Customer Reviews

Quantum Theory (Dover Books on Physics)

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Don't let the original 1950's publication date fool you. This book is as relevant and important today as it was when it was first published.

In fact, Bohm's lucid, pointed three-page preface-- in which he outlines in simple English the three exact ways Quantum Mechanics differs from Classical Mechanics (which I had never seen done before and which few physics students ever really grasp)-- that ALONE is worth the price of this book.

Let me help you understand why, without reservation, I feel this book to be a masterpiece of clarity in exposition.

When I first learned Quantum Mechanics-- and, as I have come to learn, my experience was not atypical-- it was basically axiomatic: "Here are these mathematical techniques. If we do this and that and then that to this function, then we can predict certain things about experimental results." I found this a tremendously difficult-- not to mention frustrating-- way of learning things. Mathematically intense, but with little physical understanding.

I memorized the rules, and did OK in my courses, but what I really wanted to know was: WHY was I doing these things? Where did this stuff COME from? And, most importantly, what did this stuff MEAN?

I got bits and pieces-- only hints, really-- from several other textbooks. When I got to grad school, I was excited to finally learn what it all meant. Unfortunately, my grad course was more of the same type of calculation-- just calculating more difficult things! In fact, I had almost given up at really understanding what it all MEANT, and was ready to take my graduate Quantum professor's advice to "Just learn the techniques and use the stuff" when I came across David Bohm.

In a textbook that is more wordy than most novels-- and yet, in which not a single noun is extraneous or out of place-- Bohm takes us on a clear and exciting tour of WHERE Quantum Mechanics comes from, exactly HOW it developed from Classical Mechanics, exactly how it DIFFERS from Classical Mechanics, and, finally, what it all MEANS physically.

He does this by consistantly referring to experiment, by devloping mathematical techniques as necessary, and by discussing and explaining in clear prose what such concepts as the wave function actually MEAN.

It is difficult to overemphasize how comfortable one feels reading this book--- you feel that you are being guided with a firm yet gentle hand by one who truly understands what it means to truly EXPLAIN something. (For all the praise that is heaped on such texs as the Feynman Lectures and Landau and Lifshitz, they can't shake a stick at Bohm's abilities at lucidity in exposition.)

Finally, after developing the traditional calculational techniques, in the last sections of the book Bohm discusses such alternatives as the "hidden variable" theory in balanced yet intriguing ways, and leaves you wanting more.

If I am disappointed in anything, it would be only this:

Why didn't this Shakespeare of physics authors write more?

This is perhaps still the best way to enter quantum mechanics. This book was not written in haste: there is depth in almost every page. Yet, very little is assumed of the reader, but that he has a genuine interest in learning the subject, and patience to read it sequentially, calmly, and ponder about it. There is, then, no better guide.Do not think you will miss the computation techniques: they are all there. This is a complete book. It will teach you the orthodox view. Then, if you care, read the other books by Bohm, to learn of possible alternatives.

The title page of this book lists Bohm as a professor emeritus at the University of London but this is actually a text developed at Princeton in the late 1940's. Not long after the book was written, Bohm had got himself in trouble for not revealing what left-wing activities he had got himself involved in with his mentor J.R. Oppenheimer. Princeton couldn't stand the political heat of having a suspected communist on its physics faculty and Bohm got booted out. He wandered off to Brazil and Israel before finally ending up in London. Ironically, Princeton had fired someone who had just written one of the greatest classics of the quantum mechanics literature. The book is outstanding for its extensive discussion of the philosophical foundations of quantum theory. Bohm at that time believed in the Copenhagen Interpretation of Niels Bohr. Only traditional mathematics, rather than the murky abstraction of the Dirac bracket, is used. Carefully selected problems are inserted into the text whenever important new material has been introduced. Although the book is a little dated, today's reader should still find the chapters on the WKB approximation, Heisenberg matrix mechanics, and perturbation theory edifying. In short, this is a book to be enjoyed.

The age of the book is what gives it a huge advantage to today's typical QT and QM textbook. Instead of presenting the concepts in the "status quo" of physics (usually just a ridiculously brief intro to why QT started, and then presenting Operators as things almost perfectly synonymous to classical concepts and continuing from there), this book really goes through the history of where all the math came from. Bohm is very careful about teaching you what parts of the math are just convenience tricks (like Operators) versus real necessities to QM. And also what parts are just based on just experiments. Unlike today, in the 1950's, QT and QM were still suspect theories, so students were taught of the known and possible holes (no pun intended :) in the theory. Bohm points these out throughout the whole book.

This is a book for you to read again and again through your whole life. When you are an undergraduate, lots of good technical information are found in this volume regarding, for instance, wave packets or the hydrogen atom. As you get more experienced and, of course, if you have some interest in the philosophical issues raised by the subject, the book turns to be a reference again.

Bohm explains quantum mechanics at a level that gives great physical insight and understanding. It not only provides theory, but also gives detailed historical accounts of the development of the theory. A great text for undergraduates.

I have to agree completely with Gregory Bravo's review. I feel sorry for all the poor physics students struggling through their undergraduate quantum mechanics courses without the help of David Bohm. I bought every quantum mechanics book that I could get my hands on, because I had heard so many horror stories about the difficulty of the subject. It seems that this is the only book I needed to buy. As it turns out, quantum mechanics is not so difficult, afterall.

Equip yourself with this book, Schaum's Outline on Quantum Mechanics (keeping a keen eye out for errors, mind you), and whatever pathetic excuse for a text you are given, and you should be fine, assuming you have a half-way decent professor. Don't let the fact that this is a dated book lacking Dirac notation deter you. You learn all that notation in QM courses, anyways, so a clear exposition of concepts should be what you want, and no one does it better than David Bohm.

David Bohm's thoughtful textbook on quantum theory was published in 1951 and earned praise from Einstein. In this book you can see Bohm doing his best to make an intuitive connection between the mathematical formalism and physical intuition. Bohm explicitly addresses the temptation of regarding quantum mechanics, first and foremost, as the mathematical formalism inherent to that discipline, observing that "This approach might be likened to introducing Newton's laws of motion to a student of elementary physics, as problems in the theory of differential equations." In his attempt make a stronger connection between the mathematical formalism and physical intuition, Bohm gives some topics a different emphasis or twist than that found in most quantum mechanics textbooks. Especially noteworthy is his discussion of wave packets (especially as a way of visualizing the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) and tracing the explicit connection between Fourier analysis and Matrix Mechanics (an approach reminiscent of the original 1925 paper authored by Heisenberg, Jordon, and Born).

It is also interesting to note that this book was published just before Bohm set out on a road that would take him very far from conventional quantum theory and led to what is now called Bohmian mechanics, as described by Bohm and Hiley's book The Undivided Universe.

Bohm explains quantum mechanics at a level that gives great physical insight and understanding. It not only provides theory, but also gives detailed historical accounts of the development of the theory. A great text for undergraduates.

I'm a senior in college about to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering. I very much enjoy reading up on all kinds of scientific concepts, and quantum mechanics is no exception. However, my understanding before purchasing this book was only qualitative; I knew some of the experiments and their counter-intuitive implications, I had a general idea of the nature of QM, but overall my understanding was superficial.

I purchased this book based on the positive reviews; however, every time I pick it up I can only make it through a few pages before setting it back down in befuddlement. After several months of this, I've gained virtually nothing from this book.

Bohm's treatment seems thorough and mathematically rigorous, and I don't doubt the correctness of the other reviewers' opinions. However, despite my being fairly adept at mathematics, Bohm's approach has been mysterious and esoteric to me; I suspect that those who speak highly of this book are already well-versed in QM and see this book as a source of good information, not as a tool for learning.

For anyone like me--a bright undergrad with a broad scientific curiosity--I wouldn't recommend this book. The final chapters of Randall Knight's "Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach" provide a much gentler and accessible explanation of QM basics.