Book Description
Graduate students in both theoretical and experimental physics will find this third edition of Intermediate Quantum Mechanics, refined and updated in 1986, indispensable. The first part of the book deals with the theory of atomic structure, while the second and third parts deal with the relativistic wave equations and introduction to field theory. Throughout its nearly thirty-five years in print, Intermediate Quantum Mechanics has consistently offered more complete coverage of applications of quantum mechanics than any other single-volume work on the subject.
Customer Reviews:
very good.......2004-03-03
This is a very useful book, but only for someone with a solid grasp of QM at the undergrad level. The only problem is the terrible type in which the equations are set. Why Addison-Wesley released a new edition without fixing this is beyond me.
(profit, perhaps? No, never on a scholarly textbook.)
A good overview.......2003-01-31
That quantum mechanics must be understood by anyone working in any area of technology is now well accepted. Indeed, semiconductor device physics, proteomics, and computational chemistry are just three of the more modern areas where a through knowledge of quantum mechanics is needed in order to make any kind of significant progress. This book, written by two of the major players in the development of quantum mechanics in the 20th century, is an excellent overview of how to do practical computations in quantum mechanics. The book is addressed primarily to the aspiring atomic physicist and spectroscopist, but it could serve well anyone interested in the applications of quantum mechanics, such as those in the aforementioned fields. Due to space limitations, I will only review the first 8 chapters of the book.
Chapter 1 is a brief overview of elementary quantum mechanics, and the authors set down the notation and units to be followed in the book. They state the main goal of the book, which is to solve the Schrodinger equation for an atom with nuclear charge Ze. This problem for one-electron is straightforwardly solved, but for more than one electron approximation techniques must be used, a few of which they mention. Since spin will have to be dealt with throughout the book, the authors include a description of spin 1/2 particles.
In chapter 2 the authors discuss the use of symmetry principles in quantum many-particle systems, pointing out the origin of exchange degeneracy and the Pauli exclusion principle. The authors also give an interesting discussion of the experimental determination of symmetry, particularly their argument for the absence of hidden variables.
In chapter 3 the authors give an overview of the quantum mechanics of two-electron atoms, pointing out that the calculations give six-figure agreement between theory and experiment. Perturbation and variational methods are used to solve the Schrodinger equation for this system, and show the origin of the triplet and singlet levels for the helium atom.
In chapter 4, the authors introduce another approximation technique, the self-consistent field or "Hartree-Fock" method, in order to calculate the excited states for the two-electron atom more efficiently. This approach involves using a variational trial function, called the determinantal wave function, as an ansatz, which because of orthogonality and parity considerations, results in a set of equations, called the Hartree-Fock equations, for the single electron orbitals. The "exchange term" in these equations is discussed in detail, involving a notion of a "nonlocal" potential. The physical significance of the eigenvalue in these equations is also discussed, and related to the famous Koopman theorem. It is proven also that atoms with closed shells leads to a spherically symmetric theory. The periodic table is shown to be a consequence of the Pauli principle and the Hartree-Fock calculation.
An improvement to Hartree-Fock, the Thomas-Fermi method, which does not include exchange, is discussed in chapter 5. Classified as a "statistical method", this method finds the effective potential energy experienced by a small test charge, along with the electron density around the nucleus. The authors show how exchange effects can be included using a procedure due to P.A.M. Dirac, which uses a concept of effective exchange potential, and one due to W. Lenz, which is a constrained optimization procedure, requiring that the total energy be stationary.
In order to remove the degeneracy in the atomic shells due to the Hartree-Fock approximation, the authors view it as a perturbation expansion in chapter 6, with the unperturbed Hamiltonian being the Hartree-Fock central field Hamiltonian, and the perturbation being the electrostatic interaction of the electrons minus a suitable average of it. The search for proper linear combinations of zero-order degenerate eigenfunctions to make the total Hamiltonian diagonal entails the use of the total orbital and spim angular momentum of all the electrons in the atom. Hence the authors outline in detail how to perform the addition of angular momenta in this chapter. The reader can see clearly the origin of the famous Clebsch-Gordon coefficients. This program is carried out in more detail in chapter 7, wherein the authors considers and atom which has an electron configuration distributed over several complete and one incomplete shell. The incomplete shell gives several different degenerate solutions, and this degeneracy can be removed by the assignment of angular momentum and spin quantum numbers to the orbitals in the shell. This chapter is characterized by a considerable amount of arithmetic in computing matrix elements, which can readily be handled by modern symbolic computation packages.
The contribution of the spin-orbit interaction to the level structure of atoms, ignored in the previous two chapters, is studied in chapter 8. The authors also consider the interaction of the electron configuration with an external field, such as a magnetic field. The spin-orbit interaction is not considered in a relativistic framework, but instead is given a "pseudo-derivation", in the words of the authors. The (correct) Dirac theory for spin-orbit interaction is given later in chapter 22. And here again, the matrix elements, and reduced matrix elements, considered in this chapter can best be handled by symbolic computation packages. This is particularly true for matrix elements of vector operators between states of different angular momentum, which the authors shy away from. The reader though can see the origin of the famous Wigner-Eckart theorem in the context of these computations. The Zeeman effect, resulting from the interaction of an electron with a homogeneous magnetic field, is discussed, along with the Paschen-Back effect, which results from the external magnetic field being strong enough to allow the Zeeman term in the Hamiltonian to dominate the spin-orbit interaction. Also discussed is the Stark effect, which results when an atom is placed in an external electric field. The authors show how to compute the energy shifts in this case, using, but not proving, some formulas due to Condon and Shortly.
Learn to apply your quantum mechanics.......1998-08-19
The "Intermediate" of the title means that you are supposed to have learned your basic QM in a book such as Griffiths' "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" . Bethe's text then leads you to those parts of QM most successful in applications, especially in atomic structure. The treatment of perturbation theory is very clean, simple and effective. The semi-classical theory of radiation is excellently described and then, in perhaps the best part of the book, is used to review Einstein's derivation of Planck's equilibrium distribution of radiation, explaining the need for spontaneous emmission and motivating the treatment of quantum electrodynamics, outlined at the end of the text. This is a great book. What else could one expect from Hans Bethe, the man who discovered how the Sun produces its energy?
Book Description
"A masterly assessment of the way the idea of quanta of radiation became part of 20th-century physics. . . . The book not only deals with a topic of importance and interest to all scientists, but is also a polished literary work, described (accurately) by one of its original reviewers as a scientific detective story."—John Gribbin, New Scientist
"Every scientist should have this book."—Paul Davies, New Scientist
Customer Reviews:
An extremely challenging book.......2005-08-24
Anyone who has learned quantum mechanics has been told, in a general way, what Planck did and how it fits into the history of quantum physics. Kuhn shows that Planck thought about his goals and his results very differently than do textbook writers today.
Warning! This is a very tough read:
- You will not get much out of this book unless you are able and willing to follow detailed arguments in thermodynamics and statistical physics, in fairly gory mathematical detail. Quantum history-lite this isn't!
- You will also not get much out of this book unless you are willing to relax about the "right" way of thinking about thermodynamics and quantum theory. However YOU may think about it, Planck thought about it differently -- and Kuhn attempts to follow his thought, zigging & zagging as he did. If you're not willing to follow along closely and attentively for the ride, you will miss the story.
The payoff from reading this book is a more vivid understanding and appreciation for how very very differently we think about physics than the way it physicists saw it 100 years ago.
All you wanted to know about q.m. but were afraid to ask.......2001-10-01
The solution to the blackbody radiation problem is often quoted in Physics books as the formal bridge between the classic and quantum world viewpoints. However, as Kuhn points out, the full solution and not just the answer is nowhere else to be found.
Well beyond the satisfaction that reading this book should present to any serious Quantum Physics related student it is an absoulte requirement in the History of Physics.
Yes, the mathematical arguments get quite dense and most are not trivial. However, little is needed beyond basic calculus, statiscal mechanics and thermodynamics. View this as an excellent excuse to get going in those areas.
If every time you hear something about the beginnings of q.m. something stirs in your guts telling you that something is not quite right about the story you're being fed, that the full story isn't being told, then who could be better than Kuhn to show you that you were after right, after all?
How the Quantum came to be.......2000-06-29
Excellent book, as Kuhn's usually are, on the origin of quantum theory. "Everyone" knows Planck arrived at the quantum by studying black-body radiation, but what you are never told is *why* he was doing that! Kuhn reaches back as to why Planck was, and has an interesting story to tell for it (the question of thermodynamic irreversability vs reversability in classical mechanics). Another major part of Kuhn's tale is that even after he arrived at his quantum hypothesis, Planck still saw it as a direct extension of classical physics. It was others, mainly Einstein, who realized the revolutionary nature of the quantum (and who ran with the idea), and physicists like Planck had to conceptually play catch up in the quantum revolution in the first decade of the 20th century. One serious WARNING: while interesting and well written, the book has some very technical parts, requiring at least intermediate college physics. While not flooded with equations, Kuhn freely gets into thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (entropy, free energy, H-theorem,...) in explaining the core of Planck's early work. The reader should be prepared for some technical physics on the journey!
Book Description
The first comprehensive treatment of quantum physics to appear in any language, this classic introduction to the basic theory is still highly recommended and still in wide use today as both a text and a reference. 37 figures. 13 tables. Introduction. List of references. Bibliography.
Customer Reviews:
Learnable QED & THE bremsstrahlung treatment........2000-04-26
To be honest, I am trying to learn formal QED, and this text is 'feeding' well. Heitler comes up with the goods..you feel you have actually covered some topic-(rather than some 'lite' or cryptic version). Having said that modern criticisms would be the usage of 'old' vector operations notation (minor taste criticism-you get used to the use of '[ , ]' for vector products for example); and also omission of 'Feynman diagrams'. However the additional material (to the 1934 edition) published in this reprinted 1954 edition gives reference to Feynman and Schwingers work prior to this date.
For THE treatment of quantum bremsstrahlung theory (first approximation), here is the most oft quoted reference (with maybe an option on Kramers 1923 'Bohrian' quantum paper)and arguably the most relevant. A must if only for this. Like most books written around this time in Dovers catalogue, it is well written, readable, and precise in the analysis- skipping math steps where truly reasonable. A gold mine for those of us trying to get to grips with the subject of the title.
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Einstein's "Other" Theory: The Planck-Bose-Einstein Theory of Heat Capacity
Donald W. Rogers
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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ASIN: 0691118264 |
Book Description
Einstein's theories of relativity piqued public curiosity more than any other mathematical concepts since the time of Isaac Newton. Scientists and non-scientists alike struggled, not so much to grasp as to believe the weird predictions of relativity theory--shrinking space ships, bending light beams, and the like. People all over the world watched with fascination as Einstein's predictions were relentlessly and unequivocally verified by a hundred experiments and astronomical observations.
In the last decade of the twentieth-century, another of Einstein's theories has produced results that are every bit as startling as the space-time contractions of relativity theory. This book addresses his other great theory, that of heat capacity and the Bose-Einstein condensate. In doing so, it traces the history of radiation and heat capacity theory from the mid-19th century to the present. It describes early attempts to understand heat and light radiation and proceeds through the theory of the heat capacity of solids. It arrives at the theory of superconductivity and superfluidity--the astonishing property of some liquids to crawl spontaneously up and out of their containers, and the ability of some gases to cause light to pause and take a moment's rest from its inexorable flight forward in time. Couched in the terminology of traditional physical chemistry, this book is accessible to chemists, engineers, materials scientists, mathematicians, mathematical biologists, indeed to anyone with a command of first-year calculus. In course work, it is a collateral text to third semester or advanced physical chemistry, introductory statistical mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, or introductory quantum chemistry. The book connects with mainstream physical chemistry by treating boson and fermion influences in molecular spectroscopy, statistical thermodynamics, molecular energetics, entropy, heat capacities (especially of metals), superconductivity, and superfluidity.
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Radiation from Relativistic Electrons (American Institute of Physics Translation Series)
A. A. Sokolov , and
I. M. Ternov
Manufacturer: AIP Press
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ASIN: 0883185075 |
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Interaction of Photons and Neutrons With Matter: An Introduction
Sow-Hsin Chen , and
Michael Kotlarchyk
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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ASIN: 981022026X |
Book Description
This book is based on lecture notes developed for a one-semester graduate course entitled "The Interaction of Radiation with Matter", taught in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The main objective of the course is to teach enough quantum and classical radiation theory to allow students in engineering and the applied sciences to understand and have access to the vast literature on applications of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation in materials research. Besides presenting the fundamental physics of radiation interactions, the book devotes individual chapters to some of the important modern-day experimental tools, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, photon correlation spectroscopy, and the various types of neutron, x-ray and light-scattering techniques.
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Advances in Quantum Chemistry, Volume 52: Theory of the Interaction of Radiation with Biomolecules (Advances in Quantum Chemistry)
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0120348527 |
Book Description
Advances in Quantum Chemistry presents surveys of current developments in this rapidly developing field that falls between the historically established areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. With invited reviews written by leading international researchers, each presenting new results, it provides a single vehicle for following progress in this interdisciplinary area.
* publishes articles, invited reviews and proceedings of major international conferences and workshops
* written by leading international researchers in quantum and theoretical chemistry
* highlights important interdisciplinary developments
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Cooperative Effects in Matter and Radiation
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0306310783 |
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Crystal Channeling and Its Application at High-Energy Accelerators (Accelerator Physics)
Valery M. Biryukov ,
Yuri A. Chesnokov , and
Vladilen I. Kotov
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 3540607692 |
Book Description
This monograph describes the basic physics of high-energy crystal channeling and introduces the nonspecialist to the application of bent-crystals at accelerators. It covers topics such as charged particle channeling in straight and bent crystals, particle trapping into the channeling mode, the effects of crystal lattice distortions, and computer simulations. It also deals with crystal bending methods and discusses experimental schemes and theoretical results. Particular consideration is given to the projects for crystal use at future large hadron colliders. The topics are treated in a textbook style with many figures. The book addresses students as well as the working physicists in high-energy physics laboratories.
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Perfect Match: A Novel
Jodi Picoult
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
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Binding: Paperback
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Salem Falls
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Second Glance : A Novel
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Harvesting the Heart: A Novel
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Picture Perfect
ASIN: 0743418735 |
Book Description
What does it mean to be a good mother?
How far would you go in the name of love -- and justice?
Perfect Match
In the course of her everyday work, career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost prosecutes child molesters and works determinedly to ensure that a legal system with too many loopholes keeps these criminals behind bars. But when her own five-year-old son, Nathaniel, is traumatized by a sexual assault, Nina and her husband, Caleb, a quiet and methodical stone mason, are shattered, ripped apart by an enraging sense of helplessness in the face of a futile justice system that Nina knows all too well. In a heartbeat, Nina's absolute truths and convictions are turned upside down, and she hurtles toward a plan to exact her own justice for her son -- no matter the consequence, whatever the sacrifice.
Download Description
"Career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost knows the guilt familiar to all parents torn by the demands of home and office. But whereas most parents imagine the dangers that can befall their children, Nina witnesses them firsthand. She prosecutes child molesters -- and she has seen too many criminals slip through the system and walk free. Nina's husband, Caleb, is a stonemason, a methodical man who glories in his ability to construct physical barriers. But even the strongest walls cannot guard Nina and Caleb from the shattering discovery that their own beloved son has been sexually abused. Five-year-old Nathaniel is the only one who knows the identity of his assailant -- but the trauma has left him mute. Knowing the futility of trusting the courts to exact justice for Nathaniel, Nina finds herself in a grip of rage she can't deny -- no matter the consequence, whatever the sacrifice. What does it take to be a good mother? How far can a person go?
Customer Reviews:
Good and bad. .......2007-09-21
I read reviews of the book here before I started it, so in the back of my mind I had the negative comments swimming around. I don't know if that affected how I felt about the story personally, but I do agree with the consensus that Nina is very hard to like as a protagonist and the outcome of her trial is more than a little ridiculous.
One thing that bothered me was the stereotype of the Louisiana characters. I am a native of south Louisiana, from a town about 20 miles south of New Orleans. I am familiar with Belle Chasse and it is not a redneck city - people one might stereotypically consider a redneck are found more in north Louisiana. Sorry, but it's true. Her description of the 'my neck is red' deputy annoyed me so much because it's inaccurate for the southern city she I guess randomly decided to pick. I mean, come on, even a bayou stereotype would have been closer to the truth. It was a tired stereotype, and an incorrect one at that. Ms. Picoult is from the north, and so while I wouldn't expect her to be an expert on the different accents and cultures you find in the south, I also wouldn't expect her to just assume she knows. OK, I'm done with my rant about that.
Overall, Picoult knows how to write a page-turner - but she probably could have done it in a lot less pages. Then at least some of those who felt let down by the ending would have wasted a little less time.
Don't Waste Your Time.......2007-09-07
This book is probably the worst I have read in several years. The characters are unappealing and the child (Nathaniel) is unbelievable. In fact, I'm really not sure how this book was approved for publication.
There are two major flaws in Perfect Match. The first is the underlying "morality" of killing someone in retaliation for harming one's child and knowing that as a lawyer you have a good chance of finding a way to get away with it. It doesn't matter if the alleged (and this is a key word here) molester is guilty or not; it is enough that one thinks he is. Nowhere in the book does the author make her protagonist truly sorry for what she did. Evidently the end justifies the means and it's icing on the cake if you happen to get away without punishment.
The second major flaw is the character of Nathaniel. It's evident that the author has no clue regarding the mental and emotional capabilities of a five-year-old child. If she is too lazy to really research this area indepth before writing another novel that includes a child, she should stick to adult characters. It did not appear that the author consulted any type of child development journals or books before developing the character of Nathaniel. Consequently, the character is unbelievable.
I'll give the author one star, but only because she is able to string words together to make a coherent sentence. Evidently she listened in Junior High English Comp class. However, that's as far as her abilities extend in this book. I wouldn't pay a dime for it and if someone wants to loan it to you you'd do better to spend your time on something far more deserving.
Got under my skin a little..........2007-08-22
I've been reading all of Picoult's books because I loved "Nineteen Minutes" so much, and I wanted to see what else she'd written. But the more I'm reading, the more I'm starting to see a common pattern: a speech about DNA, a tall black person which readers are constantly reminded is black but the race of the other characters are barely mentioned if at all, someone who answers questions by saying "Ayuh," and a trial. I like when writers leave their signature marks although I'm not too crazy about the CONSTANT need to bring up the black folks in her book as if we need the post-it every once in awhile, and for the life of me, I don't understand how the lone black folks in predominantly white towns manage to be so behind the scenes. I've been in small, white towns before and a brotha or a sista sticks out like an eagle, so how there are characters who manage to do hidden research and nobody knows who they are or where they are is so far-fetched to me.
But that's not what got me. This book rubbed me the wrong way for several other reasons. #1 I couldn't sympathize with the main character, especially when the DNA situation was resolved. #2 If I were on the jury and the ending hadn't been the way it did, I'd have voted the EXACT opposite of the final verdict! When I heard the results, I rolled my eyes and curled my lip. #3 Picoult has a habit of trying to talk like a child in those scenes with kids, but then going into too much grown-up vocabulary. There's a scene when Nathaniel is talking about a bird, but instead of just calling it a bird, he calls it the proper name for it. That's tedious, but it seemed a little odd to me considering his vocabulary throughout the rest of the book. Also, I wondered how Nathaniel immediately knew the bailiff was not a police officer considering the demeanor of both. To an adult, this would be fair, but to a five-year-old, it seemed too mature. #4 Throughout the whole book and as many times as the topic of the rape was brought up, I don't recall ONE scene where either of the parents, the babysitters, and even the psychiatrist told the boy it wasn't his fault. That was really aggravating me, especially when he vocally said he did something bad. I really wanted someone to sit down and talk to him and tell him he did nothing wrong and that never happened. #5 I almost took the book back when I read the line about Johnnie Cochran. Whenever people want to talk about defense attorneys who got their clients off, it always goes back to Cochran and usually hints at O.J. Nobody ever brings up how Emmitt Till's killers got off, trials like the ones the Jena 6 are going through, and so many other trials in small towns where people have gotten off scotfree. But Cochran is forever getting picked on, and I respect him (R.I.P.) a great deal. When I read that line about Cochran probably has nightmares about defending guilty people, I glared at the page, thinking of how many trials that Cochran has tried that meant so much to the Black community. I believe he slept well knowing the sacrifices he made to fight against racial profiling and so forth. That comment was my own personal hang-up, but considering Picoult felt the need to mention him in the book, I feel the need to mention it in my review.
However, there was one strong part of Picoult's book that kept me pushing through it. Without telling the story, there is a scene where Nathanial jumps up and Nina thinks he's going to run to Caleb, but instead he runs to Nina. My eyes immediately watered and I choked up, trying not to cry on a public, crowded train and look really crazy to other riders. That was the most memorable scene that I've read in all of her books because it was so raw, so open, so realistic, and very touching. Although I never want one, I think children are entertaining and enjoy watching them interact in stories and real life, and I'd become so smitten with Nathaniel (I wasn't buying that window/bathroom interruption at all--that whole scene should've been deleted because it did nothing for the plot). But as usual, I think Picoult is a fascinating writer. I'm going to give her books a rest for a minute to get over my grudge with the Cochran comment because that still bothers me, but I'll be back.
The Package Deal.......2007-08-11
It's rare in the world of publishing these days to find a book that not only provides you with a quality story, but with exceptional writing as well. Picoult offers us just that with "Perfect Match." She shifts perspectives throughout the novel to allow us into the hearts and minds of all of her primary characters and it is a unique reading experience that makes you feel so deeply involved in the story that you'll feel as if you could climb right into the book. You will find yourself sympathizing with even the most difficult of characters, and considering for yourself the true capabilities that we all quietly possess at the hands of love and despair. This book is about a struggle for justice in a world where right and wrong is a thousand shades of gray. Do not miss out on this precious read.
Not for me.......2007-06-17
This book convinced me that I'm no longer a Jodi Picoult reader. I get why some people would like it--the flowery imagery and heart-wrenching subject matter pulls at the heart; but I found the book to be overwritten and sensational. Besides, I couldn't identify with the main character who would add trauma to her already traumatized son by taking the law into her own hands. Picoult is known for her ability to end the story with an unforeseen twist and to effectively use various points of views; I guessed every twist in the book well in advance and I felt like each character had the same emotive voice, even the construction-worker husband. I like women's fiction, but this was a bit too much.
Books:
- Introduction to Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy
- It Can't Happen Here
- Junior Chapter Book: Team Rocket Truce (Pokemon)
- Leaves of Grass (Enriched Classics)
- Letters to a Young Poet
- Mathematical Sciences After the Year 2000
- MATLAB(R) for Photomechanics- A Primer
- Matter in Equilibrium: Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics includes CD-ROM (Topics in Physical Chemistry)
- Metal-Catalysed Reactions of Hydrocarbons (Fundamental and Applied Catalysis)
- Nectar in a Sieve (Signet Classics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- Dead Air
- The Chemistry of Organic Germanium, Tin and Lead Compounds
- Watch for Me on the Mountain
- Architectural Graphic Standards
- Dooby Dooby Moo
- Baby's First Year Journal : A Day-To-Day Guide to Your Baby's Development During the First Twelve Mo
- China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD
- Using Stories to Make Art: Creative Activities Using Children's Literature
- Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces: A Field Guide for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory, Volume 3, Third Edition (Quantum Mechanics)
Principles of Quantum Mechanics
Modern Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition)
Quantum Field Theory
Quantum Mechanics in Simple Matrix Form
