More Than One Mystery: Explorations in Quantum Interference [Hardcover]

Mark P. Silverman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387943404 | ISBN-13: 978-0387943404 | Publication Date: December 19, 1994 | Edition: 1

"I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." #Richard Feynman#
Basing his discussion on a small number of conceptually simple models (the two-level atom, the two-slit interferometer), the author addresses a number of conceptually interesting questions concerning the puzzles of quantum mechanics. Though the phenomena arising from quantum interference are central, he maintains that they are not the only mystery in quantum mechanics: the deep connection between spin and the statistics of identical particles, the "ghostly" long-range effects that correlated particles exert on each other, and the perplexing role of topology in the interactions of charged particles and electromagnetic fields, are all conundrums yet to be understood.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a beautifl and clear exposition of how quantum interference, non-locality and long-range correlations interweave to produce characteristically quantum effects that have no classical counterparts." - Nature "...illuminating and stimulating...one of the best sources of material on current aspects of modern physics" - Contemporary Physics

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 19, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387943404
• ISBN-13: 978-0387943404
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,328,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark P. Silverman is Jarvis Professor of Physics at Trinity College. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard University and has since pursued a wide range of experimental and theoretical studies concerning the structure of matter, the behavior of light, and the dynamics of stars and galaxies. His investigations of quantum phenomena have included electron interferometry, radiofrequency and microwave spectroscopy, coherent laser spectroscopy, atomic beams and nuclear spectroscopy. Attracted by the physical beauty of optical phenomena, he has engaged in extensive studies of the reflection, refraction, diffraction, polarization, and scattering of light. Particularly noteworthy are his studies of the interaction of polarized light with chiral materials, i.e. substances displaying an asymmetry between left and right handedness, a property that is a hallmark of the chemistry of all terrestrial life forms. His theoretical studies of the internal structure of highly massive collapsed stars have led to the prediction of new classes of stellar end states and novel insights into the nature of the dark matter thought to pervade the universe.

Dr Silverman has been a guest scientist and invited speaker at many institutions. Among his appointments, he has been Joliot Professor of Physics at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris, Erskine Fellow in Physics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand, and first foreign Chief Researcher in quantum physics at the Hitachi Advanced Research Laboratory in Tokyo. He is author of six books and numerous scientific papers.

Customer Reviews

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essays in Quantum Interference, November 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: More Than One Mystery: Explorations in Quantum Interference (Paperback)

Mark P. Silverman's "More Than One Mystery", in much the same manner as his treatment of optics in "Waves and Grains" written a few years later, is a series of discrete but interrelated essays on different aspects of quantum interference. The treatment is semi-technical, with analyses of the math supporting the various experiments and their interpretations. Speaking as one with no math background at all and no formal training in physics, I still found this book fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable. Silverman is something of a polymath, with wide-ranging interests, and he succeeds in bringing together concepts from different fields of study in unexpected but very fruitful ways. He surely must be a wonderful classroom teacher; his enthusiasm for his subject matter is contagious, and to say that his use of language in his writing is masterful is an understatement. Formerly a journalist, he is always engaging, and never dry. Throughout, his descriptions are a model of clarity, and the precision of his vocabulary in the simplest nontechnical sentences is awe-inspiring in its elegance. This is not a textbook, but any serious student of physics who doesn't own a copy is missing out on an important book.

Much of this same material is presented for a general readership in his 2002 "A Universe of Atoms, An Atom in the Universe", a revision of the now out-of-print "And Yet It Moves: Strange Systems and Subtle Questions in Physics".