Part I The Discovery of Quanta...................................................

................................. 20
1 Physics and theoretical physics in 1895...............................
...................................... 22
1.1 The triumph of nineteenth century physics...................
.......................................... 22
1.2 Atoms and molecules in the nineteenth century...............
.......................................... 23
1.3 The kinetic theory of gases and Boltzmanns statistical mechan
ics..................................... 25
1.4 Maxwells equations for the electromagnetic field.............
........................................ 30
1.5 The MichelsonMorley experiment and the theory of relativity..
........................................ 32
1.6 The origin of spectral lines................................
.......................................... 34
1.7 The spectrum of black-body radiation........................
.......................................... 38
1.8 The gathering storm.........................................
.......................................... 42
2 Planck and black-body radiation.......................................
...................................... 43
2.1 The key role of experimental technique......................
.......................................... 43
2.2 18951900: The changing landscape of experimental physics.....
........................................ 44
2.3 Planck and the spectrum of black-body radiation.............
.......................................... 48
2.4 Towards the spectrum of black-body radiation................
.......................................... 55
2.5 Comparison of the laws for black-body radiation with experim
ent....................................... 60
2.6 Plancks theory of black-body radiation.......................
........................................ 61
2.7 Planck and natural units......................................
...................................... 64
2.8 Planck and the physical significance of h...................
.......................................... 65
3 Einstein and quanta 19001911...........................................
.................................... 67
3.1 Einstein in 1905............................................
.......................................... 67
3.2 Einstein on Brownian motion.................................
.......................................... 68
3.3 On a heuristic viewpoint concerning the production and trans
formation of light (Einstein 1905a)....... 69
3.4 The quantum theory of solids................................
.......................................... 74
3.5 Debyes theory of specific heats..............................
........................................ 77
3.6 Fluctuations of particles and waves Einstein (1909).........
........................................ 79
3.7 The First Solvay Conference.................................
.......................................... 83
3.8 The end of the beginning....................................
.......................................... 86
Part II The Old Quantum Theory..................................................
.................................. 88
4 The Bohr model of the hydrogen atom...................................
...................................... 90

4.1 The Zeeman effect: Lorentz and Larmors interpretations.......

........................................ 90
4.2 The problems of building models of atoms....................
.......................................... 93
4.3 Thomson and Rutherford......................................
.......................................... 94
4.4 Haass and Nicholsons models of atoms..........................
...................................... 98
4.5 The Bohr model of the hydrogen atom.........................
.......................................... 99
4.6 Moseley and the X-ray spectra of the chemical elements......
..........................................102
4.7 The FranckHertz experiment...................................
........................................107
4.8 The reception of Bohrs theory of the atom....................
........................................108
5 Sommerfeld and Ehrenfest generalising the Bohr model..................
....................................109
5.1 Introduction................................................
..........................................109
5.2 Sommerfelds extension of the Bohr model to elliptical orbits.
........................................110
5.3 Sommerfeld and the fine-structure constant..................
..........................................115
5.4 A mathematical interlude from Newton to HamiltonJacobi.......
......................................118
5.5 Sommerfelds model of the atom in three dimensions............
........................................128
5.6 Ehrenfest and the adiabatic principle.......................
..........................................132
5.7 The developing infrastructure of quantum theory.............
..........................................137
6 Einstein coefficients, Bohrs correspondence principle and the first sel
ection rules........................138
6.1 The problem of transitions between stationary states........
..........................................138
6.2 On the quantum theory of radiation (Einstein 1916)..........
..........................................139
6.3 Bohrs correspondence principle...............................
........................................142
6.4 The first selection rules...................................
..........................................146
6.5 The polarisation of quantised radiation and selection rules.
..........................................148
6.6 The Rydberg series and the quantum defect...................
..........................................151
6.7 Towards a more complete quantum theory of atoms.............
..........................................154
7 Understanding atomic spectra additional quantum numbers...............
....................................156
7.1 Optical spectroscopy, multiplets and the splitting of spectr
al lines..................................156
7.2 The Stark effect............................................
..........................................157
7.3 The Zeeman effect...........................................
..........................................161
7.4 The anomalous Zeeman effect.................................
..........................................164
7.5 The Barnett, Einsteinde Haas and SternGerlach experiments.....
......................................170

8 Bohrsmodel of the periodic table and the origin of spin................

....................................174
8.1 Bohrs first model of the periodic table......................
........................................174
8.2 The Wolfskehl lectures and Bohrs second theory of the periodi
c table.................................176
8.3 X-ray levels and Stoners revised periodic table..............
........................................183
8.4 Paulis exclusion principle...................................
........................................187
8.5 The spin of the electron....................................
..........................................188
9 The waveparticle duality...............................................
....................................191
9.1 The Compton effect..........................................
..........................................191
9.2 BoseEinstein statistics......................................
........................................193
9.3 De Broglie waves............................................
..........................................196
9.4 Electron diffraction........................................
..........................................200
9.5 What had been achieved by the end of 1924...................
..........................................202
Part III The Discovery of QuantumMechanics......................................
..................................206
10 The collapse of the old quantum theory and the seeds of its regenerat
ion...................................208
10.1 Ladenburg, Kramers and the theory of dispersion............
..........................................208
10.2 Slater and the BohrKramersSlater theory......................
......................................213
10.3 Born and quantum mechanics...................................
......................................216
10.4 Mathematics and physics in Gottingen........................
........................................219
11 The Heisenberg breakthrough..........................................
......................................222
11.1 Heisenberg in Gottingen, Copenhagen and Helgoland...........
........................................222
11.2 Quantum-theoretical re-interpretation of kinematic and mech
anical relations (Heisenberg, 1925).......224
11.3 The radiation problem and the translation from classical to
quantum physics..........................226
11.4 The new dynamics...........................................
..........................................231
11.5 The nonlinear oscillator...................................
..........................................233
11.6 The simple rotator.........................................
..........................................240
11.7 Reflections................................................
..........................................241
12 Matrix mechanics.....................................................
......................................243
12.1 Borns reaction..............................................
........................................243
12.2 Born and Jordans matrix mechanics...........................
........................................245
12.3 Born, Heisenberg and Jordan (1926) the Three-Man Paper.....
........................................251

12.4 Paulis theory of the hydrogen atom..........................

........................................260
12.5 The triumph of matrix mechanics and its incompleteness.....
..........................................264
13 Diracs quantum mechanics..............................................
....................................266
13.1 Diracs approach to quantum mechanics........................
........................................266
13.2 Dirac and The fundamental equations of quantum mechanics (1
925)......................................267
13.3 Quantum algebra, q- and c-numbers and the hydrogen atom....
..........................................274
13.4 Multi-electron atoms, On quantum algebra and a PhD disserta
tion......................................278
14 Schrodinger and wave mechanics........................................
....................................280
14.1 Schrodingers background in physics and mathematics...........
......................................280
14.2 Einstein, De Broglie and Schrodinger........................
........................................282
14.3 The relativistic Schrodinger wave equation..................
........................................286
14.4 Quantisation as an Eigenvalue Problem (Part 1).............
..........................................288
14.5 Quantisation as an eigenvalue problem (Part 2).............
..........................................293
14.6 Wave-packets...............................................
..........................................300
14.7 Quantisation as an eigenvalue problem (Part 3).............
..........................................303
14.8 Quantisation as an eigenvalue problem (Part 4).............
..........................................308
14.9 Reflections................................................
..........................................310
15 Reconcilingmatrix and wave mechanics.................................
......................................311
15.1 Schrodinger (1926d).........................................
........................................312
15.2 Lanczos (1926).............................................
..........................................317
15.3 Born and Wieners operator formalism.........................
........................................318
15.4 Paulis letter to Jordan.....................................
........................................321
15.5 Eckart and the operator calculus...........................
..........................................323
15.6 Reconciling quantum mechanics and Bohrs quantisation of angu
lar momentum the WKB approximation....326
15.7 Reflections................................................
..........................................329
16 Spin and quantum statistics..........................................
......................................331
16.1 Spin and the Lande g-factor.................................
........................................331
16.2 Heisenberg and the helium atom.............................
..........................................334
16.3 FermiDirac statistics the Fermi approach....................
......................................337
16.4 FermiDirac statistics the Dirac approach....................
......................................339

16.5 Building spin into quantum mechanics Pauli spin matrices...

........................................343
16.6 The Dirac equation and the theory of the electron..........
..........................................346
16.7 The discovery of the positron..............................
..........................................357
17 The interpretation of quantum mechanics..............................
......................................362
17.1 Schrodingers interpretation (1926)...........................
......................................362
17.2 Borns probabilistic interpretation of the wavefunction (1926
).....................................364
17.3 DiracJordan transformation theor ...........................
........................................368
17.4 The mathematical completion of quantum mechanics...........
..........................................374
17.5 Heisenbergs uncertaint principle...........................
........................................376
17.6 Ehrenfests theorem..........................................
........................................379
17.7 The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.........
..........................................381
18 The aftermath........................................................
......................................387
18.1 The development of theor ..................................
..........................................387
18.2 The theor of quantum tunnelling...........................
..........................................391
18.3 The splitting of the atom and the Cockcroft and Walton expe
riment....................................394
18.4 Discover of the neutron...................................
..........................................396
18.5 Discover of nuclear fission...............................
..........................................397
18.6 Pauli, the neutrino and Fermis theor of weak interactions..
........................................398
18.7 Cosmic ra s and the discover of elementar particles......
..........................................400
18.8 Astroph sical applications.................................
..........................................402
Epilogue........................................................................
..................................407
Notes...........................................................................
..................................408
References......................................................................
..................................424
Name index......................................................................
..................................451
Subject index...................................................................
..................................455