Steven S

Shankar's Principles of Quantum Mechanics is, IMO, the best undergraduate book in quantum mechanics. He does a good job of introducing the relevant math and gives more detail than Griffiths does. He also introduces path integrals and uses them to discuss the Bohm-Arahnov effect and statistical mechanics.

Steven S

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: Steven S ]</p>

Steven S

sir drinks-a-lot

Thanks for the recommendations. But, to clarify, I have taken a Maaster's level class in QM. But the problem for me was that it was too mathematical. It was a class for physicists and we would just learn a concept and then work out a gazillion examples. I could do the math, but kept getting lost as to what it all meant. I am looking more for something of a Philosophey of Science approach.

sir drinks-a-lot

This one looks good. I've added it to my Amazon "Wish List."

Thanks for the recommendation.

Answerer

The book feather had mentioned is the book that I was talking about.

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: Answerer ]</p>

Wargarden

I would suggest "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat" by John Gribbin. Not very mathy, and written to be easily understood. Some history there-of. May be a little to simple for ya, but it might be worth it.

And "Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue With Nature" by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers.
Not just Quantum Mechanics. A bit heavy at times, good mix of life-sciences and relational theory. less likely to be what you're looking for, but a good book anyway.

Good luck.

Mike H

Roland Omnes has written two or so books on the more philosophical aspects of quantum mechanics, and (according to my somewhat QM-literate friends who have read them) are accurate as far as the science goes.

David Albert has written a book called Quantum Mechanics and Experience which I've been meaning to read for a while but just haven't found the time (and probably won't until about next decade at the rate I'm going). Originally trained as a physicist, he's now a professor of philosophy at Columbia Univ. The book is, just to be fair, about a decade old now.

I happen to like and own Shankar myself, FWIW on that side topic.

Walross

trientalis wrote:

Well, you can take what I say with a grain of salt as I only have a Bsc in physics, rather than a Masters or PhD. In any case, I thought Zukav's book was both awful and great. I'll explain: I found Zukav excellent at explaining exceedingly complicated ideas. His analogies are some of the best I've ever encountered, and his ability to simplify complex subject matter is only equalled by the late (and sorely missed) Carl Sagan.

However, upon reading The Dancing Wu Li Masters I found myself writing notes in the margins for whomever might read the book next. There are some things that Zukav asserts which are, quite simply, wrong. Unfortunately, I don't have the book handy, but, for example, there is a point at which Zukav uses fire as an example of matter being turned into energy. Though this is an understandable error to make, the fact that it never went corrected casts doubt upon all of Zukav's claims.

Despite this, Zukav is excellent at explaining, in a very understandable way, the many paradoxes encountered by modern physics. I would recommend reading his work, but only with a grain of salt, and only in conjunction with similar publications by real physicists. I hope this helps,

Walross

Steven S

Oh, I thought of one book you should read if you're interested in the meaning of QM. Try
Baggott's "The Meaning of Quantum Theory". He assumes you know QM but if you've taken a grad level course you have that covered.
Also, from the arXiv I recommend
quant-ph/9908008
quant-ph/9609013
and look up the writings of Robert Griffiths on quant-ph since he has written much about the interpretation of QM.

Steven S

Oolon Colluphid

Hi Sir Drinks-a-Lot

Most books for lay people tend to (a) avoid maths (obviously) and (b) cover the philosophy side of things too (since that’s easier and more interesting than the hardcore stuff for ‘normal’ folks). Of those, I’d go for Gribbin’s
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553342533/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat</a> too, and also mention his follow-up <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316328197/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries </a>. Colin Bruce’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201461390/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">The Strange Case of Mrs. Hudson's Cat</a> is a highly entertaining introduction.

If you want something with a more philosophical bent, I can’t recommend David Deutsch’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014027541X/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">The Fabric of Reality</a> highly enough. He melds many-worlds quantum mechanics (and quantum computing, which he’s heavily involved in professionally I gather) with Popperian epistemology and Darwinian/Dawkinsian evolution to produce an outline of, or the basis of where to look for, a genuine Theory of Everything (not merely physicists’ GUTs etc). Wonderful, mind-blowing stuff.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Oolon

[Edited to add: <a href="http://www.qubit.org/people/david/David.html" target="_blank">David Deutsch's home page</a>. See especially the link about TFoR.

[ October 02, 2002: Message edited by: Oolon Colluphid ]</p>