The Quantum Principle: Its Interpretation and Epistemology

by Jagdish Mehra

This study deals with the development of, and the current discussion about, the interpretation of quantum mechanics. The following topics are 1. The Copenhagen In­ terpretation; 2. Formal Problems of Quantum Mechanics; 3. Process of Measurement and the Equation of Motion; 4. Macroscopic Level of Description; 5. Search for Hidden Variables; 6. The Notion of 'Reality' and the Epistemology of Quantum Mechanics; and 7. Quantum Mechanics and the Explanation of Life. The Bohr-Einstein dialogue on the validity of the quan­ tum mechanical description of physical reality lasted over two decades. Since the early nineteen-fifties, Eugene Wigner has provided much of the point and counterpoint of the continuing discussion on the interpretation and epistemolo­ gy of quantum mechanics. We have explored Wigner's views in some detail against the background of historical develop­ ment and current debate. Professor Eugene Wigner has sustained me over many years in my work on the conceptual development of mod­ ern physics by his kindness and encouragement. This study owes its existence to his direct inspiration, and to his suggestion to me in April 1971 that it would be of interest to write an account of the interpretation of quantum me­ chanics and the current discussion about it. XII PREFACE This study was completed in September 1972. Signifi­ cant new developments have occurred since then in the dis­ cussion of questions related to the epistemology of quan­ tum mechanics.

139 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Indian-American physicist and historian of science born in Meerut, India on April 8, 1937. He came to the United States in 1957, and was educated at Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he received his Ph.D. in 1963. He subsequently was appointed assistant professor of physics at Purdue University (1964-65), assistant professor of physics at University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth (1965-67), program director of the Science Research Association at IBM Chicago (1967-69), special research associate at the University of Texas, Austin (1969-73), and professor at the Solvay Institute Brussels (1973-88).

Mehra served as UNESCO-Sir Julian Huxley Distinguished Professor of History of Science in Paris, and Trieste, Italy (1989-93), and was the Citadel Distinguished Professor of Physics in Charleston, South Carolina (1993-96). He has held distinguished visiting appointments in Houston, Texas, and Geneva, Switzerland, and as Regent's Professor in the University of California at Irvine. He now lives in Houston, Texas where he has been professor of science and humanities at the University of Houston since 1996.

Jagdish Mehra was trained as a theoretical physicist in the schools of Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli. He came into close personal contact with all the creators of quantum mechanics, and has used these interactions to great advantage in The Historical Development of Quantum Theory (a six-volume work co-authored with Helmut Rechenberg). Mehra has published extensively on the historical and conceptual development of modern physics.

Taken from: http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biogr...