Review by Choice Review
In this work, Steward (emer., City Univ., London) surveys material usually covered in intermediate introductions to modern physics and quantum mechanics. The book discusses the theories of Planck, Bohr, and Einstein, and includes a chapter (by McMurry) on more recent studies of multiparticle quantum mechanics (Bell's inequality, entanglement, etc.). The textual tradition models the arguments with simplified assumptions and procedures in order to highlight the logic and make the core concepts accessible and plausible to introductory students. Thus distractions of historical context are lost, with the unintended consequence of blurring the processes of investigation, a situation made notorious by historians from the time of Kuhn. Though this volume does not restore context, it adds much authentic argument that enhances the breadth of the physics, retrieving detail long forgotten by generations of text-raised students. Examples including more historically accurate accounts of Planck's thermodynamic arguments, Einstein's fluctuation theory, Bohr's use of the correspondence principle, and Schrodinger's dependence on Hamiltonian dynamics make this book both fascinating and effective. Though too compact to substitute for problem-driven monographs, it should be a companion reader for introductory courses in quantum mechanics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of undergraduate students. P. D. Skiff Bard College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
