Crafting the Quantum: Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890-1926 (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) [Hardcover]

Suman Seth (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262013738 | ISBN-13: 978-0262013734 | Publication Date: March 5, 2010 | Edition: New edition

An intellectual and cultural history of the birth of theoretical physics in Germany, focusing on the pedagogy and research of a leader in work on the "older" quantum theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Arnold Sommerfeld (1868--1951) was among the most significant contributors to the birth of modern theoretical physics. At the University of Munich, beginning in 1906, he trained two generations of theoretical physicists. Eight of his students (among them Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, and Hans Bethe) went on to win the Nobel Prize. In Crafting the Quantum, Suman Seth offers the first English-language book-length study of Sommerfeld's work, presenting an intellectual and cultural history of theoretical physics in Germany viewed through the lens of Sommerfeld's research and pedagogy. Seth examines the practical origins of many of the problems undertaken by Sommerfeld and his school, a number of which carried over from his years of teaching at an engineering school. Some of this research was later applied by his students during World War I to such problems as the stability of aircraft wings and the functioning and directional operation of antennas. Seth describes in detail Sommerfeld's pedagogical practice, including his characteristic amalgamation of research and teaching. He relates the history of the "older" quantum theory and Sommerfeld's engagement with the work of Max Planck and Niels Bohr and compares Sommerfeld's "physics of problems" to Planck's and Bohr's more abstract "physics of principles." To illuminate the nature of Sommerfeld's work, Seth offers detailed descriptions of the contrasting work of other theorists. Seth's innovative account challenges idealist depictions of the nature of theoretical work in physics, describing not only modes of practice but also the multiple areas of intellectual, political, and social life from which science draws resources and to which it contributes.

"Suman Seth has produced a fascinating study of intellectual styles and local scientific traditions. By a probing analysis of the work on the early quantum theory Seth is able to distinguish in an illuminating way between what he calls the physics of principles (developed by Planck) and the physics of problems (developed by Sommerfeld). This is not a superficial distinction between preferred methods of presentation but, as Seth demonstrates, one that goes to the technical heart of their work. This is not just a book that will be of interest to experts in the history of quantum theory. It calls into question the application of ideas such as that of a 'revolution' in physics and challenges the reader to see and explain analogous patterns elsewhere in science and engineering."--David Bloor, Emeritus Professor in the Sociology of Science, University of Edinburgh

(David Bloor )

About the Author

Suman Seth is Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; New edition edition (March 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262013738
• ISBN-13: 978-0262013734
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,314,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crafting the Quantum, June 9, 2010

By 

Maxwell - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crafting the Quantum: Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890-1926 (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

Crafting the Quantum is a detailed historical study of the Sommerfeld school, which included some of the most important physicists of the twentieth century including Wolfgang Pauli and Werner Heisenberg. Arnold Sommerfeld trained at least eight Nobel laureates and his Munich based school was the most successful educational institution for theoretical physics in the twentieth century. Seth's book takes a close look at why the training Sommerfeld offered his students was so successful. He also provides a detailed study of the Sommerfeld school's contribution to the development of Quantum mechanics and the way in which their problem orientated approach fused mathematics, physics and engineering in order to pursue solutions to specific physical questions. It is a very impressive piece of work both because of the level of scholarship in both the English and German sources and its grasp of the physics. It will be of enormous interest to physicists and engineers as well as historians of science.

1 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too simplistic!!!, May 31, 2010

By 

Sam Smith (Seattle, WA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crafting the Quantum: Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890-1926 (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

This book is too simplistic and very reductionist. The writing style is also very philosophically diffuse. Lack of engagement with the proper German sources has made the analysis all too easy.