Book Description
For more than a century, quantum mechanics has served as a very powerful theory that has expanded physics and technology far beyond their classical limits, yet it has also produced some of the most difficult paradoxes known to the human mind. This book represents the combined efforts of sixteen of today's most eminent theoretical physicists to lay out future directions for quantum physics. The authors include Yakir Aharonov, Anton Zeilinger; the Nobel laureates Anthony Leggett and Geradus 't Hooft; Basil Hiley, Lee Smolin and Henry Stapp. Following a foreword by Roger Penrose, the individual chapters address questions such as quantum non-locality, the measurement problem, quantum insights into relativity, cosmology and thermodynamics, and the possible bearing of quantum phenomena on biology and consciousness.
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- The Multiverse is not just Sci-Fi anymore.
- The break-through in the way of thinking about the world.
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Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Princeton Series in Physics)
H. Everett
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Pr
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The Multiverse is not just Sci-Fi anymore........2005-10-19
As far as i know, this is the first book to propose that a Multiverse could exist in reality. Before this work, the Multiverse was only spoken about in science-fiction books without any real basis in science facts. This book is a collection of the acticles about the "theory of the universal wave function" by Everett, Wheeler, DeWitt, etc.
The break-through in the way of thinking about the world........1998-03-12
The Many Worlds Interpretation presented a new way of thinking about the universe. Encapsulating the most recent trends in physics it established the basis by which modern physicists could relate and understand the nature of reality.
This book represented the two principal schools of physics which existed at the time. One was the traditional school which dealt with a world of logical order (comparitively speaking). The other school consisted of the outsiders, new thinkers in the classical representation. They postulated an infinitiely growing universe of multiple universes, each universe bursting into existence based on decisions and actions in another. This concept was so radical that even today, many noted physicists dispute its credibility. I, on the other hand, find it impossible not to believe. To me, it is the only paradigm which works and it explains my own experiences and discoveries with great efficiency.
This book is one of those I continue to refer to, which paralleled and confirmed my own discoveries and which began a long, fascinating journey into the realm of theoretical physics. This book gets me going! Perry Jones
Book Description
The aim of this book is twofold: to provide a comprehensive account of the foundations of the theory and to outline a theoretical and philosophical interpretation suggested from the results of the last twenty years.
There is a need to provide an account of the foundations of the theory because recent experience has largely confirmed the theory and offered a wealth of new discoveries and possibilities. On the other side, the following results have generated a new basis for discussing the problem of the interpretation: the new developments in measurement theory; the experimental generation of "Schrödinger cats"; recent developments which allow, for the first time, the simultaneous measurement of complementary observables; quantum information processing, teleportation and computation.
To accomplish this task, the book combines historical, systematic and thematic approaches.
Book Description
The interpretation of quantum mechanics has been controversial since the introduction of quantum theory in the 1920s. Although the Copenhagen interpretation is commonly accepted, its usual formulation suffers from some serious drawbacks. Based mainly on Bohr's concepts, the formulation assumes an independent and essential validity of classical concepts running in parallel with quantum ones, and leaves open the possibility of their ultimate conflict. In this book, Roland Omnès examines a number of recent advances, which, combined, lead to a consistent revision of the Copenhagen interpretation. His aim is to show how this interpretation can fit all present experiments, to weed out unnecessary or questionable assumptions, and to assess the domain of validity where the older statements apply.
Drawing on the new contributions, The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics offers a complete and self-contained treatment of interpretation (in nonrelativistic physics) in a manner accessible to both physicists and students. Although some "hard" results are included, the concepts and mathematical developments are maintained at an undergraduate level. This book enables readers to check every step, apply the techniques to new problems, and make sure that no paradox or obscurity can arise in the theory. In the conclusion, the author discusses various philosophical implications pertinent to the study of quantum mechanics.
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Extensive coverage of an interesting topic.......2007-03-11
The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics seems to be the dominant point of view (at least implicitly) for both undergraduate and graduate quantum mechanics courses. This is certainly adequate for understanding a tremendous amount of quantum mechanics and doing pretty much any calculations one would want to do. However, this approach suffers some shortcomings and cannot be the last word. Among these shortcomings are the postulated existence of an external classical world, the fundamental role of measurement and the collapse of the wavefunction. Obviously any classical world is just an approximation of a quantum one and when considering the universe as a whole there is no external observer of any kind. Also, there can't be anything fundamentally special about a measurement.
From a practical point of view perhaps the main limitation of this is probably the study of quantum cosmology, which surely requires something beyond the Copenhagen interpretation. There is one additional additional problem this can lead to. It's not so much a problem for physics students or other serious scholars, but rather for those only engaging in casual thought about quantum mechanics. The problem is that elevating external observers and measurement to fundamental roles seems to lead to a lot of nonsense ideas, for example consious observers defining reality.
This book presents a thorough discussion that will help one to develop a more satisfying perspective of quantum mechanics. The level of the quantum mechanics assumed isn't high, mainly basic undergraduate quantum mechanics. The material in the book varies in difficulty from simple to fairly challenging. The material includes discussions of consistent histories, quantum logic, decoherence and many of the quantum mechanics paradoxes (EPR, Wigner's friend and of course the ubiquitous Schrodinger's cat). It's pretty clear that the last word on this subject hasn't been said, but this book contributes a lot to the discussion. I think quantum mechanical paradoxes in general are harder to resolve than the ones from relativity, but this book does a nice job of describing them and showing how they often arise from asking questions one isn't allowed to ask in the quantum framework (although these questions are perfectly sensible in the classical world).
This kind of material might not be absolutely required for physics students. However, in my opinion students (especially specialists in theoretical physics) should at least be familiar with most of the ideas, especially the consistent histories approach and decoherence. This book is very comprehensive and might be overkill for some who might prefer something more condensed, but I liked it a lot and found it well worth reading.
This edition is out of date, there is a 1999 edition........1999-07-16
This edition is out of date. Update your listing with the 1999 edition
I recomend this book if you are interested by decoherence.......1999-07-09
Although I am skeptical about the real significance of decoherence, I recommend this book if you want to learn this topic, because the style is brilliant and clear. If however you desire a (relatively) more cursory introduction, buy Omnes' more recent book "Understanding Quantum Mechanics", which in my opinion is even more brilliant. The desire to write for beginners and not for experts has apparently improved his writing a lot with respect to the present book.
I do not reccomend this book.......1999-06-04
This book was not an accurate interpretation of what quantum mechanics should be consisting of
Customer Reviews:
One of the Very Best.......2006-02-16
This is one of the most lucid accounts of a subject famous for its obscurity.
Hughes is one of a precious few who has one foot firmly planted in the science and the other in the broader philosophical tradition.
His text, a contemporary classic, sits comfortably on the shelf in the company of Jammer, Cushing, Shimony and D'Espangnat. Everyone from beginners to seasoned professionals can profit from this work. I heartily recommend it to anyone keen to understand the foundations of quantum theory -- a timely subject, now stirring to life after 60 years of slumber.
In depth analysis.......2005-08-24
This book provides an excellent analysis of relevant and interesting points raised by quantum physics in philosophy as well as detailed and useful explanations of the physics itself - something many books cannot do. The explanation of the physics, the experiments and their results provide material to think on. Simple, arbitrary conclusions leave no room for thought - analysis of real life experiments provoke thought.
The math is not easy for an inexperienced student, though the subject in general tends to preclude those. I had just taken a class on matrix mechanics and I was so greatful I had, as it let me actually visualize the equations rather than simply read the letters and symbols.
An excellent launching pad for those who are already familiar with EPR, the slit experiment and quantum spin, etc. and want to know what it all means.
Good, but not great........2003-08-28
This book was recommended to me as a very nice introduction to quantum mechanics for the mathematically-inclined. It looks like I'll be awaiting the publication of the new edition of Sudbery's text instead, because, at least for me, this book didn't quite end up filling the bill. It's true that, unlike so many popular introductions to quantum theory, Hughes' book doesn't shy away from mathematics. The mathematics for me was fine (although I wonder what a person who'd had "only high school algebra" would make of the derivatives and integrals that show up unannounced). It's in trying to make sense of what the mathematics is supposed to be modelling that I felt that this book lost a star. (How much of the problem is due to the author's exposition and how much is due to my shortcomings as a reader is something I'm not prepared to judge.)
Again, this is a good book, but I have no idea where people are coming from when they write "this is not only the best book ever written, but also the best book that ever will be written".
Great book on quantum theory for the ambitious reader.......2003-08-27
This is a superb teaching book for taking your understanding of quantum mechanics to the next level. Much of the book is devoted to understanding a good deal of the underlying math and mathematical formalism, such as Hilbert spaces, Hermitians, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, Cantor's calculus of infinities, the analysis and representation of spin properties, and other very cool stuff which I didn't have a very good grasp of before. And yet the previous math required is minimal, really only high school algebra, and Hughes defines new concepts as he goes along. Actually, there is some calculus here and there, but not a whole lot, which is fine, as my advanced calculus is pretty rusty at this point. So Hughes keeps the advanced math to a minimum. This doesn't mean the book is easy reading, as the algebra of Hilbert spaces includes such things as the logical properties of inner products, spectral decomposition, vector projections, the analysis of different vector operators, and so on, and that's only one small section in the book, not to mention the fact that Cantor's ideas in number theory about the ordinality or sizes of inifinite series is pretty mind-boggling stuff. Basically, Cantor established the improbable and surprising fact that certain infinities are "bigger" than others. One way he did this was to show that some infinities are "countably infinite" and others are not. Fun stuff.
All this is just preparation for understanding the quantum mechanics, however, and the author does a fine job of linking the mathematical concepts with the applied ideas in quantum theory. This is important, since quantum mechanics is basically a purely mathematical theory. Unlike Einstein's Special and General theories of Relativity, which, although pretty mind-boggling theories in themselves, can still be explained by using more or less intuitive and easy to understand spatial concepts and illustrations. You've probably encountered these in some of the books on the subject, such as doing the fun thought experiment of having two observers, with one travelling at the speed of light and the other stationary, to demonstrate the relativistic effects on space, time, and matter in the case of the Special Theory. But unfortunately those kinds of entertaining and informative thought experiments are difficult to do in quantum mechanics, which is why a book like this that explains the concepts at a relatively high level clearly and concisely is such a great find. Overall, this is an excellent "upgrade" book written by a gifted teacher on a very difficult subject. There are very few books like this that bridge the gap between the purely popular presentations of quantum theory and the very difficult technical quantum physics books.
Please read this book.......2003-04-06
Before reading von Neumann or Akhiezer, go through this book first, PLEASE. It's not only a good introduction to QM, but also an interpretation or philosophy book. The contents are balanced and understandable for even a high-school student, which usually is not expected from a great thinker like Hughes. The book making is good as well -- cover design, editing, binding, etc. An interesting and decent treatment of quantum physics. Probability a must for any phys and math thinker. (I got the paperbound)
Book Description
This book presents the first comprehensive exposition of the interpretation of quantum mechanics pioneered by Louis de Broglie and David Bohm. The purpose is to explain how quantum processes may be visualized without ambiguity or confusion in terms of a simple physical model. Dr. Holland develops the idea that a material system such as an electron is a particle guided by a surrounding quantum wave. He examines the classic phenomena of quantum theory in order to show how the spacetime orbits of an ensemble of particles can reproduce the statistical quantum predictions. The book will therefore appeal to all physicists with an interest in the foundations of their discipline.
Customer Reviews:
A good starting point.......2001-12-30
This book can serve as a good primer on the theory. It has many strong points and a few weaknesses. It's very good at explaining the postulates and assumptions that are the basis of the theory and comparing them with the traditional approach, without to much fuss with philosophy. It has several chapters with examples worked out in detail that I found really illuminating: even if the theory is ultimately found to be wrong, these examples will give the feeling to really visualise many quantum phenomena and to be able to deeply understand them, something which was much more difficult in the traditional approach. This is real fun for a physicist who has been using traditional quantum mechanics for years and remembers his early frustrations with the formalism. It convinced me that any course on quantum mechanics should include a short description of Bohm-de Broglie with a couple of examples.
Among the weaknesses, it seems to me that the maths used to derive the quantum statistics in chapter 3 contains several errors. Also, the relativistic version of the theory is a bit sketchy, although in my opinion this theory demands a much deeper investigation in the relativistic context. This weakness may be inherent to de Broglie-Bohm theory and is already present in Bohm's and de Broglie's works. I think there is a tendency in the research in this field since de Broglie, which this book inherits partially: spend too much energy to convince of the validity of the theory, instead of using it to derive useful results. But forget the weaknesses and enjoy the chapters with QM examples.
best on pilot wave to date.......2000-02-15
I prefer this one to Bohm's _Undivided Universe_. The exposition is clearer, and it does well without any super-speculative, cloudy ending. The virtue of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot wave is unmistakable here: real stat-mech type probabilities (which many-worlds can't get) emerging without any special postulate for the universe going on strike when a "measurement" occurs (which Copenhagen can't get rid of). Other good stuff here too; e.g., take your pick: Bohmize the Pauli equation, the Dirac equation, or an alternative treatment of spin coming from a quantum potential for the rigid rotator.
excellent.......1999-06-06
An excellent book that covers the hidden variables (which are actually the measured variables)interpertation as advanced by deBroglie and Bohm. This book carries this furthur and completes the theory in an understandable manner. It helps the reader to accept the possiblity of a field in 3N dimensional space. Once this is done things fall into place. It covers the main topics such as EPR, the measurement problem, and shows how the shifting boundary between the quantum world and the macro world vanishes.
It is written for physicists, but I was able to muddle through the math with a fairly limited background. The verbage is excellent and so can be read by philosophers without missing the main points.
A "lay" edition would be most welcome.
Customer Reviews:
A first class job.......2002-10-27
Everyone who has studied quantum physics and is interested in its "philosophical foundations" has no doubt picked up this book, if not to study it in detail, certainly to at least briefly peruse its contents. It is the most widely cited of all books on the philosophy of quantum physics, and apart from discussing the issues most effectively, it also could be used as an introduction to graduate-level quantum physics and the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics.
With the advent of theories of quantum computation and quantum information theory, the philosophy of quantum mechanics seems to have taken a back seat. The phenomenon of entanglement, considered one of the most exotic of topics in quantum mechanics, is now taken to be one of the cornerstones of quantum information theory and is also considered experimentally verified, despite considerable objections from some "realist" circles. It would seem that philosophical discussion would play a major role in discussion of quantum information theory, but this has not occured at any substantial level. This may also be a sign of the movement toward viewing science as being in some sense "fundamental", and not needing philosophical "justification".
But whatever one's view on these matters is, this book will give a detailed historical overview of the controversy surrounding quantum physics, from a philosophical perspective. It indeed sheds considerable light on the historical context in which quantum mechanics arose, and how its formalism evolved throughout the 20th century. The EPR controversy, the Bohr-Einstein debate, and the rise of many-worlds theories are all fascinating topics, and one can find ample discussion of these by the author. The author is also careful to include a substantial bibliography for serious scholars of quantum physics.
Book Description
This is one of the most important books on quantum mechanics to have appeared in recent years. It offers a dramatically new interpretation that resolves puzzles and paradoxes associated with the measurement problem and the behavior of coupled systems. A crucial feature of this interpretation is that a quantum mechanical measurement can be certain to have a particular outcome even when the observed system fails to have the property corresponding to that outcome just prior to the measurement interaction.
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The Modal Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science)
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
According to the modal interpretation, the standard mathematical framework of quantum mechanics specifies the physical magnitudes of a system, which have definite values. Probabilities are assigned to the possible values that these magnitudes may adopt. The interpretation is thus concerned with physical properties rather than with measurement results: it is a realistic interpretation (in the sense of scientific realism). One of the notable achievements of this interpretation is that it dissolves the notorious measurement problem. The papers collected here, together with the introduction and concluding critical appraisal, explain the various forms of the modal interpretation, survey its achievements, and discuss those problems that have yet to be solved. Audience: Philosophers of science, theoretical physicists, and graduate students in these disciplines.
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The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Willis E. Lamb , and
Willis E. Jr. Lamb
Manufacturer: Rinton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1589490053 |
Book Description
This book brings together the various papers and lectures of Professor Willis E. Lamb, Jr. (who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955 for his precise measurement of what came to be called the Lamb shift) on the fundamental, fascinating, and fashionable subject of the interpretation of quantum mechanics, to which Professor Lamb began to bring his original insights since he started publishing his papers in the filed in 1969. In a detailed editorial annotation on the `Scientific Work of Willis E. Lamb, Jr.' (based on extensive conversations with Professor Lamb), Jagdish Mehra, a distinguished historian of modern physics, who has published extensively on the historical development of quantum theory, provides a survey of Professor Lamb's diverse contributions to the various fields of fundamental physics and the context in which they were made.
The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics by Willis E. Lamb, Jr., provides all students of quantum mechanics, physicists, philosophers and historians of sciences, new insights in the understanding of quantum mechanics by one of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century, and the editorial annotation offers a fascinating portrait of the life and science of a great man.
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