Product Description
This book provides a comprehensive treatment of quantum mechanics from a mathematics perspective and is accessible to mathematicians starting with second-year graduate students. In addition to traditional topics, like classical mechanics, mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, quantization, and the Schrodinger equation, this book gives a mathematical treatment of systems of identical particles with spin, and it introduces the reader to functional methods in quantum mechanics. This includes the Feynman path integral approach to quantum mechanics, integration in functional spaces, the relation between Feynman and Wiener integrals, Gaussian integration and regularized determinants of differential operators, fermion systems and integration over anticommuting (Grassmann) variables, supersymmetry and localization in loop spaces, and supersymmetric derivation of the Atiyah-Singer formula for the index of the Dirac operator. Prior to this book, mathematicians could find these topics only in physics textbooks and in specialized literature. This book is written in a concise style with careful attention to precise mathematics formulation of methods and results. Numerous problems, from routine to advanced, help the reader to master the subject. In addition to providing a fundamental knowledge of quantum mechanics, this book could also serve as a bridge for studying more advanced topics in quantum physics, among them quantum field theory. Prerequisites include standard first-year graduate courses covering linear and abstract algebra, topology and geometry, and real and complex analysis. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice collection of papers leading to quantum revolution, but some might feel discouraged reading
It's no wonder some might feel frustrated or discouraged reading the papers in this collection. Even though those papers were written several decades ago, they had been all forefront research papers then. Some papers should be difficult even for a physics major if one is not in the specific field; some are difficult because of the usage of "old-style" notations such as writing matrix equations in a certain way; still you may find a couple papers very much readable even with a minimal amount of training in mathematical skills.

Over My Head
I have read several dozen books on the subject of Cosmology and related topics. This is a technically oriented book filled with intricate mathematical formulas and is clearly geared for advanced students. I am not shy about mathematics or formulas as a rule and have handled other books on Quantum mechanics, relativity and physics but this book was just over my head.

If you really want to understand Quantum Mechanics...
...you're probably out of luck, because no seems to really understandQuantum Mechanics! However, understanding how these very strange conceptsarose while physics was "under construction" in the early 20thCentury is probably the best way to come to terms with it. This book seemsto be the best thing to a "blow by blow" account of how differentideas emerged, were discussed, and were modified or rejected. It containstranslations of many of the original (mostly German) key papers, along witha prefatory essay that places them in context. Reading these papers is muchpreferable to reading the typical brief history of QM presented in mosttext books: you can see what the pioneers were really thinking about, intheir own words, as opposed to a retrospective point of view that ignoresthe ambiguities they actually faced.

It begins with Einstein'sderivation of the Planck spectral distribution law; includes Ehrenfest'sdiscussion of adiabatic invariants; Bohr's final presentation of the oldQuantum Theory; several papers on the theory of dispersion; and on to thedevelopment of matrix mechanics by Heisenberg, Born and Jordan; and Dirac'sreformulation.

It does not cover Schroedinger's development of wavemechanics, nor the derivation of the Dirac equation for the relativisticelectron, nor quantum field theory. However, the period covered was themost paradigm-shattering part of the development of QM.

Perhapsunfortunately, it is unlikely that the typical student of Physics will havethe time to study this book. However, for those who really love Physics andwant to understand it, this book is essential. With 17 major papers, it hasenough material to occupy months of personal study. ... Read more

Product Description
Quantum Dynamics is a major survey of quantum theory based on Walter Greiner's long-running and highly successful course at the University of Frankfurt. The key to understanding in quantum theory is to reinforce lecture attendance and textual study by working through plenty of representative and detailed examples. Firm belief in this principle led Greiner to develop his unique course and to transform it into a remarkable and comprehensive text. The text features a large number of examples and exercises involving many of the most advanced topics in quantum theory. These examples give practical and precise demonstrations of how to use the often subtle mathematics behind quantum theory. The text is divided into five volumes: Quantum Mechanics I - An Introduction, Quantum Mechanics II - Symmetries, Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Electrodynamics, Gauge Theory of Weak Interactions. These five volumes take the reader from the fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics up to the latest research in particle physics. Volume 1, Quantum Mechanics I - An Introduction, lays the foundation for the rest of the course. Starting from black-body radiation, the photo-electric effect and wave-particle duality, Greiner goes on to discuss the uncertainty relations, spin and many-body systems, then discusses applications to the hydrogen atom and the Stern-Gerlach and Einstein-de Haas experiments. The mathematics of representation theory, S-matrices, perturbation theory, eigenvalues and hypergeometric differential equations are presented in detail, with 84 fully and carefully worked examples and exercises to consolidate the material. Volume 2 presents a particularly appealing and successful theme in advanced quantum mechanics - symmetries. After a brief introduction to symmetries in classical mechanics, the text turns to their relevance in quantum mechanics, the consequences of rotation symmetry and the general theory of Lie groups. The Isospin group, hypercharge, SU (3) and their applications are all dealt with in depth before a chapter on charm and SU (3) leads to the frontiers of research in particle physics. Almost a hundred detailed, worked examples and problems make this a truly unique text on a fascinating side of modern physics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best Textbooks onnon relativistic QM
I've read all the 3 Greiner's books concerning non relativistic QuantumMechanics (and other on QFT). First I've to underline that you may findmany text-errors in those books. (QM: an introduction, QM:Special Chapters,QM:Symmetries): for everybody who is a bit familiar with Mathematics thiscan not be a big problem. On the second hand, you have to read all the 3Greiner's books on Q.M. to have a great overview on this matter: everymathematical part is essential but complete. One has to follow andunderstand most of the calculations inside: this is the only way, generallyin Physics, to earn a good Mathematical level, and be able not toconcentrate too much on Mathematics while trying to understand the Physicsbehind. As last point I've to underline that only by reading Greiner's"Relativistic Quantum Mechanics" book, one is able to understandthe meaning of introducing Field Theory formalism in "Q.M.:SpecialChapters" and will appreciate it a lot: in fact everything is going tobe easier on the following matters; apart of this I think it's great totreat Statistical Mechanics with operators as soon as possible, as Greinerdoes in Q.M.:special chapters. Lot's of importance is given to symmetriesand Group theory (Q.M:symmetries) as a modern point of view pretends. ... Read more

Product Description
What is Quantum Mechanics? A Physics Adventure comprehensively traces the historical development of quantum mechanics, treating a complex subject in a light-hearted, user-friendly manner. It not only introduces the reader to the concepts of quantum mechanics, but also tells the story behind the theories. It is easy to understand for beginners because it was written by people going through the learning process themselves. Yet, even the seasoned scientist will enjoy the controversy and drama as the development of physics unfolds in the book.

Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, 2008 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, served as a senior adviser to the student authors of What is Quantum Mechanics? A Physics Adventure at the Transnational College of LEX throughout their journey of discovery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

A perfect book
This is a great book. It explains very complex subjects in a very easy-to-digest manner. I ve purchased also other books of this serrie, namely, Who is Fourier? and What is DNA?. I havent had time yet to read them, but I will soon.
These kinds of book let people know that science is not necessarily difficult to understand and follow and is accessible for EVERY ONE.
The book is written also in a very vivid way, by a couple of students who try to explain almost everything they mention there. Also the price is very reasonable. So, if you are interessted in the subject of Quantum theory, and you dont know much about it, try this book.

Ciao
Houtan

Excellent Style
A Language School explains Quantum Mechanics ...... really, really well!If you have readpopular books on this topic and are a little frustrated that you never really got to the meat of the issues then this is the book you want. It does a lot of the maths but sympathetically.The other book in the series Who Is Fourier explains the maths you need (really, really well!).

An Adventure into Physics that will not disappoint


This book, one of the first from the "Transnational College of Lex" is a tour de force in its gentle approach to complex topics. It gives an intuitive introduction to the complex, often bizarre and contradictory ideas of quantum physics.

But more importantly, it explains them in simple to understand language and does not try to finesse the mathematics. And here is where the real bonus of the Lex Series comes in: The always complex mathematics is introduced in the same gentle way: Not by taking shortcuts, or faking the reader out, but by producing examples that illustrate what the "often hard to understand" mathematical equations do, and then repeating this process further along as the reader gains facility and comfort with the math.

When the reader completes this book, he does not feel that he has been "conned" into think that he has learned about Quantum Mechanics when in fact he has not -- as is the case with the "so-called" Demystified series of books, that I have also reviewed: With the Lex series, the reader either knows that he has grasped the ideas, or how far away he is from doing so.

I have communicated directly with the writers at Lex, urging them to do a similar book on relativity. So far, and much to my dismay, that is not on their future menu of possibilities. However, I encourage those who have an interest in understanding the difficult concepts in Quantum physics to review this book first. You will not be disappointed.

Easily five stars!

Hello Kitty meets Schrodinger's cat
This is admittedly a strange format for a quantum mechanics book. However, if you do skip over the cartoons you do find a lot of mathematical steps and insights more conventional books do not bother pointing out. Many students learn the mathematical underpinnings of QM as a bunch of symbol manipulating tricks. This book delves into the math and provides the rationale for much of those hitherto mysterious steps.

I give the book four stars as the authors' usage of cartoons is often annoying and juvenile. Those who worked on the books could have used this unusual format to target a mature audience if the cartoon characters did indeed provide insightful commentary - which they often did not.

What is Quqntum Mechanics
This is an amazing book for all, specifically, physics students.Every body would have pleasure of reading this book and could gain enough detail knowledge of Quantum Mechanics, a subject which scared expert and non-expert equally.One of the beauti of this book is that you do not have to have vast knowledge of mathematics to read and understand this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book includes the entire collection of published and unpublished papers on the conceptual and philosophical problems of quantum mechanics written by John Bell, the leading expositor and interpreter of the modern quantum theory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

fascinating
This is some provocative work from a man who is not satisfied with the copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.

Recommended but with a minor caveat.
I agree with the enthusiasm shown by other reviewers (see also the 2nd. edition) for this book's treatment of interpretive issues at the foundations of quantum theory. However, chapter 9 unfortunately titled "How to teach Relativity" shows that Bell's expertise in quantum theory did not extend to special relativity, which he seriously misunderstood. Drawing on an old mistaken paper by Dewan & Beran from 1959, a thought experiment is described where two spaceships are joined by a thread and accelerate identically. Like the earlier authors, Bell wrongly believed the thread would break, showing the Lorentz contraction (again wrongly) to be a "real" effect, rather than an apparent one manifested only in another relatively moving inertial frame.
Despite the fact that, as is mentioned in the book, all his CERN colleagues contradicted him, he nevertheless included this old "chestnut" with a false interpretation that can only do harm to the general understanding of STR. It is precisely this misunderstanding that has caused so much confusion over the rotating disc problem (Ehrenfest paradox), which has generated many meaningless papers over the years - and still does !

Still the subject of much debate
It would be difficult to find a more controversial topic in the philosophy of physics than what is discussed in this book. But its implications go beyond philosophy, in that some of the ideas in the book have been used in the attempts to build a quantum computer. Since it was written at a time when quantum computation was not taken as seriously as it is now, if at all, it is not surprising that experimental backing for the content is not included in the book. That such experimental evidence is lacking in the book is also a sign that such experiments are not conclusive in the verification of what the author expounds in the book. I can only speak for myself here, but having undertaken a painstaking look at the literature on the experiments purporting to verify entanglement and the "Bell inequalities", I have yet to find one that does so in a convincing way. The mathematical formalism employed by the author in the book allows him to prove some interesting theoretical conclusions, and those who work in the field of quantum computation even more so, but real-world experiments are lagging considerably behind these purely theoretical constructions.

The reader will find good discussions of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen and the de Broglie-Bohm delayed-choice "thought experiments" in the book, as well as a few other interesting discussions, such as the problem of hidden variables all from a pretty much philosophical viewpoint. The author however does not hesitate to use mathematical formalism where appropriate. Some of his conclusions will depend on what philosophical "school of thought" the reader is in. For example, in his discussion on hidden variables, he refers to the work of the mathematician Andrew Gleason on the impossibility of hidden variables. However, Gleason's proof would be unacceptable to a reader from the "intuitionist" school of mathematics, since the proof is nonconstructive. The author though does give an interesting analysis of why the von Neumann proof, and others after him (due to for example Jauch, Piron, and Gleason), are of limited relevance when analyzed in depth. Hence, for those who accept non-constructivism in mathematics, the Gleason proof would still not be a refutation of the existence of hidden variables in quantum mechanics. The author analyzes the arguments of von Neumann, Jauch, Piron, and Gleason, and rejects them mostly on the grounds of their demand that dispersion-free states must have the same properties as the usual quantum-mechanical states that allow all the successful predictions of quantum mechanics. The dispersion-free states could still reproduce the measurable peculiarities of quantum mechanics when they are averaged over, the author concludes.

Along these same lines, the author also gives an interesting discussion of the argument of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen on the incompleteness of quantum mechanics. He formulates their requirement that quantum mechanics contain additional variables mathematically and then proceeds to show that it is incompatible with the statistical predictions of quantum mechanics. These extra variables or parameters must have a probability distribution, and it is then shown, for a pair of spin-1/2 particles in a singlet spin state, and moving in opposite directions, that these extra variable do not give the quantum mechanical expectation value for the singlet state. The author concludes that in a theory in which parameters are added to quantum mechanics to determine the results of individual measurements without changing the statistical predictions, there must be a mechanism in which the setting of one measuring device influencesthe reading of another instrument, no matter how remote. He concludes that instantaneous propagation would exist in such a theory, which violates Lorentz invariance. His proof is straightforward to follow, but he does use a classical (Kolmogorovian) expression for the expectation value of the two spin components. This has provoked some debate, and has brought about a notion of "contextual probability", which is a probability theory that follows more on the lines of the frequency approach of von Mises. Also, the notion of locality that the author employs has been seriously challenged by some researchers, who assert that the real notions of space and time have not been used by Bell in the proof.

Therefore it could be said without a doubt that this book will introduce the reader to the raging debate on locality and other issues in the "foundations" of quantum physics. Papers supporting Bell and those against his conclusions appear frequently on the preprint servers. Since this book is widely quoted in these papers, it should perhaps then be on the shelf of all those readers who really have a desire to understand the mysteries of quantum mechanics.

Clear and Thought-Provoking Gems from QM Master
It is a travesty that this book is out of print.Almost unbelievable, in fact.What is Cambridge University Press thinking?

This book is not destined to become a classic-- because It IS a classic ALREADY!! It is just one that hasn't been widely recognized yet.

That's only a matter of time.

Nowadays everyone and their uncle seems to be talking about Quantum Communication this and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen that-- and I guess with good reason, for we are now starting to see practical applications of this most esoteric of physics subfields.

However, it seems that the more non-intuitve and interesting a topic is, the more obfuscation (both intended and accidental) is written about it. (I'm not just talking about laymen and mystics, but physicists too!) Or, said another way, the more people talk, the less they really understand.

Forget all the rest of the [stuff] out there.Cut to chase.Read about the ESSENTIALS of what QUANTUM MECAHNICS really MEANS from one of the Masters of the field in about 15 short, lucid, crystal-clear essays.

There is some math here, but not much.That is the beauty and the danger of Quantum Mechanics-- because calculations are not that difficult in this field, people are lulled into thinking they really understand what it is they are calculating.

Well, most don't.

If you really want to get a grasp as to what it all MEANS-- forgetting the calculations for a moment--- you must read this book.

Feynman said that nobody really understood Quantum Mechanics.That may be so...

But John Stuart Bell came the closest.

You can't meet him at a conference anymore (he died in 1990,) but you CAN have him tutor you personally in this short, brilliant masterpiece.

If it isn't yet, it will become a classic.
In the early days of quantum mechanics, Einstein (who was
actually at the origin of the basic ideas of the theory)
and Bohr (one of the founders of the formalism of quantum
mechanics) had a lot of discussions: Einstein just couldn't
accept the (to "common sense") weird predictions of
quantum theory.Einstein's criticism on quantum theory
reached a top in a few papers that describe what is called
"the Einstein-Podolski-Rosen paradox".It describes long
distance correlations between measurements that seem to depend
on arbitrary decisions made by the two distant observers and
that can have no causal relationship.
Einstein's favorite view of the statistical nature of quantum
mechanical predictions was some hidden "gears and wheels"
that wasn't found out yet.
John Bell examined the question in detail and wrote a few
historical papers in which he showed that it is mathematically
impossible that the predictions of quantum mechanics follow
from hidden local "gears and wheels" in the situation
described by the EPR paradox; as such the strangeness
of the EPR paradox is underlined and can be settled by
experiment: if the "gears and wheels" exist, then the
predictions of quantum mechanics cannot be right (that is the
content of the Bell papers).Today, very sophisticated experiments indicate
that quantum mechanics is right and that the weirdness is
with us for good.
In this volume, those historical papers by Bell are reprinted
with added comments by the author.The merit is that they
have raised the issue from a conceptual debate to a scientific
question, amenable to experimental inquiery. ... Read more

Product Description
Fun format makes this complex subject easy to grasp solutions to typical problems that are explained in full detail. It is perfect for self-study or class supplement. It is great for quick review or help prepare for the Physics qualifying exam. Learn quantum mechanics at warp speed! Now anyone can master the basics of quantum mechanics - without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In "Quantum Mechanics Demystified", physicist (and student-savvy author) David McMahon provides an effective and illuminating way to learn the essentials of quantum mechanics.With "Quantum Mechanics Demystified", you master the subject one step at a time - at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide is filled with solved examples throughout, and offers problems to try at the end of each chapter to pinpoint weaknesses. A final exam serves to reinforce concepts covered in the entire book. This fast and entertaining self-teaching course makes it much easier to - master serious quantum mechanics in easy-to-follow steps.This book cuts through the jargon and learn how to do quantum mechanics using worked examples.It helps reinforce learning and pinpoint weaknesses with questions at the end of each chapter and a comprehensive final exam. Learn about Schrodinger's equation, one dimensional scattering, Hilbert space, and the density operator. Find extensive explanations of spin and angular momentum, vector spaces, matrix mechanics, the harmonic oscillator, and the hydrogen atom. Perform better on qualifying or placement exams. Take a 'final exam' and grade it yourself! Clear enough for beginners, but challenging enough for those who already know something about advanced physics, "Quantum Mechanics Demystified" is the best self-teaching tool you can find! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Math focused, terrible editing
(NOTE: the conclusion to this longish review is at the bottom, but the details must be read in the body of the review)

This book is actually quite good at refreshing your introductory quantum mechanics. It covers all the usual one semester topics, and a bit more. That's why I chose this book to help me review what I learned a long time ago in a modern physics class. Yet page after page is bogged down by horrendous mistakes.

The mistakes, unfortunately, usually pertain to the actual equations, where numbers that should be squared are not, or constants are missing without explanation (where is the constant in coulombs law? How can you just set that to 1?). These aren't just grammatical errors, they are errors that matter to the understanding of the material.

I can't help feeling this book was hastily edited, if it was edited at all. Of course this is a double edged sword, as it forces you to work through the equations yourself and make sure they're right. A book that can do that (even by mistake) earns some points in my book. Anyone who just scans the pages for equations to copy will be in big trouble with this book. Which brings me to another issue, where sometimes non-obvious details are completely left out.

When it talks about the separation of variables technique, it does nothing to hint at how one could use that to turn the equation into two ordinary differential equations, by virtue of the fact that you can get all the functions of one variable on the left hand side of the equation, and the function of the other variable on the right hand side. If two equations with different variables equal each other they must be constant (which is something to think about, not obvious to many people at all!). It says nothing of the sort, and I think mistakes like this will make life difficult for the intended audience of self-teachers and beginners . Yet in complete contrast the book will occasionally go into over much detail about something mechanical like integration, or computing a geometric series. It's assumptions about the target audience are inconsistent.

But the book has a magical lucidity to it, it just flows. I was able to read almost 40+ pages in one 3 hour setting, and I feel like my comprehension level is strong for the time I spent. I call it magical, because it's not like the book uses captivating prose, and like I said it's rife with mistakes that I must carefully check. If I had to pinpoint it, it would be that it lets the math do the talking, without being overly terse. It contains the standard introduction on the history of the subject, but does so without 60 pages of overly detailed explanations of specific experiments. The math is what you learn from, and for the most part enough steps are done out were the book never feels to terse with the reader. This balance is something rarely seen in mathematical works. In addition to the amount of material covered, this almost makes up for the glaring flaws. Although I wish there were more problems to do, but there are plenty of worked examples to give the reader an idea of what you can do with the equations.

IN CONCLUSION:
I recommend this to anyone who wants a refresher, but I also strongly recommend at least another text so you can compare some of the possibly erroneous equations, and fill in the gaps where the author left out much needed reasoning or explanations. The physicist will lament the lack of experimental reasoning, and the casual reader will find nothing in the way of cool thought experiments, but for the mathematically oriented reader, this is a great book to have. At least if you don't mind working the steps yourself to ensure their accuracy, but this is a practice any math reader should adopt anyways.

This Book is Gold
There are books that you hope will help you and books that actually do. If you are serious about teaching yourself quantum mechanics "Quantum Mechanics Demystified" by David McMahon is a must-have. The book is concise clear and he does a good job of explaining the reasons behind what's going on. I will say you do need the undergrad math preparation in matrices and differential equations however. Hence I suspect, some of the lower star ratings. Dirac notation and density matrices are what I have been interested in learning. How many texts out there do a thorough job of getting you started with density matrices and their interpretation? Not many. Blum might be an example. Shankar? Forget it. McMahon gives just the right amount of hand holding to enable you to crack open these types of abstract ideas. There are numerous helpful examples. As a result, I am finally "getting it" at long last. The text does have a lot of typos, but there are lists of errata online to help you out. McMahon, I praise you for ability to explain this challenging kind of material. My original quantum mechanics prof by comparison seems clueless.

Missing the Point
I think many of the reviews of "Quantum Mechanics DeMystified" are missing the point. David McMahon, gets you through each topic, in a clear logical manner, step by step, that few books on the topic, come close to matching. Many other books start off well, like
"Principles of Quantum Mechanics" by Shankar, "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" by Griffiths, or "The Structure And Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics" by Hughes. But they loose you in the details.
In the middle of a topic, there's complex proofs that add nothing to the material being presented. Or problems at the end of each chapter that no one but Google could solve.
David McMahon does a great job, taking you step by step, through problem after problem. Yes, there were errors in the first release of this book. But many of those errors were fixed in the current release. And yes, not all errors may have been corrected.
But I thought so much of this book, I purchased a second copy,
that contained most of the known corrections.
This book is a great supplement to books like thosed mentioned above.
And its also a great supplement to free iTunes U courses on Quantum Mechanics like those from Leonard Susskind from Stanford University
or James Binney from Oxford University.
I've bought a number of David McMahon DeMystified books like "Quantum Field Theory", "Linear Algebra", "Relativity" and "Matlab". All of them, got me started on subjects, that other books that used a textbook approach, just left me hanging.
I'm a fan. I'm hoping he'll consider writing a book on "Particle Physics and the Standard Model". It would be a great supplement to
Leonard Susskinds currect lecture series on iTunes U or YouTube titled "New Revolutionsin Particle Physics: The Standard Model"

So Many Mistakes!
This book is so full of mistakes, it's hard to follow.The examples skip over a lot of the math, occasionally making it difficult to figure out how they got from point A to point B.This is made even worse by the fact that the answer they end up with might be full of typos.They do stupid stuff like using + instead of = or writing the wrong exponent on a variable, but they also skrew up important equations from time to time.I'm wasting a lot of time in my reading of this text trying to figure out when and where the book went wrong.I would definitely NOT recommend this text.

Better than my prof!But the book does have many typos...
I got more out of this book than from two semesters of university-level quantum.The books does need some editing--there are quite a number of typos, especially at the beginning of the book--but it's still a great resource, and perfect for someone (like myself) looking for a quantum refresher. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

some good content, but not terribly accessible
A lot of the interesting bits are covered in the appendix, but I found it too dense to attempt to read (an attempt to cram too much into a short book).

After learning the subject from other sources this would probably be interesting to revisit to get a historical perspective, but I don't rate it high for learning from.

Bad from title to end
The only thing mysterious here is how this great scientist has managed to muddle up his own theory in this book to the point where its unintelligible.It takes him a chapter to state that the electron does not have a velocity or a path in the classical sense.And why give this book such a blatant appealing title to lure beginners to pay money for this trash.No examples or end-of-chapter problems either.Read Lev Landau instead.

A Good Hard Read
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It uses technical language (which can at times can become difficult), to express the physical context surrounding the development of Quantum mechanics, and deal with the matter at hand (pardon the pun). Quantum theory has a reputation as being difficult, confronting and unbelievable. However this book expresses logically and in detail, the physical principles of the Quantum theory, by the great Werner Heisenberg himself.
A great book if your thought needs provoking...

Heisenberg's motivation
Not really for beginners in spite of appearances, this book sketches Heisenberg's path in discovering the canonical commutation rules of quantum mechanics. After trying unsuccessfully for years to quantize the helium atom via the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules (which attempt Einstein had already explained in 1917 to be hopeless, because the classical 3-body problem is nonintegrable), Heisenberg was finally motivated by the example of relativity (where absolute time had to be abandoned) to give up the assumption that the position and momentum of a point particle are simultaneously predictable. To follow Heisenberg's reasoning the reader must first understand action-angle variables in classical mechanics. With Einstein's 1917 paper in hindsight, the three body problem representing the helium atom energy spectrum was finally approximated semi-clasically around 1990 based on a path-integral approximation to a chaotic Hamiltonian system.

A classic in quantum mechanics
This book is the standard introduction to - well, to the physical principles underlying the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. While it is dated in terms of that mathematical formalism, it has never been superseded in its analyses. Every serious student of quantum physics will encounter it, sooner or later, in the original or in paraphrases in newer monographs on quantum theory. ... Read more

Product Description
Four concise, brilliant lectures on mathematical methods in quantum mechanics from Nobel Prize–winning quantum pioneer. The first lecture is an introduction to visualizing quantum theory through the use of classical mechanics. The remaining lectures build on that idea, showing how one can start with a classical field theory and end up with a quantum field theory, and examining the possibility of building a relativistic quantum theory on curved surfaces or flat surfaces.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A necessary book for those who love quantum mechanics
I have no doubt: this is a necessary book for those who love quantum mechanics.

Simple and light
Very simple and light book about foundations of quantum mechanics. No one should expect any enhancement of knowledge. It is interesting title from rather historical point of view.

Short and good
This book is really fun it contains a series of lectures given by Dirac, although it is really really short it is well worth its price because it gives you a good view in the problems of Quantum Mech of the time

not for beginners
If you have 5 books on Quantum mechanics already and are a big fan of Dirac, then this is O.K.
The book is a set of lectures that are not for beginners
( the audience was best and brightest professors at Yeshiva.)
I get the personal feeling that Paul Dirac should have read more Klein on group invariants,
more Weyl on gauge theory, and more Cartan on Lie Algebra theory,
but there is no doubt that he knew what he was talking about
and was the master of field quantization. Just not showing well here...

A must have
From the master himself: Paul Dirac. Very sharp, to-the-point and complete overview of the Quantum Theory. But from Dirac's point of view it's an interesting angle to review things. ... Read more

Product Description
"A classic text on field theoretic methods in statistical physics"—American Scientist. A comprehensive introduction to the many-body theory and its ramifications by three internationally known Russian physicists, directed to physicists, mathematicians, and others involved in statistical and solid state physics.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Seminal, essential,
AGD, as it were, is an essential text for those studying or practicing "methods of QFT in statistical physics". this landmark publication has educated generations of physicists, and can continue to do so due to it's bargain price.
The book does suffer from "Russian style". It is terse. Read slowly and often.
If you're considering buying the book, either do so, or change fields. If you can not or will not invest ten dollars in this book then you are wasting your time anyhow.

Very good book
This book is one of the most known treating about QFT in non-zero temperatures and it doesn't need an advertisement. One think that redactors should think about is size of the fonts. Letters are really to small...

I Believe It's Pronounced: "Ah-brick-oh-sov, Gore-cawV, and Dee-ah-low-shin-ski"
This is a serious book with a seriously long title and three seriously hard-to-pronounce author-names.

Of course, as the other reviewers have already stated, this book is a Classic. It is also, as one other reviewer has proclaimed, not a book from which I would like to learn quantum field theory.

"Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics" by A.A. Abrikosov, L. P. gorkox, and I.E. Dzyaloshinski (or "AGD" as it is known) is thought of by many as the be all and end all of field theory texts in the condensed matter physics world.

But, AGD should not be thought of as a book that introduces the reader to field theory. You definitely must have studied field theory (either relativistic or non-relativistic) from an introductory book that uses the canonical formalism before attempting to get anything out of AGD.


For example, if you are not already familiar with Wick's Theorem and how to prove it, then you will get very little out of AGD's single paragraph of text which "proves" the thoerem. On the other hand, if you already know of Wick's theorem you may find the proof in AGD rather cute. As for me, when I read the one paragraph of text that AGD put forward as a "proof" of Wick's Theorem, I immediately puked in my own mouth.

Yummy.

Another downside to AGD is the fact that they do not even mention the path integral formalism. Everything is done in the canonical formalism, as you might expect from a bunch of old school Russians.

Finally, I will repeat that this book IS a Classic, and there is a ton of great stuff in this book. If you are a serious student of condensed matter physics then you must have this book. If, on the other hand, you are trying to learn field theory for the first time, then go buy "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell" by Zee.

Sorry to differ from the reader below.
This book is little or no use unless you have a very strong background in
field theoretical methods. If you are a seasoned pro.you might find it
useful but if you want to teach yourself.... youwill soon get frustrated.
Still my hat's off to the authors who pioneered the area.
Conclusion: if you are a PhD student, get Fetter & Walecka instead.

Possibly the best book on diagrams you can find
This is a classic, and quite possibly it doesn't get any better than this to teach you the technique. For those used to a textbook style, this will be a bit of an unpleasant surprise, because writing is somewhat condensed, but that's quite typical for the old Russian school of theoretical physics. However, all the important issues are properly stressed, all derivations are rigorous, and what is most important, the physical reasoning is clear an to the point. ... Read more

Product Description

This introductory course on quantum mechanics is the basic lecture that precedes and completes the author's second book Advanced Quantum Mechanics. This new edition is up-to-date and has been revised. Coverage meets the needs of students by giving all mathematical steps and worked examples with applications throughout the text as well as many problems at the end of each chapter. It contains nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and a short treatment of the quantization of the radiation field. Besides the essentials, the book also discusses topics such as the theory of measurement, the Bell inequality, and supersymmetric quantum mechanics.

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice book!
This is the required textbook when I took QM course. It is a nice book. It covers almost everything that a undergraduate or graduate student need to know. But some parts of this book seem too abstract and hard to understand. It needs more worked example to help one understand it. You need another book if you want to use Schwabl to self-study QM. I consider Schwabl as a good reference book if you need to find something.

an outstanding reference
Schwabl's Quantum Mechanics is a superb supplement to any course on quantum mechanics.After struggling through Griffith's obfuscated discussion of addition of angular momenta, Schwabl's exposition was mysavior.I would not, however, try to learn QM solely from Schwabl (i.e.self-study) because he frequently skips derivations and says things like"it is immediately apparant that...," which can be frustrating.However, as a text for a course or as a supplementary resource, Schwabl isextrememly valuable.

I have been using this book in class, and I am not impressed
While this book certainly covers a lot of ground, it is painfully lacking in derivations or examples.I beleive it would be a reasonable book to use (as a reference) for someone who has already mastered quantum mechanics,but it is almost impossible to learn out of.Also, if you want a veryterse, yet comprehensive reference, why bother with something other thanLandau? ... Read more

Product Description
Problem solving in physics is not simply a test of understanding of the subject, it is an integral part of learning it. In this book, the key ideas of quantum mechanics are well illustrated by a carefully chosen set of problems complete with detailed, step-by-step solutions. Beginning with a chapter on orders of magnitude, a variety of topics is then covered, including the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's equation, angular momentum, the hydrogen atom, the harmonic oscillator, spin, time-independent and time-dependent perturbation theory, the variational method, multielectron atoms, transitions and scattering. Throughout, the physical interpretation or application of certain results is highlighted, thereby providing useful insights into a wide range of systems and phenomena. There is considerable emphasis on applications to atomic, nuclear, and solid-state physics and this book will be invaluable to a wide range of physics undergraduates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Don't waste your money
I bought this book because I really needed practice solving problems in QM. It lacks the mathematical background (ie, linear operators, commutators, commutating operators, and other necessary mathematics). Oh, there's a couple of problems, but as far as I am concerned, I threw the money away. It has not helped me. I am a grad student, and I never studied operators, or commutators, and of course, no one else ever uses them except in QM. I still don't know how to use operators !! My bad, like the title says, don't waste your money. The 1 star in the rating is only because they wouldn't let me submit this review without a 1 to 5 rating, as far as I am concerned it rates Zero stars

To learn QM quickly
This small book is very suitable for those who want to brush up their quantum mechanics knowledge and practice as well as new learners. Its level of difficulty is about upper-undergraduate level.

Each chapter is allotted a certain subject of quantum mechanics, the theory is laid out very succinctly and briefly. Almost no derivation is given. So, one must consult quantum mechanics reference books for detailed derivations. There is one set of fully-solved, instructive problems in each chapter. The problems are designed in such a way that the student can learn and practice a different aspect of the chapter in each question.

If one wants to understand quantum mechanics going beyond the nasty, abstract and lengthy mathematical hodgepodge, this books is for you!

The Best QM Learning and Practice Tool Available!
This book is a spectacular tool for those learning Quantum Mechanics!I can't say enough good things about this little book!This is not strictly a textbook per se (you will not get the extensive theoretical derivation of rotation operators or second order perturbation theory, for example.)That being said, it is better written, clearer and more useful than many so-called textbooks out there!While the book is designed to be more like a review book for those that have already taken a course in QM, I think you can almost learn the theory and practice of QM with this book alone.The book has ten chapters covering ten basic QM topics (Numerics, Fundamentals, the Schroedinger Equation, Orbital Angular Momentum and the Hydrogen Atom, Spin and Addition of Angular Momentum, Time-Independent Approximation Methods, Identical Particles, Time Dependent Perturbation Theory, Scattering and Miscellaneous Topics.) There are about three pages of key equations at the beginning of each chapter, followed by key problems and WORKED SOLUTIONS.The problems that are selected are selected with great care, seemingly to demonstrate the most important concepts in the most clear way. There are only about 10 problems at the end of each ten chapters, for about 100 total in the book, but each problem introduces a new key concept or key technique--- and I do emphasize KEY.The solutions are extensive, clear, and well thought-out, with no steps left out of derivations, and comments made as to the importance of each concept when appropriate.In short, there is no filler in this book, and what is presented is pure gold.If you work slowly through each of these 100 problems, you will do well on your exams, wow your friends and neighbors, and be an expert in the basics of QM when you are through.Now isn't that worth $32.00?

great primer!
This is a fantastic book ... explains standard undergrad quantum problems clearly ... the best explainations I've ever encountered!Learning the fundamentals of q.m. is easy with the help of this book.

essential for review of what QM is
If you have already taken undergraduate QM course and want to review what you have learned, it is a best book with readable size for couple of days. The book summarizes the basic formulae with a brief comments at each chapter. After keeping in mind the key idea you see the problems which areapplication of the formulae. The problem sets are so well organized as tohelp you get a consistent concept of what QM really is. Master it. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Heavy on the Math . . .
This book is an excellent reference for group theory. It gives you the detailed math behind group theory (which is great for me). It also gives you a brief introduction so you can work with molecular group theory. This was the recommended text in my chemical group theory class. It serves as a good mathematical reference. Also, see Cotton's group theory book, and Carters group theory book.

Good for the Undergrad Students.
This book has the advantage of applying group theory directly to solvable physical problems. In most areas of applied physics it is
very important to know the basics concepts of group theory, but
there is no need to have a deep knowledge as well as to know how to
proof all the main theorems. As an introductory course for undergrad
students this book is well recommended.

Most accessible of the useful physics texts
My background is that of theoretically inclined inorganic chemist and this review is intended for those with interests in inorganic and physical chemistry or solid-state chemistry/physics.

Tinkham's text is the first textbook one should go to for a reasonably rigorous introduction to the theory and use of group representations in physics and theoretical chemistry.Modern theoretical chemists should become familiar with all of this book, with the possible exception of the some of the material in Chapter 5 that will be applicable only to physicists (and not a lot of that, actually).The pervasiveness of band theory, even in general inorganic chemistry journals now, should convince chemists who teach this subject to include a lot of Chapter 8 (Solid-State Theory) and chemical theorists will even have to go beyond the symmorphic groups treated here.

The purely mathematical aspects of the subject are treated briefly, but much more completely, than "chemical group theory books" like Cotton's, for example.Naturally, this comes at a price of more mathematical abstractness, but that is unavoidable.These sections, like the rest of the book, are very well written.

Chapter 7, on applications to molecular quantum mechanics, is now quite dated.It was quite incomplete even when written, since it did not include any discussion of ligand-field theory.The effects of antisymmetric wavefunctions for electrons are touched on briefly in Chapter 5 (atoms), but are not adequately accounted for in discussion of molecules.(Incidentally, the failure to use Mulliken notation in molecular QM is an unfortunate annoyance.)

These objections aside, this book is an excellent buy for the price of a Dover edition.Indeed, if I'd included price in my rating, it would be 5 stars - easily!

A must for every grad student
I began reading this book having just finished a course on Abstract Algebra through my school's math department, and the semester before I took a graduate course on the exact subject.

After taking the math course, I was presented with group theory as if it were some muddled mix of facts, and the course came across as a poorly taught class on number theory. After reading just the first chapter of Tinkham's book, I developed a new, deeper understanding of group theory as a whole. For example, the way that Tinkham presents normal subgroups makes vastly more intuitive sense than the presentation I received in my math course.

The first two chapters alone are probably worth 80% of the book's sale price. The rest is made up entirely of the fact that the book does not piddle around with trivial examples, but genuinely frames quantum mechanics in the language of group theory, and the most important part is that Tinkham does it well.

This book, along with his book on superconductivity, are must-haves for any serious condensed matter person, and this book should be at least read (if not owned) by any physics grad student.

Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics
Both the content of the book and service of amazon are wonderful ... Read more

Product Description
This book comprises all of John Bell's published and unpublished papers in the field of quantum mechanics, including two papers that appeared after the first edition was published.It also contains a preface written for the first edition, and an introduction by Alain Aspect that puts into context Bell's great contribution to the quantum philosophy debate. One of the leading expositors and interpreters of modern quantum theory, John Bell played a major role in the development of our current understanding of the profound nature of quantum concepts. First edition Hb (1987): 0-521-33495-0First edition Pb (1988): 0-521-36869-3 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Questioning reality
Bell was a physic which major goal was the same as physics had once in the past: a way to describe the reality and wonder of it's philosophical consequences.Current physics assume bizarre mathematical tools without questioning the meaning of equations, adding mathematical adjustments in order to fit the data, everything is done in a mechanical way. There seems a lack of philosophical thinking in deriving equations, things as causes doesn't matter anymore, just if equations give the right result of experiment.
John Bell was a critic on this way of thinking, and derived some inequalities in quantum mechanics where the concept of locality is something that must be reviewed, as it must be some way nonlocal ( An astonishing discover!!!).
In this book, there are many articles written by Bell on the issue of nonlocality in quantum mechanics and analyses of many quantum interpretations, as well as philosophical issues regarding those interpretation.A great book to all those who looks for answers instead equations.

The Fall of Local Causality and The Rise of Entanglement: The Legacy of John S. Bell
Can and should be read by all physics undergraduates. Why?
So they can truly discover for themselves what's really going on.

And what's really going on is that local causality as advanced by some
of the greatest physicists of all time must now be relegated to the
proverbial "back shelf".

How did this come about? The author of this book takes us step-by-step
through a veritable minefield of reasons why and reasons why not. He
leaves "no stone unturned" and takes great pains to examine the various
opinions, prejudices, feelings and historical events surrounding the
now-famous "Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen" paper of 1935 and the arguments for
and against that paper that ensued. Almost with superhuman effort.

The book which is actually a collection of more than twenty research papers that the author has written over about a twenty five year period
beginning with his first seminal work dated 1964.(It would take several years from that time on to experimentally verify the predictions of that paper but eventually they were realized and thus established Quantum Mechanics as a complete theory without any hidden varaibles whatsoever)

What makes some of these papers even more interesting to read is that they were presented to
symposia and from these one can get a sense of the tension in the meetings in which they were presented and hence can better understand the controversial nature
of this subject.

Each paper contains numerous references to the original "players" in the
field. These alone make an exciting and substantial contribution to the book.

Contrary to what Einstein and others had hoped there are no "hidden variables" left to find in order to "save" local cauaslity.
Quantum Mechanics as we know it is complete. And we humans are stuck "not knowing" certain things even though they may exist. But perhaps there is a silver lining with some of the "gifts" that "Entanglement" has to offer.

Southern Jameson West

Bell's paradox
Just to counter an earlier review that states

"... he describes a thought experiment of two spaceships joined by a thread and accelerating identically. Like the earlier authors, Bell wrongly believed the thread would break ..."


Actually, the string would break...

* From the launch pad frame the distance between space-ships stays the same,
but the string is Lorentz contracted

* From the space-ship point of view (not a wise choice), they are accelerating and
so their clocks do not run at the same rate... the front space ship pulls away...
(I find it easier to think of them at differing depth in a 'gravitational' field)

The Original Papers; The Real Deal
After reading lots of commentaries on Bell's Theorem, this book
is where you finally get to read the actual paper.Worth it.

Excellent, and no caveat....
You can see from the other reviews here that this is a fascinating book. Many of the essays discuss 'unorthodox' interpretations of QM like Bohmian mechanics and wave-collapse models.The introduction by Alain Aspect was very interesting as well, and discussed the experimental advances in what he calls the "second quantum revolution."If you are buying an older edition of this book you may not get this introduction.

The previous review "Small Caveat" is a little misleading.Bell does explain that if the spaceships are accelerating slowly enough, the tension in the string will cause the system to contract as a whole, and the string will not break.But if the spaceships maintain a constant distance apart in the frame of the observer, the string will most certainly break.If you don't accept Bell's main argument that the electric fields between the atoms contract, transform to the accelerated frame of one of the ships and you will find the other ship receding away.

But don't listen to me, read the essays yourself!Even if you don't agree with the arguments, you will not be sorry for the thought provoking experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

P. A. M. Dirac was the Giant of QM!
His insight into the physical interpretation of the formalism of Quantum Mechanics has no precedent.Almost every physicist around the world agrees that HE IS MASTER DIRAC, so an insight into his vision of the theory is invaluable.

This is not a didactic book, in fact, in my opinion, it is not even to be considered a text book. Its value concerns the rigorous development of the formalism of QM, as well as a firm base for the understanding of the very principles of it.I'd say it's better for people who have struggling qith the ideas of QM for a while already, that for who are just starting with them.

Essential in any physicist bookshelf
This book is the basis of Quantum Mech any physicist that respect him or herself should read Dirac because it resembles the origins and gives the best description of QM there can be in this book you can feel the real possibilities of QM I say possibilities because at the time QM wasn't fully developed, or at least as thought through as it is now.
Either way this is a basic book for anyone intending to study physics I really recommend it.

One thing you should know is that the image given here is the not the real one, you should look at th one given by me, is one taken from the look inside, that has the real cover. But as it is always said you should never judge a book by its cover, even more so if the one who wrote it was the best physicist in the last century.

A meticulous account by a man who was there
This wonderful book lays out the thought process by which Dirac's formulation of quantum mechanics, with its much-handwaved-about "bra" and "ket" notation, came to be.Dirac makes minimal assumptions about the reader's prior education (appropriate, since the first edition was published in an age when a thorough scientific education comprised Homer, Virgil, Euclid, and Newton), so there are none of those annoying allusions of the form, "from which, of course, the insights of [famous name X] allow us to conclude that ..."In fact, there are extremely few footnotes of any kind, and they are not needed, as this work is neatly self-contained.

Dirac is marvelously careful in calling attention to the guesses he makes along the way, so the careful reader can see what Dirac's premises are as well as what can be logically derived from them.

Simply the Best
Quite simply, this is the most important book written on the foundations of physics in the last 100 years.I read this when I was 18 & it persuaded me to pursue a career in theoretical physics.It is still one of the few books in physics that I return to after 40 years.
Life is too short, so just read the 'Masters' - Dirac is the greatest master of physics in the 20th Century.

Impressive
As anothers reviewers state don't expect to learn QM from this book -actually I think Cohen-Tannoudji is one of the best for this purpose-, but if you know already some quantum mechanics you'll find a very clear and elegant introduction of the dirac formalism of QM. I like it very much.
... Read more

Product Description

This text builds a solid introduction to the concepts and techniques of quantum mechanics in settings where the phenomena treated are sufficiently simple that the student does not face two fundamental difficulties simultaneously: viz, that of learning quantum mechanics and that of learning how to assess the validity of models or the reliability of approximations. The treatment thus confines itself to systems that can either be solved exactly or be handled by well-controlled, plausible approximations. With few exceptions, this means systems with a small number of degrees of freedom. The exceptions are a first pass at many-electron atoms, the electromagnetic field, and the Dirac equation. (The inclusion of these last two topics reflects the now widely held belief that every physicist should have at least a nodding acquaintance with these cornerstones of modern physics.)
Born in Vienna, Kurt Gottfried emigrated to Canada in 1939 and received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT in 1955. He is professor of physics at Cornell University, and had previously been at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at CERN in Geneva. He is the co-author of ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Average
So we where incouraged to buy this book for an advanced graduate level course in QM. I wouldn't recommend it though. I feel it is a hard book and that the explanations are often very unclear. All toghether however it does cover a lot of material which you may not find on analogous books. It was apparently chosen for this course because from a survey it came out as the best graduate level book to learn QM. I don't know, I'm glad I actually knew quite a bit of QM before starting to use this book otherwise it would have been a disaster.

By Far actually the best book on Quantum theory
This is the most complete book on the fundamentals of the quantum mechanics, it's focused on the theoretical foundations and too on the principal experimental facts behind the theory, but it's a graduate level, demanding some background on the wave mechanics often viewed at undergraduate courses on quantum mechanics...the beginning formal mathematical framework can be complemented by Sakurai's Modern Quantum Mechanics but the main theory there is no other book with the same level of insight and ingenuity. Highly recommended!

Not for the uninitiated!!!
This is a high level, formal treatment of quantum mechanics. It is very elegant and there are many things in this book that are not covered in many other grad level quantum text books. For example, the nice treatment of the Kepler problem using F+, F- operators, a lengthy discussion of the interpration of QM/entangled states, etc, or a good treatment of the Landau levels in both symmetric and landau gauge. The emphasis on the ideas of the rotation group, Wigner-Eckhart, etc are also very nice. However, user beware, the textbook skips steps, sometimes lacks clarity, and may assume mathematics and quantum that you dont have yet. This is not a casual read. You should have a piece of paper in front of you to work through the steps. But I can assure you that in the end it is very worthwhile and gives you a glimpse into what makes quantum mechanics very beautiful and elegant.

If you have read Griffiths before this you may not be prepared. Try Shankar first then move onto this book.

Good advanced QM book .
This is a complete , modern QM book ...
Authors discuss issues which are usually missed in other QM textbooks .
Not for beginner ... This is rather 2nd or 3rd reading .... ... Read more

Product Description
The main goal of this work is to familiarize the reader with a tool, the path integral, that offers an alternative point of view on quantum mechanics, but more important, under a generalized form, has become the key to a deeper understanding of quantum field theory and its applications, which extend from particle physics to phase transitions or properties of quantum gases.
Path integrals are mathematical objects that can be considered as generalizations to an infinite number of variables, represented by paths, of usual integrals. They share the algebraic properties of usual integrals, but have new properties from the viewpoint of analysis.
Path integrals are powerful tools for the study of quantum mechanics, because they emphasize very explicitly the correspondence between classical and quantum mechanics.
Physical quantities are expressed as averages over all possible paths but, in the semi-classical limit, the leading contributions come from paths close to classical paths. Thus, path integrals lead to an intuitive understanding and simple calculations of physical quantities in the semi-classical limit. We will illustrate this observation with scattering processes, spectral properties or barrier penetration.
The formulation of quantum mechanics based on path integrals, if it seems mathematically more complicated than the usual formulation based on partial differential equations, is well adapted to systems with many degrees of freedom, where a formalism of Schrodinger type is much less useful. It allows a simple construction of a many-body theory both for bosons and fermions. ... Read more

Product Description
Quantum theory confronts us with bizarre paradoxes which contradict the logic of classical physics. At the subatomic level, one particle seems to know what the others are doing, and according to Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle", there is a limit on how accurately nature can be observed. And yet the theory is amazingly accurate and widely applied, explaining all of chemistry and most of physics. "Introducing Quantum Theory" takes us on a step-by-step tour with the key figures, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger. Each contributed at least one crucial concept to the theory. The puzzle of the wave-particle duality is here, along with descriptions of the two questions raised against Bohr's "Copenhagen Interpretation" - the famous "dead and alive cat" and the EPR paradox. Both remain unresolved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Great Overview
I love this book. I'm just starting on my journey to study quantum physics, and this book is helpful, engaging and funny.It gives a very nice macro picture of what quantum physics is about.After reading it, I have a renewed sense of wonder about the natural world and how mathematics describes the natural world. This book also gives background on the history of science and how major discoveries fit together.I will recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about quantum physics and is also somewhat intimidated by it (who isn't).I wish this book had been part of my high school physics curriculum...I would have loved physics had it been taught this way.

Very good, not very philosophical
I really enjoyed this book and I think I learned a lot.I'm most interested in the philosophical aspects of quantum mechanics, especially wavefunction collapse and the mind-body problem, and I found that this book was not very philosophical.There were only a couple pages on Schrodinger's cat and a couple pages on the slits & interference experiment.For those sensitive to this sort of thing, there's a biographical page on Schrodinger which is R-rated.(Well, maybe PG-13.Whatever.)

Great book to introduce the early story as well as some of the strange concepts in quantum physics
A very worthwhile addition to the beginners series, this one deals with the rise of quantum physics. After a brief and basic explanation of classic physics, the core of the book covers a period of about 50 years, from the realization in the late 19th century that classical physics was facing many unexplained problems, up to the 1930s, when quantum theory became well established (later developments in physics from the 1940s on are not discussed here - such as the renormalization technique pioneered by Feynmann among others and the rise of the Standard Model - admittedly these are much more difficult to explain to the layman).
The famous 1927 Solvay Conference on physics, attended by many past and future Nobel prizes, and where the strange new discoveries of quantum theory were discussed, is used to introduce the story. Many strange notions in Quantum Theory are discussed and explained here, among them the wave-particle duality of electromagnetic radiation, the uncertainty principle, and the Einstein - Podolsky- Rosen paradox that seems to imply that there is no locality, that is, that a particle seems to be aware instantly of what other particle is doing (what Einstein called spooky action at distance).
Written by a former physicist, this book, like others in the series tries to explain some difficult material through comic book illustrations that includes easy to understand visualizations of the concepts discussed here, as well as some humor. Though some may complain this trivializes the subject, I think the book succeeds in explaining what quantum physics is. Of course, it would be good for readers to continue reading about quantum theory with somewhat more advanced books; many books can be of use for that but my own favorite is Heinz Pagels's The Cosmic Code - from the 1980s, so it does not cover the latest developments, but still very much worthwhile.

Excellent historical summary of the history of quantum theory
The principal value of this book is to provide to the layman an interesting and understandable historical review of the development of quantum theory.The important contributors are presented in a combination of photographs and cartoons, which provides the reader with a good "feel" for the essence of what has transpired, if not the mathematical and technical details necessary for a more rigorous approach.

Outstanding
Given that this is a "comic book" on quantum theory, I expected a fairly superficial treatment which I'd breeze through quickly.

I was instead rather surprised and very pleased to find that this book goes into substantial depth.McEvoy presents most of the key concepts of quantum theory in their historical context, and he goes beyond typical popularized treaments by including quite a few equations (sometimes with derivations), along with topics like statistical mechanics, the Zeeman effect, links to chemistry, Dirac's quantum algebra, Fourier series, and other important technical details.He even touches on philosophical interpretations and implications of quantum theory, though that's not a main feature of the book.

To be clear, McEvoy doesn't provide anything resembling a comprehensive treatment of quantum theory.No one can do that in just 173 pages, with much of the space taken by cartoons.But he still packs in a lot of content by writing clearly and concisely, and organizing the book well.

In short, I highly recommend this book as an effective and enjoyable resource to learn or review the basic concepts and history of quantum theory.The only caveat is that readers should preferably come to the book with at least a decent background in general physics.In other words, the ideal target audience for the book is perhaps a notch beyond the general reader and instead consists of people with a technical background, such as scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. ... Read more

Product Description
“One of the best guides yet to the central conundrums of modern physics.”—John BanvilleQuantum theory is weird. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren’t shocked by quantum theory, you didn’t really understand it. For most people, quantum theory is synonymous with mysterious, impenetrable science. And in fact for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly written account of this fundamental scientific revolution, focusing on the central conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. This revelatory book takes a close look at the golden age of physics, the brilliant young minds at its core—and how an idea ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. 16 pages of photographs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Quantum Undressed
Quantum physics was one of the paradigm-shattering scientific propositions of the 20th century which changed the way we understand matter and our relation to it.As such, it is fundamental to our understanding of our world, our place in it and how things work.We haven't begun to digest the implications it will eventually bring on in our society.It is a body of knowledge essential to anyone wanting to know where we are historically in human cultural evolution, meaning our own understanding of who we are.

At the same time, it is a difficult and complex subject for the layman and broaching it can be daunting for most.I did my utmost to avoid it in university and only came to it many years later from a different angle and by reading the texts of many of its protagonists, at least those I could deal with.

Manjit Kumar has made that task easier for all of us in many ways.First he has given life to the players giving us a history that reads like a novel.The un-approachable become human as do their conflicts and disagreements.He provides us with an understandable history of a fundamental change in the scientific worldview, in a way at once comprehensible and still complete.For those who know quantum physics it is a wonderful overview and review of the science and its founders or a very good first step for those needing to know.

Bravo.

Usually read sci-fi and this was written as engagingly.
Have been slowly drawn into non-fiction through my sons interest in science. Downloaded the Kindle sample of this and had to buy the whole thing. It is as engaging as any fictional book but you are learning as you read. Could use some more illustrations, both verbal and graphical, of some concepts to get through some of the more esoteric parts but otherwise does a great job of melding the how the thinking came about technically and socially.

Couldn't put down....
...and I never feel that way about non-fiction!

I can give this book the ultimate compliment -- I read it straight through.
Often, with non-fiction I books I read a bit, switch to a fiction book for a while, eventually return to the non-fiction book... or not.

This book was very interesting. It is more about the big ideas and the people involved than the nuts and bolts mathematics which suited me just fine.

Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" is a Singular Achievement
My bookshelf holds many titles explicating quantum physics for the interested layman (I am a retired attorney), but Manjit Kumar's "Quantum" stands alone.Many of these books focus on the personalities of and personal/professional conflicts among those who made advances in the field over the course of more than a century and, as a result, the science can get lost in the human-interest forest.Others highlight the 'hard science' without historical context and the presentation gets lost in the weeds of 'quantum weirdness'.
Kumar's book is unique, in my reading experience, in the perfect balance it manages to strike.It is rich in details of the human side of the story but always in a way that illuminates the evolution of the science.As a result, the entire landscape becomes clearer, including several areas which had for me always remained somewhat opaque. I am thinking, in particular, of EPR, Bell's Theorem and their progeny.In addition, Kumar's presentation creates a space around the Copenhagen Interpretation within which critical thought can be applied (many of the books in this area taking some form of the Copenhagen Interpretation as axiomatic).
At ground level, quantum mechanics is a mathematics that works; practitioners can apply it as a tool without giving any thought to the higher-level questions it raises.One level up, one finds the subject matter of most of the 'quantum for laymen' books I have read -- explications of what is commonly termed 'quantum weirdness'...superposition and Schrodinger's Cat, particle/wave duality depending upon the experiment, entanglement and 'spooky action at a distance' etc etc.All very interesting and challenging.
Kumar's "Quantum" includes but goes beyond that level of inquiry to focus the reader on the philosophical question as to what quantum physics has to tell us, if anything, about the nature of reality -- what is 'real' prior to or independent of observation?Is the universe itself the product of wavefunction collapse? Is the concept of 'the' universe itself valid?And much more.
"Quantum" is, as a result, a singular achievement.

Strong opinions in the search of truth.
Quantum is a well written and documented view of a scientific revolution and how the "players' in the field interact, argue and strive to gain their colleagues approval of their perceptions of how nature works. While some knowledge of physics is helpful, the layman can easily follow the human interactions and gloss over the details of "thought experiments". ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook covers, step-by-step, important topics in quantum mechanics, from traditional subjects like bound states, perturbation theory and scattering, to more current topics such as coherent states, quantum Hall effect, spontaneous symmetry breaking, superconductivity, and basic quantum electrodynamics with radiative corrections. The large number of diverse topics are covered in concise, highly focused chapters, and are explained in simple but mathematically rigorous ways. Derivations of results and formula are carried out from beginning to end, without leaving students to complete them. With over 200 exercises to aid understanding of the subject, this textbook provides a thorough grounding for students planning to enter research in physics. Several exercises are solved in the text, and password-protected solutions for remaining exercises are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521877602. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thanks Prof. Desai!
A very generous author sharing his knowledge and guiding you through a modern exposition of Quantum Mechanics.
Great book!.
Please keep on writing!
The publisher should have used lighter weight paper. This book weighs a ton!
Amazon should give this text greater visibility!

Former student's review.
Caveat:I have not yet obtained my copy of the book.I can only write from my experience with the draft, which were essentially lecture notes used as the core text for graduate quantum mechanics at UC Riverside.

I took Professor Desai's quantum courses, and also electromagnetics from him.

His book is the extension of lecture notes provided to his students and developed over several iterations of teaching graduate quantum mechanics.The nice thing is he is including new material on more advanced topics we did not have time to cover when I took his lectures.

I have studied from many texts.Shankar, Sakurai, and Liboff.I'm glad that Desai's book is now available, and am looking forward to getting my copy.

I can say that Professor Desai lets the math speak for itself.Compared to other physics authors, Professor Desai is habitually explicit and concise.Looking at the table of contents, Desai is covering more real-world topics in dedicated chapters than a current popular text, and leading the student to second quantization, with only 200 pages more.He's following the example of Schiff.

And there are some nice pedagogical features to the book as well.Gauge theory is treated early on in Desai.So you're basically gaining knowledge useful for both E&M and quantum in one course of study.Since the student isgoing to be taking both at the same time, this is good.This "dual gain" is also present with Desai's treatment of Green's functions and path integration, which will carry over to E&M also.This is what I experienced taking his course.


The book is a definite buy, that's easy... the real question is what wine to drink while reading it?

Extremely Detailed Mathematics, Everything Derived for You
As a student of Dr. Desai's, I've had first-hand experience with working through this textbook, in the context of the author's own lectures. This book is extremely good for working through derivations of various quantum mechanics concepts, and mathematically, is quite rigorous. I think this book would be most useful for the graduate student theorist, who is perhaps not as interested in experimental application of quantum mechanics as an experimentalist.

The end of chapter problems are at times esoteric and mathematical, applying linear algebra to deconstruct an operator with no quantum mechanical context, however, often, the mathematics from these problems appear far ahead in the text. I would recommend the student also use another textbook to gain a more 'experimentalist' perspective on quantum mechanics.

This book contains some errors (it is only in its first edition). At times the errors are minor, but other times they can be more significant. The most common error seems to be false equation references, or a missing 'h-bar' and factors of 'c'. Very occasionally (I have seen one or two within the first 300 pages) there is a serious error, such as using an angular momentum vector instead of a magnetic field vector.

I think this book is an excellent resource, and is almost completely self contained. It will teach you the tools and mathematical back-bone of quantum mechanics, but leaves rigorous applications of the subject to the student's imagination.

... Read more

Product Description
Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications provides a clear, balanced and modern introduction to the subject. Written with the student’s background and ability in mind the book takes an innovative approach to quantum mechanics by combining the essential elements of the theory with the practical applications: it is therefore both a textbook and a problem solving book in one self-contained volume. Carefully structured, the book starts with the experimental basis of quantum mechanics and then discusses its mathematical tools. Subsequent chapters cover the formal foundations of the subject, the exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation for one and three dimensional potentials, time-independent and time-dependent approximation methods, and finally, the theory of scattering.

The text is richly illustrated throughout with many worked examples and numerous problems with step-by-step solutions designed to help the reader master the machinery of quantum mechanics. The new edition will be completely updated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Intermediate QM text with lots of worked examples
I am a graduate student of materials science and engineering and used this book as textbook in an undergraduate QM course last semester. My comment in next goes first to its target audience, prerequisite and readability, followed by a summary of its key contents and end with its strengths and weaknesses comparing to other QM books I have read.

This book is an intermediate level treatise aimed at audiences of undergraduates of physics and astronomy and graduate students of non-physics majors (e.g., chemistry and engineering), with a prerequisite of at least university general physics, linear algebra and differential equation. Some topics in it require advanced knowledge of classical mechanics and classical electrodynamics, for example wave packet and Zeeman effect, but one can easily pick them up through self-study of relevant chapters in classical undergraduate physics textbooks like the Berkeley Physics Course Series and the MIT Introductory Physics Series. Except these, the book is self-contained and very easy to read, even for me!

It starts with experiments that invalidate classical mechanics in the microscopic world and presents key concepts which differentiates quantum mechanics from its classical counterpart (chapter 1), proceeds with fundamental postulates that the whole quantum formalism is based on and develops it with Dirac notation (chapter 2 and 3). These fundamentals are applied in one dimensional problems of potential step, barrier, well and harmonic oscillator (chapter 4), and further extends to three dimensional in both Cartesian and spherical coordinates, especially, the hydrogen atom QM model is developed and solved exactly(chapter 6). Chapter 5 and 7 treat angular momentum and its addition separately. All these applications are essentially for the single particle case, which is followed by quantum statistics for many identical particles in chapter 8. Since only harmonic oscillator model can be solved exactly, approximation methods are introduced in chapter 9 and 10 with emphasis on time independent and time independent perturbation theory. The whole book ends with the advanced topic of quantum mechanical description of scattering.

As mentioned in my comment title, the major strength of the book is that it has many worked examples. Besides, it is self-contained and very easy to read. The contents are just right, neither too redundant, nor does it skip major derivation steps that affect the ease of reading. I would definitely recommend it to everyone that needs a more or less rigorous introduction to QM!

The best QM text out there. Period.
If you wanna ace your exams and homeworks then this book is all you'll ever need! There's no match to Zettili's text in problem-solving area. It's simply magic! Every topic is worked out rigorously to smallest details. Dr. Zettili not only tells you the abstract formalism found anywhere else, he actually SHOWS you how to use it when it comes to the "real" world. His effort is priceless and the result is brilliant. I wish I had this book from the beginning and hope the later editions will cover more advanced topics as well. Two big thumbs up and A+++ to the author for creating the [first chapter in the] true Bible of quantum mechanics!

PS: A suggestion to the publisher is to re-print the hardcover edition since softcovers don't last under constant use.

So many errors.....
I think this is a great book, but there are so many errors. The most recent errata still has not corrected all the errors. Once another edition comes out with fewer errors I'll give it 5 stars.

An excellent first book
This textbook combines an unusually good treatment of exactly the standard undergraduate topics in quantum mechanics with a well-integrated collection of solved and unsolved problems.It begins with a relatively standard discussion of the origins of, and motivation for, quantum theory.Chapter 2 covers the formalism (function spaces, representations, the eigenvalue problem, operators).The level of this section is sufficiently comprehensive and mathematical to allow a "real" understanding of the subsequent discussion.Zettili's treatment of the mathematics is greatly superior to some other texts (where, for example, the term "Hilbert space" is not defined, or not even mentioned) - things like the propagator, generators, and tensor operators receive good coverage.The discussion of the matrix mechanics versus wave mechanics is also well done.The treatment of symmetries and rotations is clear.One minor point is that in the second chapter one or two formulae appear without clear justification, but this isn't a major issue.

The exposition remains clear throughout.Oddly, Zettili neglects to present the coordinate basis solution of the harmonic oscillator, and solves this problem only using the more elegant ladder operator method (probably for brevity).The path integral isn't discussed, although this isn't yet a standard undergraduate topic.The writing is relatively brief and direct without being "cryptic" or "dry."

The numerous exercises, though sometimes trivial or slightly repetitive, are useful for a first introduction, when the reader must gain an effortless mastery over the "mechanics" as well as the "theory" (the solved problems are considerably better in this respect).After Chapter 2, the problem selection emphasizes the physical, rather than the mathematical - even too much.This is rather the opposite of books like Bransden and Joachain, where the problems are largely proofs of recursion relations, and so on.The ideal would be somewhere between the two, neither sacrificing the physical meaning of QM nor downplaying the mathematical manipulations it so frequently requires.

As others have noted, there are numerous typos.However, these are mostly noticeable if the reader pays close attention (although a couple have the potential to mislead the unwary), and extensive errata lists can be found on the internet.A minor nuisance at worst.Hopefully we see a new edition soon.

In summary, an ideal first text or supplement to another.This text, rather than covering various advanced topics, provides a concise and logical, yet accessible, coverage of the standard undergraduate topics in QM, which should teach students to solve physics as well as understand theory.Highly recommended.I wish I'd learned from it.

Helped me make it through undergrad quantum
We were assigned Gasiorowitz as our textbook, and without Zettili I wouldn't have understood anything.

This book explains the material clearly and then offers ample examples to help the reader learn how to apply the concepts to quantitative problems.

The only problem I have with this book is that there are errors in the worked problems, but these are usually easy to catch and are to be expected with a first edition. ... Read more