Introduction to Quantum Physics (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series) [Paperback]

A.P. French (Author), Edwin F. Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393091066 | ISBN-13: 978-0393091069 | Publication Date: May 17, 1978 | Edition: First Edition

Quantum physics concerns the behavior of the smallest things we know. These smallest things are very small indeed. Although the world of the very small is remote from our senses, it shapes everyday experience.

Almost everything we touch and see (together with nerve impulses and light, the messengers of touch and sight) owes its character to the subtle architecture of atoms and molecules, an architecture whose building code is quantum mechanics. And when we come to large-scale phenomena that depends in a direct way on the details of atomic processes-for example lasers, superconductors, and solid-state electronics-then the explicit use of quantum physics is essential.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition edition (May 17, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393091066
• ISBN-13: 978-0393091069
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and really focuses on the Physics, November 26, 2002

By 

"jayjina" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Quantum Physics (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series) (Paperback)

OK, so this book is old, having been written in the 1970s. For all that, it still does the core things excellently: namely focus on the Physics, the experiments, the theory, AND the people behind the advances.

After going through the antecedents of the classical atomic model, the authors quickly move onto the wave-particle duality. They describe, throughout, groundbreaking experimental work of the likes of Thompson and Davisson & Germer. After setting the foundations, French and Taylor go to the discussion of the one dimensional Schrodinger equation, its physical meaning, and several examples of solutions by means of qualitative plots.

Photons and Quantum States, Angular momentum, Atomic Systems, a detailed discussion of the Hydrogen atom and Radiation from atoms make up the rest of the book.

What I particularly like about this book is that it is grounded in the Physics, with experiment and theory given an equal footing. The authors are gentle with their use of mathematics. The concept of operators is applied to the physical problem. This, despite what to some people would be the book's "old fashioned" nature, is refreshing. Too often, the authors of modern books on Quantum Physics "pose" with fancy mathematics to try to impress their colleagues or students.

This book is easy to read, there are plenty of worked examples and end of chapter exercises to keep the student busy. I recommend this book thoroughly.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Secondary Resource, December 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Quantum Physics (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series) (Paperback)

This book should seriously be used ONLY with another text. A good one (in my opinion) is Griffiths. It goes into great depth (sometimes too much) conceptually and is very weak with the mathematics. Another reviewer said somethings about not giving many applications, and i agree. It gets the idea down, but no more than that. Griffiths along side this is awesome, and if you have time after those two, take a look at Shakars book; its a little harder mathematically, but if you hit those three together, youll prolly have a good idea of what QM is about. Feynman Lectures also help.
Point being: Dont use this book alone, very good otherwise.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An easy introduction to Quantum physics, February 10, 2001

By 

Muzaffer Muctehitzade "hacibey" (Boston, Ma USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Quantum Physics (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series) (Paperback)

This is a typical college text book written in intoductory level. Its approac is classical and explains the concepts relatively slow with examples. The mathematical language used is not modern in a sense that does not use operator language with high symbolizm but rather more classical approach. For students that are used to apply more classical Diff.equations or Real anaylsis, it is much easier even though they implicitly do the same with or without operators. If I were to chose only one book to read, I would have to select the book written by Resnick but obviously the more you read the more view points you will have and of course you will have less time to develop your own. In my opinion this is better than Feynmann Vol.3.