Shaul Katzir;, Christoph Lehner;, Jürgen Renn (Editors). Traditions and Transformations in the History of Quantum Physics. (Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge, 5.) xi + 340 pp., illus., bibl. Berlin: Edition Open Access, 2013. €20.89 (paper).

Isis ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 214-215
Author(s):  
Christian Bracco
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Research Library ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Quantum Physics

Sources for History of Quantum Physics

Physics Today ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 85-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Kuhn ◽  
John L. Heilbron ◽  
Paul L. Forman ◽  
Lini Allen ◽  
R. Bruce Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Physics ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Seth
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Atomic Spectroscopy ◽  
Irreversible Processes ◽  
Wave Mechanics ◽  
Matrix Mechanics ◽  
Max Born ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
History Of Quantum Physics

This article discusses the history of quantum physics, beginning with an analysis of the process through which a community of quantum theorists and experimentalists came into being. In particular, it traces the roots and fruits of Max Planck’s papers in irreversible processes in nature. It proceeds by exploring the origin and subsequent development of Niels Bohr’s so-called ‘planetary model’ of the atom, focusing on the extension of the model by Arnold Sommerfeld and members of his school as well to Bohr’s use of his principles of correspondence and adiabatic invariance. It also considers the post-war years, as the problems of atomic spectroscopy sparked the development of new methodological approaches to quantum theory. Finally, it offers a history of the two distinct new forms of quantum mechanics put forward in the mid-1920s: Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan’s matrix mechanics, and Erwin Schrödinger’s wave mechanics.

Applying Mathematics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otávio Bueno ◽  
Steven French
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Explanatory Role ◽  
Mathematical Structures ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
History Of Quantum Physics ◽  
Available Information

What has been called ‘the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics’ sets a challenge for philosophers. Some have responded to that challenge by arguing that mathematics is essentially anthropocentric in character whereas others have pointed to the range of structures that mathematics offers. Here a middle way is offered that focuses on the moves that have to be made in both the mathematics and the relevant physics in order to bring the two into appropriate relation. This relation can be captured via the inferential conception of the applicability of mathematics which is formulated in terms of immersion inference and interpretation. In particular the roles of idealizations and of surplus structure in science and mathematics respectively are brought to the fore and captured via an approach to models and theories that emphasizes the partiality of the available information: the partial structures approach. The discussion as a whole is grounded in a number of case studies drawn from the history of quantum physics and extended to contest recent claims that the explanatory role of certain mathematical structures in scientific practice supports a realist attitude towards them. The overall conclusion is that the effectiveness of mathematics does not seem unreasonable at all once close attention is paid to how it is actually applied in practice.

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