature of vectors and tensors and an immensely readable history of second quantisation that leads to quantum field theory.
It is interesting to contrast Tomanaga's style with the other 2 physicists who shared the Nobel prize in electrodynamics with him. From the folksy iconoclasm of Richard Feynman to the brutal formalistic abstraction of Julian Schwinger (who broke the back of Physical Review with his third paper on electrodynamics which is one of the most equation heavy paper ever written). Then there is Tomonaga, who epitomises simplicity and clarity, with a clear-eyed reverence for the rich history of physics. He is above all, a sympathetic teacher - he tells you when something is difficult - for instance, explaining how Dirac stumbled on second quantisation "Why must you quantize it once more as the name second quantization suggests? We mortals stand bewildered here. Howerver, there is no use being bewildered, so let us try to discover why we feel bewildered." It's no wonder that Freeman Dyson said that it was only with the framework of Tomonaga, could he weave Feynman and Schwinger together into a comprehensible whole.
However, this book is not just a text-book on spin, in its pages, there is a superb history of quantum mechanics. Tomonaga gives a blow-by-blow account of the development of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and nuclear physics, as it relates to spin. Through the recreation of the arguments and counter-arguments of the old masters of quantum mechanics, he has brought to life these characters that so dominated physics in the golden era of the 20's and 30's.
Book Description
Molecular Quantum Mechanics, an accessible introduction to the foundations of quantum chemistry, established itself as a classic as soon as the original best-selling edition appeared. This new third edition will ensure its place is maintained in the forefront of its field. Entirely rewritten to present the subject more clearly than ever before, this new edition includes two completely new chapters - one on computational techniques in quantum chemistry, and another on scattering theory. Most of the material on the calculations of electronic structure is entirely new, and the discussions in the second edition have been enhanced with more mathematical rigour. With 330 two-colour illustrations, numerous worked examples, in-text exercises, an extensive further information section, and a wide range of applications treated consistently, this will surely prove to be an invaluable book for all senior chemistry undergraduates.
Customer Reviews:
It's more Atkins.......2007-10-09
I've used both Atkins' Physical Chemistry text as an undergrad and this one as a grad student. Granted this is more readable and understandable than his other text, it is still more of Atkins. The wording in the problems is confusing most of the time, his notation clashes with that regularly used in this field, and honestly the only time I even opened his book was when I was forced to work a problem from it. Most of the time I referred to texts by Levine, and Griffiths which give good explanations and THOROUGH derivations of more complex ideas-not the hand waving that Atkins loves so much and will avoid calling a proof only because his editors won't let him, most likely.
Good text, if you're looking for a light door stop. Don't waste your time or money with this text, as I said Levine has a great text-though a little dated, and Griffiths is marvelous for both the undergrad and grad student.
Not as good as Physical Chemistry.......2006-09-19
Okay, I'll admit that my background in quantum chemistry is pretty sketchy. However I feel much more lost than usual in this book when it comes to understanding the phenomena that they're trying to model. The problems at the back and the solutions that come with the 3rd edition of this book are even worse as he jumps around alot and don't teach you how to think about problems, just random ways of solving it. I guess this is an intermediate quantum course but I feel safer with Levine, which I used in undergrad physical chemistry. He/she (not sure if Ira is a guy) at least goes through the math so that you can follow it pretty easily. Atkins... Not my cup of tea!
Formidable.......2001-12-28
I have always had a reverence for quantum mechanics, but now I have dread. Dread that sometimes manifests in awe, but most of the times, grows from confusion, thanks to the heap of frustration from quantum mechanics.
I gave the book 4 stars to avoid my biased review doing the injustice to the authors as a result of my own folly, but I must admit that I cannot understand the authors past the chapter on angular momentum (Chapter 4), albeit their breathless enthusiasm to impart the wonder of quantum mechanics to the reader. Probably a formalistic approach that Atkins and Friedman told us they took to present the book hampers my progress. A whole page of obscure subscripts wouldn't seem to help much either.
The first three chapter took the familiar analytical route, giving way to the intuition to supply insight and inspire the heart during times of imminent failure, yet the introduction of the quantum mechanical concept of angular momentum by the supposedly clever arguments of subscript manipulation went over my head. And this marks the end of my struggle, for after that I am just a regular mechanic.
The humor in this assumedly humorless subject seems to alleviate the pain a bit. (It should strongly be reminded that such humor should only be reserved for the geeky lot, for those college kids are probably too cool to appreciate a joke from, ugh, quantum mechanics.)
The book is perhaps too inclined to chemistry (hence Molecular Quantum Mechanics). A considerable amount of mathematical maturity is needed (not necessarily mathematical knowledge), and a readiness to leave your intuition bewildered.
Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry.......2000-09-15
I cannot say that this is a strict quantum mechanics text that would be used for a quantum physics course, for the absence of core idea like operator mechanics, ladder operators and the such. Yet "Molecular Quantum Mechanics" definitely shines and has proven itself to be a much better (in details, explanations, readability) text than "Physical Chemistry" written by the same author.
"Molecular Quantum Mechanics" focuses on aspects of quantum mechanics in chemistry, especially in applications on spectroscopy (infrared and Raman) which roots in the ideas of rotation, vibration, anharmonicity, and centrifugal distortion. It also discusses advanced topics like nonlinear spectroscopy and computational chemistry. The book is written in thorough details and a very organized manner. I recommend "Molecular Quantum Mechanics" along with McQuarrie's "Physical Chemistry: Molecular Appraoch" for anyone who would like to learn about quantum chemistry.
Beautiful, useful, without equal........1999-10-10
In the third edition of MQM a new standard of science text writing has been achieved. Marvellous in and of itself and extremely useful as an intermediate level text for anyone interested in quantum chemistry. A must for any desert island.
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