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Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Crystal-Clear Gem of a Book-- Lucid and Insightful,
By
This review is from: Quantum Theory (Paperback)
Don't let the original 1950's publication date fool you. This book is as relevant and important today as it was when it was first published.In fact, Bohm's lucid, pointed three-page preface-- in which he outlines in simple English the three exact ways Quantum Mechanics differs from Classical Mechanics (which I had never seen done before and which few physics students ever really grasp)-- that ALONE is worth the price of this book. Let me help you understand why, without reservation, I feel this book to be a masterpiece of clarity in exposition. When I first learned Quantum Mechanics-- and, as I have come to learn, my experience was not atypical-- it was basically axiomatic: "Here are these mathematical techniques. If we do this and that and then that to this function, then we can predict certain things about experimental results." I found this a tremendously difficult-- not to mention frustrating-- way of learning things. Mathematically intense, but with little physical understanding. I memorized the rules, and did OK in my courses, but what I really wanted to know was: WHY was I doing these things? Where did this stuff COME from? And, most importantly, what did this stuff MEAN? I got bits and pieces-- only hints, really-- from several other textbooks. When I got to grad school, I was excited to finally learn what it all meant. Unfortunately, my grad course was more of the same type of calculation-- just calculating more difficult things! In fact, I had almost given up at really understanding what it all MEANT, and was ready to take my graduate Quantum professor's advice to "Just learn the techniques and use the stuff" when I came across David Bohm. In a textbook that is more wordy than most novels-- and yet, in which not a single noun is extraneous or out of place-- Bohm takes us on a clear and exciting tour of WHERE Quantum Mechanics comes from, exactly HOW it developed from Classical Mechanics, exactly how it DIFFERS from Classical Mechanics, and, finally, what it all MEANS physically. He does this by consistantly referring to experiment, by devloping mathematical techniques as necessary, and by discussing and explaining in clear prose what such concepts as the wave function actually MEAN. It is difficult to overemphasize how comfortable one feels reading this book--- you feel that you are being guided with a firm yet gentle hand by one who truly understands what it means to truly EXPLAIN something. (For all the praise that is heaped on such texs as the Feynman Lectures and Landau and Lifshitz, they can't shake a stick at Bohm's abilities at lucidity in exposition.) Finally, after developing the traditional calculational techniques, in the last sections of the book Bohm discusses such alternatives as the "hidden variable" theory in balanced yet intriguing ways, and leaves you wanting more. If I am disappointed in anything, it would be only this: Why didn't this Shakespeare of physics authors write more?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I (think) I finally understand...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Quantum Theory (Paperback)
The age of the book is what gives it a huge advantage to today's typical QT and QM textbook. Instead of presenting the concepts in the "status quo" of physics (usually just a ridiculously brief intro to why QT started, and then presenting Operators as things almost perfectly synonymous to classical concepts and continuing from there), this book really goes through the history of where all the math came from. Bohm is very careful about teaching you what parts of the math are just convenience tricks (like Operators) versus real necessities to QM. And also what parts are just based on just experiments. Unlike today, in the 1950's, QT and QM were still suspect theories, so students were taught of the known and possible holes (no pun intended :) in the theory. Bohm points these out throughout the whole book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Philosophical-Technical,
By
This review is from: Quantum Theory (Paperback)
This is a book for you to read again and again through your whole life. When you are an undergraduate, lots of good technical information are found in this volume regarding, for instance, wave packets or the hydrogen atom. As you get more experienced and, of course, if you have some interest in the philosophical issues raised by the subject, the book turns to be a reference again.
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