Quantum Theory, together with the principles of special and general relativity, constitute a scientific revolution that has profoundly influenced the way in which we think about the universe and the fundamental forces that govern it. The Historical Development of Quantum Theory is a definitive historical study of that scientific work and the human struggles that accompanied it from the beginning. Drawing upon such materials as the resources of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics, the Niels Bohr Archives, and the archives and scientific correspondence of the principal quantum physicists, as well as Jagdish Mehra's personal discussions over many years with most of the architects of quantum theory, the authors have written a rigorous scientific history of quantum theory in a deeply human context. This multivolume work presents a rich account of an intellectual triumph: a unique analysis of the creative scientific process. The Historical Development of Quantum Theory is science, history, and biography, all wrapped in the story of a great human enterprise. Its lessons will be an aid to those working in the sciences and humanities alike.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Contents Part 1. - General Introduction. - From the Bohr-Sommerfeld Theory to Quantum Mechanics. - The Göttingen Matrix Mechanics and Its Extensions. - Status of Quantum Mechanics in Early 1926. - Schrödinger s Work in Physics Prior to 1926. - Schrödinger s Personality and Method of Work. - Schrödinger and Wave Mechanics. - of this Volume. - I Schrödinger in Vienna (1887 1920). - 1. 1 The Viennese Background. - 1. 2 The Young Erwin Schrödinger, His Youth and Study at the University of Vienna. - 1. 3 The Early Scientific Work of Erwin Schrödinger. - 1. 4 From Brilliant Pre-War to Dark War Days. - 1. 5 Schrödinger s Scientific Work in World War I. - II Waves and Quanta: Preludes to Wave Mechanics. - II. 1 The Dual Nature of Light. - II. 2 The Side-Stages of the Development in Quantum Theory. - II. 3 A Newcomer to Zurich: Erwin Schrödinger. - II. 4 Atomic Structure and Physiological Optics: General Research. - II. 5 Problems and Extensions of Statistical Mechanics.
