an alternative approach to the understanding of quantum mechanics Longair, Malcolm 1941- creator author. text enk 2014 monographic eng

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xviii, 443 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm "Written for advanced undergraduates, physicists, and historians and philosophers of physics, this book tells the story of the development of our understanding of quantum phenomena through the extraordinary years of the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rather than following the standard axiomatic approach, this book adopts a historical perspective, explaining clearly and authoritatively how pioneers such as Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Pauli and Dirac developed the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and merged them into a coherent theory, and why the mathematical infrastructure of quantum mechanics has to be as complex as it is. The author creates a compelling narrative, providing a remarkable example of how physics and mathematics work in practice. The book encourages an enhanced appreciation of the interaction between mathematics, theory and experiment, helping the reader gain a deeper understanding of the development and content of quantum mechanics than any other text at this level"--Provided by publisher. Malcolm Longair, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Includes bibliographical references and index. Quantum theory History 530.12 LOQ 2014 9781107017092 (hardback) DLC 230508 20230508145619.0 81354 eng