Since its inception in the early part of the twentieth century, quantum physics has fascinated the academic world, its students, and even the general public. In fact, it is – or has become – a highly interdisciplinary eld. On a topic such as “the physicsof the atom” the disciplines of physics, philosophy,and history of science interconnect in a remarkable way, and to an extent that is revealed in this volume for the rst time. This compendium brings together some 90 researchers, who have authored approximately 185 articles on all aspects of quantum theory. The project is truly international and interdisciplinary because it is a compilation of contributions by historiansofscience,philosophers,andphysicists,all interestedinparticularaspects of quantum physics. A glance at the biographies at the end of the volume reveals author af liations in no fewer than twenty countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Indeed, the authors are not only international, they are also internationally renowned – with three Physics Nobel Prize laureates among them. The basic idea and motivationbehind the compendiumis indicatedin its subtitle, namely,to describe in concise and accessible form the essential conceptsand exp- iments as well as the history and philosophy of quantum physics. The length of the contributions variesaccording to the topic, and all texts are written by recognized experts in the respective elds.
From the reviews:
"This work is a collection of 185 articles written by 90 researchers in physics, philosophy, and history. ... Each article aims to include a clear definition of the term, a history of the terminology, and a small list of references. This is a useful compendium ... for persons involved in interdisciplinary work. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 47 (6), February, 2010)
"In diesem voluminösen Band behandeln Experten der experimentellen, theoretischen und mathematischen Physik ... Die einzelnen Artikel sind im Allgemeinen sehr instruktiv geschrieben ... Besonders die Autoren aus der Physik haben sich große Mühe gegeben, ihre Themen zugleich präzise und verständlich zusammenzufassen. ... Ein schöner ausführlicher Artikel aus erster Hand widmet sich dem inzwischen fast dreißigjährigen Quanten-Hall-Effekt. ... Insgesamt darf man freilich das vorliegende Kompendium der Quantenphysik, gerade wegen seiner interdisziplinären Zusammensetzung, als eine sehr nützliche Bereicherung der quantentheoretischen Literatur empfehlen." (Helmut Rechenberg, in: Physik Journal, April/2010, Vol. 9, Issue 4, S. 56 f.)
"This is a wonderful book to dip into. ... it begins with the Aharanov-Bohm effect, runs through the Born Rule and the Copenhagen Interpretation ... before ending with Zero-point Energy. ... Kaiser on Feynman Diagrams nicely brings all those elements together, as does Lyre on Gauge Symmetry. ... a book everyone interested in the history and philosophy of quantum physics should have on their desk or even at their bedside ... . it should be on hand electronically via your library's online access." (Steven French, Metascience, June, 2011)
"This work is a collection of 185 articles written by 90 researchers in physics, philosophy, and history. ... Each article aims to include a clear definition of the term, a history of the terminology, and a small list of references. This is a useful compendium ... for persons involved in interdisciplinary work. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 47 (6), February, 2010)
"In diesem voluminösen Band behandeln Experten der experimentellen, theoretischen und mathematischen Physik ... Die einzelnen Artikel sind im Allgemeinen sehr instruktiv geschrieben ... Besonders die Autoren aus der Physik haben sich große Mühe gegeben, ihre Themen zugleich präzise und verständlich zusammenzufassen. ... Ein schöner ausführlicher Artikel aus erster Hand widmet sich dem inzwischen fast dreißigjährigen Quanten-Hall-Effekt. ... Insgesamt darf man freilich das vorliegende Kompendium der Quantenphysik, gerade wegen seiner interdisziplinären Zusammensetzung, als eine sehr nützliche Bereicherung der quantentheoretischen Literatur empfehlen." (Helmut Rechenberg, in: Physik Journal, April/2010, Vol. 9, Issue 4, S. 56 f.)
"This is a wonderful book to dip into. ... it begins with the Aharanov-Bohm effect, runs through the Born Rule and the Copenhagen Interpretation ... before ending with Zero-point Energy. ... Kaiser on Feynman Diagrams nicely brings all those elements together, as does Lyre on Gauge Symmetry. ... a book everyone interested in the history and philosophy of quantum physics should have on their desk or even at their bedside ... . it should be on hand electronically via your library's online access." (Steven French, Metascience, June, 2011)
"From 'Aharonov-Bohm effect' through to 'zero point energy', this is a useful compendium of about 250 concepts, experimental facts, theoretical proposals, history, interpretations and philosophy. ... it covers a big field and can be well recommended." (K.-E. Hellwig, zbMATH 1318.81001, 2015)
"This is a wonderful book to dip into. ... it begins with the Aharanov-Bohm effect, runs through the Born Rule and the Copenhagen Interpretation ... before ending with Zero-point Energy. ... Kaiser on Feynman Diagrams nicely brings all those elements together, as does Lyre on Gauge Symmetry. ... a book everyone interested in the history and philosophy of quantum physics should have on their desk or even at their bedside ... . it should be on hand electronically via your library's online access." (Steven French, Metascience, June, 2011)
"This work is a collection of 185 articles written by 90 researchers in physics, philosophy, and history. ... Each article aims to include a clear definition of the term, a history of the terminology, and a small list of references. This is a useful compendium ... for persons involved in interdisciplinary work. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 47 (6), February, 2010)
"In diesem voluminösen Band behandeln Experten der experimentellen, theoretischen und mathematischen Physik ... Die einzelnen Artikel sind im Allgemei
nen sehr instruktiv geschrieben ... Besonders die Autoren aus der Physik haben sich große Mühe gegeben, ihre Themen zugleich präzise und verständlich zusammenzufassen. ... Ein schöner ausführlicher Artikel aus erster Hand widmet sich dem inzwischen fast dreißigjährigen Quanten-Hall-Effekt. ... Insgesamt darf man freilich das vorliegende Kompendium der Quantenphysik, gerade wegen seiner interdisziplinären Zusammensetzung, als eine sehr nützliche Bereicherung der quantentheoretischen Literatur empfehlen." (Helmut Rechenberg, in: Physik Journal, April/2010, Vol. 9, Issue 4, S. 56 f.)
"This is a wonderful book to dip into. ... it begins with the Aharanov-Bohm effect, runs through the Born Rule and the Copenhagen Interpretation ... before ending with Zero-point Energy. ... Kaiser on Feynman Diagrams nicely brings all those elements together, as does Lyre on Gauge Symmetry. ... a book everyone interested in the history and philosophy of quantum physics should have on their desk or even at their bedside ... . it should be on hand electronically via your library's online access." (Steven French, Metascience, June, 2011)
"This work is a collection of 185 articles written by 90 researchers in physics, philosophy, and history. ... Each article aims to include a clear definition of the term, a history of the terminology, and a small list of references. This is a useful compendium ... for persons involved in interdisciplinary work. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (E. Kincanon, Choice, Vol. 47 (6), February, 2010)
"In diesem voluminösen Band behandeln Experten der experimentellen, theoretischen und mathematischen Physik ... Die einzelnen Artikel sind im Allgemei
nen sehr instruktiv geschrieben ... Besonders die Autoren aus der Physik haben sich große Mühe gegeben, ihre Themen zugleich präzise und verständlich zusammenzufassen. ... Ein schöner ausführlicher Artikel aus erster Hand widmet sich dem inzwischen fast dreißigjährigen Quanten-Hall-Effekt. ... Insgesamt darf man freilich das vorliegende Kompendium der Quantenphysik, gerade wegen seiner interdisziplinären Zusammensetzung, als eine sehr nützliche Bereicherung der quantentheoretischen Literatur empfehlen." (Helmut Rechenberg, in: Physik Journal, April/2010, Vol. 9, Issue 4, S. 56 f.)