Quantum Mechanics: A Modern Development [Paperback]

Leslie E Ballentine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 9810227078 | ISBN-13: 978-9810227074 | Publication Date: May 1998 | Edition: Subsequent

Although there are many textbooks that deal with the formal apparatus of quantum mechanics (Qm) and its application to standard problems, none take into account the developments in the foundations of the subject which have taken place in the last few decades. There are specialized treatises on various aspects of the foundations of Qm, but none that integrate those topics with the standard material. This book aims to remove that unfortunate dichotomy, which has divorced the practical aspects of the subject from the interpretation and broader implications of the theory. The book is intended primarily as a graduate level textbook, but it will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers who study the foundations of Qm. Parts of it could be used by senior undergraduates too.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"? the book is of greatest benefit to students of quantum mechanics who want to learn more than solely computational recipes and predictive tools of the theory, and, in this sense, the book really fills a gap in the literature." Mathematical Reviews, 1999 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Wspc; Subsequent edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9810227078
• ISBN-13: 978-9810227074
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on Foundations and Applications of QM, June 28, 2000

By 

H. C. Schneider (Kaiserslautern, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum Mechanics: A Modern Development (Paperback)

This is an interesting book to read and it is my favourite QM book. The author presents both foundations and applications of QM starting from the basic postulates. It includes standard topics like angular momentum and scattering theory, an introduction to many-particle physics (second quantization) and to the quantization the EM field, as well as a very detailed(!) analysis of EPR like experiments. The treatment of the foundations of the subject is more careful than in most textbooks on QM and the author frequently points out flaws in the arguments presented by other authors. He devotes considerable space to air his "purely statistical" interpretation of QM. I am not sure, however, whether a beginning student is more confused by the rather formal development in the first chapters, or whether a beginner immediately benefits from it. If you are confused, check out the book by Shankar and then come back to Ballentine.

The discussion of the standard applications of QM is very lucid and mathematically exhaustive. In this part of the book the author does not refrain from critisizing other textbooks and different interpretations of QM either. The ferocity with which the author does this is sometimes outright hilarious.

If a specific topic is covered in this book, I prefer Ballentine's more thorough treatment almost invariably over other standard textbooks with the only exception being Fermi's Golden Rule, which is better covered in Cohen-Tannoudji's book.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, August 25, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quantum Mechanics: A Modern Development (Paperback)

First of all, let me say that my review is based upon the first edition of this book. I haven't seen the 2nd edition, and 2nd editions aren't always better (e.g., Goldstein's 2nd edition is a disaster compared to his 1st). Now, for the review: There is only one other book which I consider to be as didactic as this one, which is Shankar's text. Shankar's book is more friendly and a better introduction to QM, but Ballentine's book is a bit more advanced and gives a lot of thought to

questions of interpretation which are seriously neglected in other books, while dealing with some advanced topics: the Wigner-Eckart theorem, BCS theory of superconductivity, etc. . . His presentations are lucid and to the point, and he is also careful to point out all sorts of common errors, which readers might have aquired from other books. Every idea is motivated before being introduced. Examples are provided throughout the text, and answers are given to selected exercises.

This book seems to me to truly teach, and is superior to Sakurai, Landau, Messiah and a host of others, which all have some major flaw or another. It's worth its price [...]

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent text, December 13, 2000

By 

Charles M. Marcus (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quantum Mechanics: A Modern Development (Paperback)

I am using this book as a supplimentary text for a 1st-year graduate course in quantum mechanics (the other text is Sakurai). I find the book extremely clear and well organized. In many ways, I like it more than Sakurai. For instance, many modern ideas are developed in detail - for instance Bell's inequality and related topics - but, as well, the more standard topics are also discussed thoroughly. Many references to original literature included. Good problems too.