Customer Reviews

Quantum Mechanics: A Modern Development

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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.

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 [...]

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.

This is a great book. Mathematically accurate and very precise. No bologne. I loved it. The only bummer is that it doesn't treat some experimentally useful topics (decay of states, e.g.) but it's a great book to learn from.

This it's the best book on QM Who I read ever, I'm A Bch student of physics, and I readed many book on this subject, but always the authors just put some results from some stupid arguments like "It's Natural". In this case the author just give mathematical and very deep physical arguments in every step of the development of the QM theory.
It's the Clearest book on the subject and it's not hard to read, I strongly recomend read the hole book, after this you adquire a very deep knowlowedge of the theory, of the nature, and lot of tools to solve any QM problem. Congratulations Dr Ballentine you really do an excelent Job

I'm writing to lend support to the above positive reviews. I found Ballentine's approach clear and straightforward, but I had already taken an undergraduate QM course before reading this text. Thorough attention is devoted to foundational details. The discussions of measurement and interpretation cleared up some confusing misconceptions I acquired from Griffith's text.

The text seems to lack in the simple, idealized examples common in introductory texts. I think this is an advantage for an advanced text but may make it more difficult as an introductory text.

This book is the most clear and thorough quantum mechanics course I've ever seen. Unlike most physics book it uses formal developments of the theory from the first changes of the book, but the author uses the most advanced modern mathematical techniques available, so the whole explanation stays clear and simple to understand even you've never touched the subject before. Nonetheless, this is not just an introductory book, it covers both the fundamentals and the advanced topics, as well as the modern researches like Bell's inequality. The author also frequently points out the common errors beginners tend to absorb and pays a lot of attention to some misconceptions present in other books.

I discovered this book through my library's NetLibrary e-book database. Despite the philosopher of physics Jenann Ismael of the University of Arizona saying "This book is not recommended for beginners, and not recommended as a textbook. It is recommended once one has some technical background to deepen understanding of the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics" ( bit.ly/OcOOy ), this book could definitely be used as a textbook in the place of, e.g., Modern Quantum Mechanics by Sakurai. Compared to Sakurai its prose is much more concise and its organization of topics is well-suited for giving the student a unified view of quantum theory, not just a smörgåsbord of disconnected topics. Ballentine is a good continuation of Quantum Mechanics by Cohen-Tannoudji for first-year graduate students, and it definitely follows his pedagogical style as well as that of Gauge Theories in Particle Physics by Aitchison & Hey. Ballentine clearly distinguishes the philosophical differences between mathematical representation and physical concepts. Fundamental concepts are not neglected; rather, they are solidified so the quantum mechanics student has a sound foundation on which to build to advanced heights.

Very Good book - that gives diffrent Sides to Quantum Mechanics. Please advise for continue books for that book.