From Data to Quanta

From Data to Quanta PDF

Author: Slobodan Perovic

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-10

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 022679833X

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"Niels Bohr was a central figure in quantum physics, well-known for his work on atomic structure and his contributions to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In this book, philosopher Slobodan Perović explores the way Bohr practiced and understood physics, and the implications of this for our understanding of modern science, especially contemporary quantum experimental physics. Perović's method of studying Bohr is philosophical-historical, and his aim is to make sense of both Bohr's understanding of physics and his method of inquiry. He argues that in several important respects, Bohr's vision of physics was driven by his desire to develop a comprehensive perspective on key features of experimental observation as well as emerging experimental work. Perović uncovers how Bohr's distinctive breakthrough contributions are characterized by a multi-layered, phased approach of building on basic experimental insights inductively to develop intermediary and overarching hypotheses. The strengths and limitations of this approach, in contrast to the mathematically or metaphysically driven approaches of other physicists at the time, made him a thoroughly distinctive kind of theorist and scientific leader. Once we see that Bohr played the typical role of a laboratory mediator, and excelled in the inductive process this required, we can fully understand the way his work was generated, the role it played in developing novel quantum concepts, and its true limitations, as well as current adherence to and use of Bohr's complementarity approach among contemporary experimentalists"--

From Data to Quanta

From Data to Quanta PDF

Author: Slobodan Perovic

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 022679847X

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The first comprehensive philosophical and historical account of the experimental foundations of Niels Bohr’s practice of physics. Niels Bohr was a central figure in quantum physics, well known for his work on atomic structure and his contributions to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In this book, philosopher of science Slobodan Perovic explores the way Bohr practiced and understood physics, and analyzes its implications for our understanding of modern science. Perovic develops a novel approach to Bohr’s understanding of physics and his method of inquiry, presenting an exploratory symbiosis of historical and philosophical analysis that uncovers the key aspects of Bohr’s philosophical vision of physics within a given historical context. To better understand the methods that produced Bohr’s breakthrough results in quantum phenomena, Perovic clarifies the nature of Bohr’s engagement with the experimental side of physics and lays out the basic distinctions and concepts that characterize his approach. Rich and insightful, Perovic’s take on the early history of quantum mechanics and its methodological ramifications sheds vital new light on one of the key figures of modern physics.

From Quanta To Quarks: More Anecdotal History Of Physics

From Quanta To Quarks: More Anecdotal History Of Physics PDF

Author: Capri Anton Z

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company

Published: 2007-09-28

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 9813101512

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This enlightening book, a sequel to QUIPS, QUOTES, AND QUANTA, helps readers to understand how physicists think about and look at the world. Starting with the discovery and investigation of cosmic rays, the book proceeds to cover some major areas of modern physics in laymen's terms. Unlike other books that deal with the history of physics, this volume concentrates on anecdotes about the physicists who created the new ideas, with a heavy emphasis on personal incidents and quotes. At the same time it presents, in every day language, the ideas created by these physicists. Both thematic and biographical in nature, readers will be entertained with humorous events in the lives of some famous scientists. Readers will also learn quite a lot about modern physics without the mathematical details, but with the important concepts intact.

Theory of Quanta

Theory of Quanta PDF

Author: Iwo Białynicki-Birula

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 9780195071573

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This up-to-date text for advanced physics undergraduates and first year graduate students focuses on that portion of quantum theory which is based on the Schrödinger wave equation. Key topics rarely found in quantum mechanics texts are included, such as chapters on the hydrodynamic formulation of wave mechanics, and the Wigner function. The work also discusses properties of quantum theory in terms of classical concepts. The first two chapters concentrate on the development of quantum theory, including the various pathways which led to the discovery of quantum mechanics and the human factors involved. Then, building upon this firm historical foundation, the authors discuss the solutions of the Schrödinger equation, the most basic tool for the quantum approach to almost all of the problems of the physical states of atoms and molecules. The hydrodynamic interpretation is elaborated and the text concludes with physical and mathematical appendices, and a comprehensive bibliography with references to both historically significant and contemporary review articles.

Atomic and Quantum Physics

Atomic and Quantum Physics PDF

Author: Hermann Haken

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 3642970141

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Atomic physics and its underlying quantum theory are the point of departure for many modern areas of physics, astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and even electrical engineering. This textbook provides a careful and eminently readable introduction to the results and methods of empirical atomic physics. The student will acquire the tools of quantum physics and at the same time learn about the interplay between experiment and theory. A chapter on the quantum theory of the chemical bond provides the reader with an introduction to molecular physics. Plenty of problems are given to elucidate the material. The authors also discuss laser physics and nonlinear spectroscopy, incorporating latest experimental results and showing their relevance to basic research. Extra items in the second edition include solutions to the exercises, derivations of the relativistic Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, a detailed theoretical derivation of the Lamb shift, a discussion of new developments in the spectroscopy of inner shells, and new applications of NMR spectroscopy, for instance tomography.

Quantum

Quantum PDF

Author: Manjit Kumar

Publisher: Icon Books Ltd

Published: 2008-10-02

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1848311036

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'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason ... Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird. In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. While "Quantum" sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in "Quantum", Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. "Quantum" is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire

Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire PDF

Author: Thomas Lin

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-11-20

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 026253634X

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Accessible, essential coverage of the latest findings in challenging, speculative, and cutting-edge science, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning leaders in scientific journalism at Quanta Magazine “If you're a science and data nerd like me, you may be interested in Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire . . . from Quanta Magazine and Thomas Lin.” —Bill Gates These stories reveal the latest efforts to untangle the mysteries of the universe. Bringing together the best and most interesting science stories appearing in Quanta Magazine over the past five years, Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire reports on some of the greatest scientific minds as they test the limits of human knowledge. Quanta, under editor-in-chief Thomas Lin, is the only popular publication that offers in-depth coverage of today's challenging, speculative, cutting-edge science. It communicates science by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves. In the title story, Alice and Bob—beloved characters of various thought experiments in physics—grapple with gravitational forces, possible spaghettification, and a massive wall of fire as Alice jumps into a black hole. Another story considers whether the universe is impossible, in light of experimental results at the Large Hadron Collider. We learn about quantum reality and the mystery of quantum entanglement; explore the source of time's arrow; and witness a eureka moment when a quantum physicist exclaims: “Finally, we can understand why a cup of coffee equilibrates in a room.” We reflect on humans’ enormous skulls and the Brain Boom; consider the evolutionary benefits of loneliness; peel back the layers of the newest artificial-intelligence algorithms; follow the “battle for the heart and soul of physics”; and mourn the disappearance of the “diphoton bump,” revealed to be a statistical fluctuation rather than a revolutionary new particle. Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, Quanta once again gives us a front-row seat to scientific discovery. Contributors Philip Ball, K. C. Cole, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Dan Falk, Courtney Humphries, Ferris Jabr, Katia Moskvitch, George Musser, Michael Nielsen, Jennifer Ouellette, John Pavlus, Emily Singer, Andreas von Bubnoff, Frank Wilczek, Natalie Wolchover, Carl Zimmer

The Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson

The Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson PDF

Author: Arkady Plotnitsky

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-26

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 3319320688

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The book considers foundational thinking in quantum theory, focusing on the role the fundamental principles and principle thinking there, including thinking that leads to the invention of new principles, which is, the book contends, one of the ultimate achievements of theoretical thinking in physics and beyond. The focus on principles, prominent during the rise and in the immediate aftermath of quantum theory, has been uncommon in more recent discussions and debates concerning it. The book argues, however, that exploring the fundamental principles and principle thinking is exceptionally helpful in addressing the key issues at stake in quantum foundations and the seemingly interminable debates concerning them. Principle thinking led to major breakthroughs throughout the history of quantum theory, beginning with the old quantum theory and quantum mechanics, the first definitive quantum theory, which it remains within its proper (nonrelativistic) scope. It has, the book also argues, been equally important in quantum field theory, which has been the frontier of quantum theory for quite a while now, and more recently, in quantum information theory, where principle thinking was given new prominence. The approach allows the book to develop a new understanding of both the history and philosophy of quantum theory, from Planck’s quantum to the Higgs boson, and beyond, and of the thinking the key founding figures, such as Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and Dirac, as well as some among more recent theorists. The book also extensively considers the nature of quantum probability, and contains a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, “the statistical Copenhagen interpretation.” Overall, the book’s argument is guided by what Heisenberg called “the spirit of Copenhagen,” which is defined by three great divorces from the preceding foundational thinking in physics—reality from realism, probability from causality, and locality from relativity—and defined the fundamental principles of quantum theory accordingly.

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