Constructing Quantum Mechanics Volume Two: The Arch, 1923-1927

by Prof Michel Janssen

This is the second of two volumes on the genesis of quantum mechanics in the first quarter of the 20th century. It covers the period 1923-1927. After covering some of the difficulties the old quantum theory had run into by the early 1920s as well as the discovery of the exclusion principle and electron spin, it traces the emergence of two forms of the new quantum mechanics, matrix mechanics and wave mechanics, in the years 1923-27. It then shows how the new theory took care of some of the failures of the old theory and put its successes on a more solid basis. Finally, it shows how in 1927 the two forms of the new theory were unified, first through statistical transformation theory, then through the Hilbert space formalism.

This volume provides a detailed analysis of the classic papers by Heisenberg, Born, Jordan, Dirac, De Broglie, Einstein, Schrödinger, von Neumann and other authors. Drawing on the correspondence of these and other physicists, their later reminiscences and the extensive secondary literature on the “quantum revolution”, this volume places these papers in the context of the discussions out of which modern quantum mechanics emerged. It argues that the genesis of modern quantum mechanics can be seen as the construction of an arch on a scaffold provided by the old quantum theory, discarded once the arch could support itself.

Genres: Physics

816 pages, Hardcover

Published November 17, 2023

Reviews

[Giovanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional historical analysis of the creation of the modern version of quantum mechanics, leading to the so called “second quantization”. Heavy on the math side, this book offers a detailed, step-by-step account of the major papers that slowly came to define the new theory.

Not an easy rad, but very accurate and complete. It is not just a recount of the historical events, nor a textbook in quantum mechanisms, but perhaps it is both.
Highly recommended to the reader accustomed to advanced maths and curious about the true origins of this still misunderstood aspect of theoretical physics.