The core content of even the most intricate intellectual edifices is
often a simple fact or idea. So is it with quantum mechanics; the
entire mathematical fabric of the formal description of quantum
mechanics stems essentially from the fact that quantum probabilities
interfere (i.e., from the superposition principle). This book is
dedicated to substantiating this claim. In the process, the book tries
to demonstrate how the factual content of quantum mechanics can be
transcribed in the formal language of vector spaces and linear
transformations by disentangling the empirical content from the usual
formal description. More importantly, it tries to bring out what this
transcription achieves. The book uses a pedagogic strategy which
reverse engineers the postulates of quantum mechanics to device a
schematic outline of the empirical content of quantum mechanics from
which the postulates are then reconstructed step by step. This
strategy is adopted to avoid the disconcerting details of actual
experiments (however simplified) to spare the beginner of issues that
lurk in the fragile foundations of the subject. In the Copenhagen
interpretation of quantum mechanics, the key idea is measurement. But
"measurement" carries an entirely different meaning from the
connotation that the term carries elsewhere in physics. This book
strives to underline this as strongly as possible. The book is
intended as an undergraduate text for a first course in quantum
mechanics. Since the book is self contained, it may also be used by
enthusiastic outsiders interested to get a glimpse of the core content
of the subject. Features: Demonstrates why linear algebra is the
appropriate mathematical language for quantum mechanics. Uses a
reconstructive approach to motivate the postulates of quantum
mechanics. Builds the vocabulary of quantum mechanics by showing how
the entire body of its conceptual ingredients can be constructed from
the single notion of quantum measurement.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781000415643
Publisert
2021
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
CRC Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter