The Meaning of Quantum Theory: A Guide for Students of Chemistry and Physics / Edition 1

by Jim Baggott

Overview

Why is quantum theory so difficult to understand? In this book, written for both undergraduate and graduate students of chemistry and physics, the author looks at the continuing debate about the meaning of quantum theory. The historical development of the theory is traced from the turn of the century through to the 1930s, and the famous debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. The book examines in detail the arguments that quantum theory is incomplete, as made by Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen; the development of Bell's theorem; and crucial experimental tests performed in the early 1980s. Alternative interpretations — pilot waves, quantum gravity, consciousness, and many worlds — are described in the closing chapter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198555759
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/21/1992
Series:	Oxford Science Publications Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	9.26(w) x 6.14(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

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Table of Contents

1. How Quantum Theory Was Discovered2. Putting It into Practice3. What Does It Mean? 4. Putting It to the Test5. What Are the Alternatives?

Editorial Reviews

For undergraduate and postgraduate students of chemistry and physics, the author poses, and comprehensibly responds to, five questions: Why is quantum theory necessary? How does it work? What does it mean? How can it be tested? What are the alternatives? Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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