Eight Lectures on Theoretical Physics (Dover Books on Physics) [Paperback]

Max Planck (Author), Physics (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 1997 | Series: Dover Books on Physics

Landmark lectures (1909) by discoverer of quantum theory present revolutionary developments occasioned by application of quantum hypothesis to blackbody radiation. Also, how statistical mechanics transformed understanding of chemical physics; principle of least action, theory of relativity. Important for Planck's rethinking of his original discovery of quantum theory. 1915 edition.

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486697304
• ISBN-13: 978-0486697307
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,357,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lectures of a much too silent genius, March 26, 2009

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Roman Nies (Helibrunna) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eight Lectures on Theoretical Physics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

Take care! This is something for physicians or those who know already the basics of quantum physics and just want to read something (almost) original. I know Plancks writing in German and must admit that I have difficulties with an English translation - my deficiencies hopefully and not the translators who should have understood what Planck was talking about. This is always a problem with translations of technical, scientific or philosophic texts. The latter - in face of Planck also being a philosopher - is especially delicate as the German language has many special abstract words in the range of philosophy for which it is difficult to find an English equivalent.
Here a summary of Planck and his ideas in short which you should know before going into the details of the lectures in this book.
The German physician Max Planck is regarded as one of the most important physicians of both the 19th and 20th century. He received the Nobel prize in 1918. His exploring spirit stood in the beginning of Quantum physics.
Similar to his friend Albert Einstein he wanted to explore the basic principles of physics. This can also bee taken from his leitmotiv, which said: Hin zu Gott!" Up to God! Why this? Because he did not believe in a rigid, deterministic causality of all Sein" (of all what is), rather in a "the divine spirit" as "a stream of information, the A and O of all visible and invisible and unreachable things". That attitude of mind is significant in all his lectures.
According to Planck natural science is based on two cornerstones: 1. science gives man the recognition through the five senses and 2. it gives man action, "which is when he expresses his mental attitude, his opinion, his conviction, for which he needs the connection to God. That immediacy brings him clear order, inner firmness and lasting peace for soul and herewith the highest form of human life-quality". You could also say the cornerstones are the capability to recognize the outside "physical" world and the inside "spiritual" world, the latter being the A and O of the first.
Atheist scientist might ridicule this idea, but it were theists like Planck, Born, Pascual Jordan, Nils Bohr and Heisenberg who found the basis for modern physics. And they were all idealists.
Planck made clear in his writings and lectures that physics must bet he most exact science; that physical knowledge is based on measurement of processes which take place in space and time; that therefore one is forced to calculate with different quantities of time and space; that all physical processes can be traced back to the movements of certain elementary particles and that the small numbers, with which this is demonstrated are universal absolute terms and changeless building stones of the scheme of theoretical physics. So to speak they are the building stones of universe.
In all processes of nature universal lawfulness is at work. Planck has the example of the principle of the conservation of energy. He was also making significant contributions to the formulation of the The "Third Law of thermodynamics". Named after him is the "Planck's constant", a physical constant, which proves the principle of the smallest effects. With this constant Planck could prove, that all natural processes can be traced back on volatile processes in the range of elementary particles. Exactly spoken nothing is fixed or determined. This knowledge is recognized in the meantime. Thus Planck became the pioneer and trailblazer for quantum physics.
Starting with the belief that nature is ruled and guided by an almighty reason, by a reason which is at the same time oriented to effect and purpose and existing independent of a thinking mankind, his research brought him to reflections that led to quantum physics. Einstein once said in Planck the ideal of recognition was embodied in a rare perfection.
It is Plancks merit to have realized that empirism cannot be the starting point of scientific thinking. The world as it is can only be understood when the principle of idealism is applied, because only then it can be perceived that the final things are not the final things per se and the obvious datum is not the datum per se. It must be kept in mind that the Whole is more than the single parts.
His speeches and writings are characterized by that idealism. The words he speaks are in our time seldom heard. But they were never disproved. His physical knowledge has stood the test of time and became the foundations of modern physics. Planck saw as well that this knowledge must be of fundamental meaning for the other fields of science. Today with so many different disciplines that specialized and dispersed in development, it would be even more important to recognize this.

Although in the outline of his concepts he is not too abstract. All intelligent designs of natureare of logic ingenuity.