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The quantum adventure : does God play dice? /
Quantum theory revolutionized physics at the beginning of the last century. Einstein was one of its originators, but as the implications of the theory emerged, he began to have doubts. Are the most basic physical processes based on probability? Is the Universe governed by chance? Do physical objects...
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Otros Autores: | |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Singapore ; London :
Imperial College Press,
2012.
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| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Science in the Comfort Zone; Planck's Adventure; Einstein, Bohr and Born Come on Board; The Future is a Lottery?; The Adventure Continues; Chapter 1: Prehistory
- Isaac Newton; Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543); Galileo Galilei (1564-1642); Isaac Newton (1642-1727); New concepts
- momentum and force; A new idea
- action and reaction; Newton's laws; Work and energy; Changing the direction of motion; Newton applies his laws of motion to celestial objects; Newton's law of gravitation; A new era; Determinism.
- Chapter 2: Preparing for Quantum MechanicsLeading into the Quantum Adventure; Fermat's theorems; Refraction; Fermat's principle of least time; Least time and lenses; Least time and the lifeguard; A deeper insight into the laws of motion; The principle of least action; Generalized mechanics; The principle of least action at work; Least action on the track
- Eddie and Fred; Least action when there is a force at work; What is so different about least action?; Hamilton's method; Hamilton's equations of motion; Conservation of energy; William Rowan Hamilton.
- Chapter 3: The Pre-Quantum Atom
- A Temporary SolutionGoing Outside the 'Household World'; The Scientific Age; Messages from the Atoms; Conspicuous by Their Absence; A Formula Without a Reason; Glowing Gases; Mysterious Rays; Something Smaller Than an Atom
- The Discovery of the Electron; Where Do These Electrons Come From?; Thomson's 'Plum Pudding' Model of the Atom; Rutherford Investigates; An Unexpected Observation; Rutherford Interprets the Results; How Small is Small?; The Planetary Model; Relative Sizes; A Question of Stability; A Historical Note.
- Chapter 4: Max Planck
- The Birth of the Quantum AdventureThermodynamics; Electromagnetism; Heads in the Sand?; An Incomplete Jigsaw; Two Missing Pieces; The ether; 'The greatest failed experiment in history'; The world inside the atom; Light from Hot Coal; Blackbody Radiation
- A Window to the Atom; What We See Through the Window; Measuring Temperature from a Distance; Making a Theoretical Model
- 'Cavity' Radiation; Wien's Spectral Distribution Law
- One Step Further by Thermodynamics; An Experimental Cavity Radiator; Measuring the Radiation; Experiments Confirm There is a Magic Function.
- Where to Go from Here?The Rayleigh-Jeans Law; Two Theories Each 'Half Right' and 'Half Wrong'; Planck's 'Inspired Guess'; Planck Looks for Something Deeper; The Moment of Truth
- Planck's Quantum Hypothesis; An Inspired Guess Becomes a Physical Theory; Planck's Constant; How Do the Oscillators Lose Their Energy?; The Quantum Condition in the Everyday World; Chapter 5: Light
- Wave or Projectile?; Waves Interfere with One Another; Interference Can Create 'Stationary' Waves; Stationary Waves of Light; Another Aspect of the Wave Nature of Light.
- An Accidental Observation
- The Photoelectric Effect.