The Odd Quantum - Softcover

Treiman, Sam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691103003 ISBN 13: 9780691103006

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2002

Synopsis

An acclaimed physicist’s accessible yet rigorous introduction to quantum mechanics for nonspecialists

This is a rare and much-needed book: a concise but comprehensive account of quantum mechanics for popular science readers written by a respected physicist. Sam Treiman―internationally renowned for his work in particle physics―makes quantum mechanics accessible to nonspecialists. Combining mastery of the material with clear, elegant prose and infectious enthusiasm, he conveys the substance, methods, and profound oddities of the field.

Treiman begins with an overview of quantum mechanics. He sketches the early development of the field by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and others, and he makes clear how the quantum outlook flies in the face of common sense. As he explains, the quantum world is intrinsically probabilistic. For example, a particle is not in general in some particular place at a given instant, nor does it have a definite momentum. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, there is a limit to how well both location and momentum can be specified simultaneously. In addition, particles can move through barriers and otherwise move in regions of space that are forbidden by classical mechanics. If a particle has a choice of different paths, it pursues all of them at once. Particles display wave-like characteristics and waves show particle-like characteristics. Treiman pays special attention to the more fundamental wave outlook and its expression in quantum field theory. He deals here with the remarkable fact that all the particles of a given species are strictly identical, and with the unnerving fact that particles can be created and destroyed. As Treiman introduces us to these and other wonders, he also touches―without resolution―on some of the deep philosophical problems of quantum mechanics, notably how probabilities become facts.

Weaving together impeccable science, engaging writing, and a talent for clear explanation honed over Treiman's distinguished career as a physicist and teacher, The Odd Quantum is a remarkable survey of a field that changed the course of modern scientific and philosophical thought.

About this title

About the Author

Sam Treiman (1925–1999) was the Higgins Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton University.

From the Back Cover

"Many books and articles have been written in which it is attempted to make the basic ideas of quantum physics available to a larger public. None of these is remotely as lucid as Treiman's book. His entertaining style, his mastery, as well as his love of the subject are manifest on nearly every page. It is superbly written."--Abraham Pais, Rockefeller University, author of A Tale of Two Continents and Subtle is the Lord: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein

"Sam Treiman brings to the general reader an enormous wisdom and depth of understanding accumulated over a distinguished career in particle physics. An outstanding book!"--A. Zee, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Fearful Symmetry and An Old Man's Toy

"Professor Treiman has achieved a pedagogical miracle. He jumps over the drudgery of standard introductory physcis courses and reaches the excitement of modern elementary particle physics by going directly to the quantum theory that describes this sub-microsopic world and its constituents."--Marvin L. Goldberger, University of California, San Diego

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691103003
• ISBN 13: 9780691103006
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272