How to Understand Quantum Mechanics presents an accessible introduction to understanding quantum mechanics in a natural and intuitive way, which was advocated by Erwin Schroedinger and Albert Einstein. A theoretical physicist reveals dozens of easy tricks that avoid long calculations, makes complicated things simple, and bypasses the worthless anguish of famous scientists who died in angst. The author's approach is light-hearted, and the book is written to be read without equations, however all relevant equations still appear with explanations as to what they mean. The book entertainingly rejects quantum disinformation, the MKS unit system (obsolete), pompous non-explanations, pompous people, the hoax of the 'uncertainty principle' (it is just a math relation), and the accumulated junk-DNA that got into the quantum operating system by misreporting it. The order of presentation is new and also unique by warning about traps to be avoided, while separating topics such as quantum probability to let the Schroedinger equation be appreciated in the simplest way on its own terms. This is also the first book on quantum theory that is not based on arbitrary and confusing axioms or foundation principles. The author is so unprincipled he shows where obsolete principles duplicated basic math facts, became redundant, and sometimes were just pawns in academic turf wars. The book has many original topics not found elsewhere, and completely researched references to original historical sources and anecdotes concerting the unrecognized scientists who actually did discover things, did not all get Nobel prizes, and yet had interesting productive lives.
Author(s): John P. Ralston
Series: IOP Concise Physics
Edition: 1
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 222
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page ª
Dedication Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Author Biography
1 The continuum Universe
1.0.1 A cubic meter of space
1.0.2 The downside of successful advertising
1.0.3 The wrong use of x ⃗
1.0.4 The enemies of understanding
1.1 The right use of x ⃗: describing a continuum
1.1.1 The wave function describes the state
1.1.2 FIAQ
References
2 Everything is a wave
2.1 Waves in what medium: waves made of what stuff?
2.2 Evidence for waves
2.2.1 Do this experiment
2.2.2 La tache de Poisson, also called Arago’s spot
2.2.3 Most photon waves are much larger than most atoms
2.3 Early clues to the size and nature of atoms
2.3.1 How to use the size of an atom
2.3.2 The aether came back!
2.3.3 FIAQ
References
3 There is no classical theory of matter
3.1 Earnshaw’s no go theorem
3.1.1 Waves have no particular shape, unless they do
3.1.2 Complex waves
3.1.3 Wave numbers, wave vectors, plane waves
3.1.4 Photons and other waves are never localized at points
3.2 Fundamental constants without the kilogram
3.2.1 Mass ratios
3.2.2 The identity of energy and frequency
3.2.3 FIAQ
References
4 Matter waves
4.1 Your quantum governmental representative
4.2 A quantum device
4.3 Electricity is a quantum effect
4.4 The continuity equation
4.5 FIAQ
References
5 More quantumy experiments
5.1 The Franck–Hertz particle accelerator
5.2 The Davisson–Germer demonstration experiment
5.2.1 Matter waves tend to be small
5.3 The free space Schrödinger equation
5.3.1 Interpreting the sign of the frequency
5.3.2 The memorized substitution rules
5.3.3 Don’t add the wave functions of two electrons
5.3.4 FIAQ
References
6 Atoms are musical instruments
6.1 The quantum clues you never knew
6.1.1 Atomic spectra
6.1.2 The unknown history
6.1.3 The sound of every tune and no particular tune all at once
6.1.4 The quantum current
6.1.5 Light has the beat
6.2 The Schrödinger equation
6.2.1 The artful mutilation of a theory
6.2.2 What interaction function?
6.2.3 FIAQ
References
7.0.1 A general ansatz
7.0.2 The silver bullet: one rule to solve them all
7 Waves with known solutions
7.1 The Schrödinger equation
7.1.1 Expanding in complete orthonormal sets
7.1.2 What eigenvectors mean
7.1.3 The dogmatic eigenvalue equation
7.1.4 The time evolution operator
7.2 Solved models
7.2.1 Fundamental constants from hydrogen
7.2.2 Lessons from hydrogen
7.2.3 More about spherically symmetric systems
Reference
8 Observables
8.1 Collective position, velocity, and momentum: tropical storms
8.1.1 Collective velocity
8.1.2 A concept error about momentum
8.1.3 Velocity second moment
8.1.4 Collective position
8.1.5 The expected classical limit that failed
8.2 The general definition of observables
8.2.1 Collective wave momentum
8.2.2 Constants of the motion
8.2.3 Observability of the wave function
8.2.4 The uncertainty relation: never say ‘principle’!
8.3 Logjam restrictions on observabies
8.3.1 FIAQ
References
9 More ways to describe waves
9.1 More than one description
9.1.1 Two ways to add waves
9.1.2 Superposition is not a quantum effect
9.1.3 The eigenstate expansion of observabies
9.1.4 Heisenberg picture
9.1.5 Comparing waves
9.1.6 The Born rule of quantum probability
9.1.7 Avoid bunk about disturbance of measurements
Reference
10 Entanglement
10.1 Sums of products are generic
10.1.1 The two wave electron–proton atom
10.2 Promoting operators, and other notation issues
10.2.1 The quantum interferometer
10.3 The Stern–Gerlach experiment
10.3.1 The relation of polarization and spin
10.3.2 Polarization observables
10.3.3 Many observables cannot be expressed with wave functions
10.3.4 Mott’s particle detector and decoherence
10.4 Bell inequalities, EPR, and all that
10.4.1 A long and dirty turf war
10.4.2 The EPR allegory
10.4.3 Bell physics
10.4.4 Quantum probability is not defined by distributions
10.4.5 Something weird
10.5 Chapter summary
10.6 Suggested reading
References
