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    Quantum Mechanics, Concise Book

    (github.com)
    81 points pykello | 15 comments | 05 Sep 25 22:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.848s | source | bottom
    1. pkoird ◴[06 Sep 25 03:47 UTC] No.45146435[source]▶
    Nice effort. As far as textbooks for QM, Electrodynamics, and any sufficiently complex field of study goes, I always feel that these have been written using abstractions that people have developed much later retroactively. I understand the advantages: it makes the entire content concise, structured, and basically straightforward. However, what I crave is a technical book that is based upon the history of the subject. Something that doesn't start immediately with Hilbert spaces but starts off by talking about why Max Plank did what he did, how did Einstein improve upon it, what mistakes were made, what misguided hypothesis were later corrected in what manner, how were different things then unified... you get the point. I think this narrative based approach would motivate me much better than something that's condensed and distilled.
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    2. LordGrignard ◴[06 Sep 25 04:00 UTC] No.45146488[source]▶
    I think the book called "Quantum mechanics" by max Planck and Neil bohr is quite similar to what you need. And atleast in my country it's available for less than 2.5$ usd converted so it's pretty damn cheap However of course I think you'd be able to find an ebook about it too Just include max Planck and neil bohr as the authors lol.
    3. abdullahkhalids ◴[06 Sep 25 04:23 UTC] No.45146592[source]▶
    Most Physics undergraduate programs have a course on Modern Physics, which is often taught in the way you are asking for. Though only up to the origins of quantum mechanics. This textbook, for example does this [1].

    The problem is that after the basics of QM, there were literally hundreds of papers by dozens of important scientists developing the subsequent theory. And you can no longer teach the subject in a linear historical fashion.

    [1] https://www.cengage.com/c/modern-physics-3e-serway-moses-moy...

    4. chamomeal ◴[06 Sep 25 05:21 UTC] No.45146824[source]▶
    The book “quantum” was a great read. Doesn’t really delve into any theories, but covers the general story of the physicists on the eve of QM
    replies(1): >>45147095 #
    5. superposeur ◴[06 Sep 25 05:32 UTC] No.45146872[source]▶
    The introduction to Vol 1 of Weinberg’s Quantum Theory of Fields does this really well, albeit briefly. It feels like getting an “insider’s view” of the historical developments.
    6. alok-g ◴[06 Sep 25 06:26 UTC] No.45147095[source]▶
    Hi. Could you please name the author. Is it this one? https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Einstein-Debate-Nature-Realit... Thanks.
    replies(3): >>45147644 #>>45148169 #>>45164162 #
    7. FilosofumRex ◴[06 Sep 25 08:42 UTC] No.45147644{3}[source]▶
    That's not a book about QM but about "philosophy" of how QM is interpreted. Even if you master every word in it, you won't be able to do any real QM.

    Besides, Einstein is just about the worst physicist to learn from on QM

    8. lewtun ◴[06 Sep 25 09:47 UTC] No.45147923[source]▶
    “QED and the Men Who Made It” [1] might be close to what you’re after for quantum theory at least. Unlike other popular accounts, it gets quite technical and covers a lot of the historical dead ends that people had during the development of quantum field theory.

    [1] https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691033273/qe...

    9. griffzhowl ◴[06 Sep 25 09:48 UTC] No.45147928[source]▶
    Weinberg's Lectures on Quantum Mechanics has an illuminating historical introduction for its first chapter. The introduction to his Quantum Theory of Fields is more specifically about quantum field theory, fittingly, and focuses on later developments.

    If you want something that's more focused throughout on the historical progression, a classic book is Jammer's Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics, but it assumes you're already familiar with quantum and statistical mechanics.

    If you like videos, the physicist Jorge Diaz has excellent videos accessibly detailing the experimental and theoretical history https://www.youtube.com/@jkzero/playlists

    10. ilitirit ◴[06 Sep 25 10:17 UTC] No.45148064[source]▶
    I would recommend watching Curt Jaimungal's series of talks with Jacob Barandes. He gives a nice background history of various aspects of QM, including the formulation of Matrix and Wave mechanics (and loads of other ideas). Barandes is excellent at clearly articulating complex ideas in very simple, concise terms. He also has his own formulation of QM based on "Indivisible non-Markovian Stochastic Processes". Even if you disagree with his ideas, the interviews are quite fascinating.

    In this interview he goes over pretty much exactly what you mentioned (and a lot more):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oWip00iXbo

    11. farrelle25 ◴[06 Sep 25 10:44 UTC] No.45148169{3}[source]▶
    Yes - I think that's the one the OP recommended. Great read. Gives a superb historical overview and the reader can follow the twists-and-turns of discovery. You get to 'know' the scientists as they battled the Quantum. Sets the scene before delving into other books that teach the actual Math etc.
    12. txrx0000 ◴[06 Sep 25 11:31 UTC] No.45148364[source]▶
    Indeed. I want to see how it was derived historically along with the experiments that validated each step of the way.
    13. kgwgk ◴[06 Sep 25 18:36 UTC] No.45151771[source]▶
    This one is not exactly a “textbook” but it is more advanced and technical than most “popular science” books and follows a historical presentation:

    https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-quantum-cookbook...

    The Quantum Cookbook

    Mathematical Recipes for the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

    Jim Baggott

    1:Planck's Derivation of E = hn: The Quantisation of Energy

    2:Einstein's Derivation of E = mc2: The Equivalence of Mass and Energy

    3:Bohr's Derivation of the Rydberg Formula: Quantum Numbers and Quantum Jumps

    4:De Broglie's Derivation of / = h/p: Wave-particle Duality

    5:Schrödinger's Derivation of the Wave Equation: Quantisation as an Eigenvalue Problem

    6:Born's Interpretation of the Wavefunction: Quantum Probability

    7:Heisenberg, Bohr, Robertson, and the Uncertainty Principle : The Interpretation of Quantum Uncertainty

    8:Heisenberg's Derivation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle: The Stability of Matter and the Periodic Table

    9:Dirac's Derivation of the Relativistic Wave Equation: Electron Spin and Antimatter

    10:Dirac, Von Neumann, and the Derivation of the Quantum Formalism: State Vectors in Hilbert Space

    11:Von Neumann and the Problem of Quantum Measurement: The 'Collapse of the Wavefunction'

    12:Einstein, Bohm, Bell, and the Derivation of Bell's Inequality: Entanglement and Quantum Non-locality

    14. CamperBob2 ◴[06 Sep 25 22:27 UTC] No.45153477[source]▶
    However, what I crave is a technical book that is based upon the history of the subject

    Not a book per se, but if interested in videos, run, don't walk to check out Jorge Diaz's channel (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCJl3-pHGuU for example). It is just what you're asking for.

    Another underrated channel for historical chemistry/physics fans: Marb's Lab at https://www.youtube.com/@Marbslab

    15. chamomeal ◴[08 Sep 25 02:26 UTC] No.45164162{3}[source]▶
    Sorry yep that's it! Read it after I'd already taken QM in undergrad, and honestly it made the topic 10x more interesting.