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THE HISTORICAL AND PHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS OF QUANTUM
MECHANICS
The Historical and Physical Foundations
of Quantum Mechanics
Robert Golub
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Steven K. Lamoreaux
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
⃝
c Robert Golub and Steven K. Lamoreaux 2023
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022951663
ISBN 978–0–19–882218–9
ISBN 978–0–19–882219–6 (pbk.)
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198822189.001.0001
Printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
We dedicate this book to the memories of Prof. J.M. Pendlebury,
Dr. V.K. Ignatovich, Prof. A. Steyerl, and Prof. H.G. Dehmelt.
Preface
There is an enormous number of books and other writings concerned with explaining
and interpreting quantum mechanics. Standard texts tend to concentrate on method-
ology and applications to specific problems, while discussions of interpretation and the
historical development tend to contain a minimum of mathematics. The idea behind
this book is that to gain a real understanding of the subject, some acquaintance with
the historical development is essential; after all, that history is the narrative of how
humanity learned quantum mechanics. The ideas were not found written on tablets
on a farm in e.g., New York State, but were slowly and painstakingly developed by
people just like us. We also provide accompanying discussions for the various interpre-
tations that have been suggested, providing sufficient mathematical illustrations that
highlight the respective features and differences.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our friends and family for their understanding and support as
our attention was drawn away to the writing of this book.
R. G. would like to thank his wife Ekaterina Korobkina, E. David Davis for con-
tributions to Chapter 21 and help with the book, and Roland Gähler. In addition, he
thanks Prof. Chueng Ji for discussions at the early stages of the book.
S. K. L. thanks his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Zoe, his Friday Owl Shop cigar
friends Carl J. Frano and James Surprenant, and Dr. Sidney B. Cahn for their un-
failing and unflappable moral support. He also thanks Mr. Edward S. McCatty (B.A.
(Amherst), M.Div. (Yale), M.A. Lit. (UCL)) for editorial comments on Chapter 1 and
for providing inspiration throughout the project.
We especially thank Dr. Yulia Gurevich, whose expert editing, together with her
vast knowledge of physics, clarified and strengthened many parts of this book. Her
artistic talent is evident in many of the figures.
Yale University provided support for the preparation and editing of the manuscript.
NCSU also provided support with a sabbatical for R. G.
♠♢♣♡
Contents
APPENDICES
A Classical mechanics 696
A.1 Introduction 696
A.2 Lagrangian mechanics 696
A.3 Hamiltonian mechanics 703
A.4 Transformations of coordinates—canonical transformations and
the Hamilton-Jacobi equation 705
A.5 Action-angle variables 710
A.6 Conclusion 714
B Galilean invariance of the Schrödinger equation 715
B.1 Alternative test of Galilean invariance 718
B.2 Internal coordinates and momenta for a two- and multi-particle
system 718
C Universality of Planck’s constant 720
D Conservation laws 722
E Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism for classical fields 726
E.1 Lagrangian for a classical continuous field: example of a vibrating
string 726
E.2 Lagrange’s equations for a classical continuous field 727
E.3 Hamiltonian formulation for classical continuous fields 728
Index 731
Part I
Basis of the Theory
The first part of this book provides a historical background and brings us to the
modern theory.
1
Introduction
“You have nothing to do but mention the quantum theory and people will take your voice for
the voice of science and believe anything you say.” George Bernard Shaw, 19381
1.1 Overview
A search on Amazon.com for books on “quantum theory” returns over 10,000 hits
while searching for “quantum physics” returns over 20,000. This corresponds to one
book a day for 30 years. These books range from advanced mathematical treatises
to books without a single equation, from deep philosophical debates between authors
with different understandings of the subject to textbooks teaching the methodology
and various applications. In addition, there are vast numbers of papers in historical
and philosophical journals concerned with the development and philosophical impli-
cations of the theory. For those interested, there are also many volumes of collected
correspondence and many online archives of oral and written material.2
While there is little dispute over the mathematical apparatus of the theory and its
application to physical problems there is a wide spectrum of divergent opinions about
what the theory is trying to tell us concerning the nature of reality. For a long time
following WWII, there was little interest among physicists for such questions as atten-
tion was turned to the frenetic development of different technologies. However, recent
decades have seen, in addition to an amazing range of applications of the theory, an
ever-increasing attention to what is called the “interpretation” of quantum mechanics.
There is now a bewildering forest of these interpretations each of which has a group of
supporters as well as opponents. As, to this date, none of the interpretations has been
able to convince a majority of working physicists (who, it should be said, mostly ignore
these discussions, an attitude that has been summed up as “shut up and calculate”)
of its correctness or necessity. It is almost as if physics is splitting into a number of
cults uniting supporters and critics in a never-ending embrace.
It is striking that all of the proposed interpretations are concerned with the original
form of the theory, the Schrödinger theory supplemented by the Dirac transformation
theory, seemingly ignoring the most advanced form of the theory, i.e., that involving the
1 Quoted by Simon, D.R., On the Power of Quantum Computation, 35th Annual Symposium on
the Foundations of Computer Science, (1994) Santa Fe, NM and at www.greatest-quotations.com.
2 See e.g., American Philosophical Society Library: Sources for the History of Quantum Physics,
1898-1950, https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.530.1.Ar2-ead.xml.
The Historical and Physical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Robert Golub and Steven K. Lamoreaux, Oxford University Press.
⃝c Robert Golub and Steven K. Lamoreaux (2023). DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198822189.003.0001
4 Introduction
He then goes on to state “Historians are often unjust with respect to the experi-
mental physicists. Even though the evolution of ideas is very important for history, we
should not neglect the geniuses among the experimental physicists whose discoveries
and results are absolutely necessary for new ideas and their verification,” and further
makes the point that “Published articles are not very reliable as historical sources. In
a good article, the author tries to convince the reader so he often chooses a different
train of thought as that by which he came upon the idea.” This is something that can
be attested to by any experienced researcher.
Steven Weinberg (op. cit.) explicitly disdains the historical approach to teaching
physical theories, preferring a logical development of the theory as it is presently
understood. This, of course, vitiates the importance of direct observation of natural
phenomena, and the fact that current physical theories were at one time tenuous
hypotheses that required testing via the scientific method. As such, abandoning the
historical approach appears as a throwback toward Scholasticism with its basis in
dogmatism.
Albert Einstein was also skeptical of a historical approach:
Only those who have successfully wrestled with problematic situations of their own age can
have a deep insight into those situations, unlike later historians who find it difficult to make
abstractions from those concepts and views which appear to his generation as established or
even self evident.8
While there is certainly a large degree of truth in all of this the fact is that the
original published papers are closer to the original ideas than a third-generation text-
book and can be expected to reflect something of the then-contemporary zeitgeist as
the result of the author’s stated wish to persuade his readers. We also make use of
letters and contemporary accounts when appropriate.
Thus, in this book, while being aware of these issues, we will attempt to trace the
main lines of the development with the hope that this return to the roots will cast
some light on what are today considered the difficulties of the theory.
8 Einstein, A., Reply to criticisms in Schilpp, P.A., ed., Albert Einstein Philosopher-Scientist,
Vol.II, Harper, 1949, 1951.
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Peggy knelt down, so as to come nearer to the tub, and looked
down into it. Then she uttered a little wail. “O father, I think they’re all
looking sick somehow! Look at my flounders!”
One of the flounders, alas! was dead already, as well as the crab,
and the other looked rather sorry for himself. Colonel Roberts,
however, would not let Peggy cry.
“Look here, child,” he said; “they want to be put back into the sea
—that’s all. There are too many of them all crowded together in the
tub; we’ll take them back to a pool on the shore, and they will soon
be as frisky as ever again.”
“Not the dead ones,” said Peggy solemnly.
“No, not the poor dead ones, but the sick ones. Go and fetch me
a pail, and we’ll carry them down to the shore.”
“But then I won’t ever see them again,” Peggy objected.
“Now, don’t be a selfish little girl. You would rather they lived and
were happy, wouldn’t you?”
“Ye—s,” Peggy faltered.
“Well, go and fetch the pail.”
After all, it would be good fun to put them all back into the sea,
Peggy thought; so she ran away and fetched the garden pail from
the shed. Colonel Roberts pulled up his sleeves, and dived his arm
into the tub, and fished up the creatures one by one. They all looked
rather flabby and sick.
“Now, we must take them down to the shore,” he said.
They selected a nice large pool, and one by one placed the poor
sick creatures into it. Then Peggy sat down to watch. She had not
long to wait: the sick flounder revived in the most extraordinary
manner, the anemones began to wave their feelers about in the nice
clean water as if they too felt all right.
“See! they are all quite happy again, Peggy,” said her father.
“Oh, I am sorry not to keep them,” said she. “Do you think I’ll ever
get anything to play with that I can love so much?”
“Well, that depends upon yourself, Peggy; but as we walk back to
the house you can guess what I’ve got for you at home.”
“Have you got something new for me—something I’ll love?”
“Yes, quite new. I fancy you’ll love it very much.”
“As much as my sea beasts?”
“Oh, a great deal more. What do you think would be the nicest
thing you could have?”
“A Shetland pony?”
“No, far nicer.”
“A big Persian pussy-cat?”
“No, nicer still.”
Peggy began to dance with impatience. “Oh, do tell me; what is
it?” she cried.
“Well, you will find a new sister at home, very small and pink, with
blue eyes and a lot of nice black hair.”
Peggy received this description dumbly; indeed, she walked on
for a few yards before she said bitterly,—
“O father, I’d have liked the Shetland pony ever so much better;
couldn’t you change it yet? Is the sister much cheaper? I’ll give you
my shilling!”
She was rather hurt by the way her father laughed at this
proposal.
“Why, Peggy, a sister will be ever so much nicer than a pony; she
will be able to play with you and speak to you soon.”
“Can’t she speak? She can’t be a very good one,” said Peggy
dolefully.
“No, she can only cry as yet—she cries a good deal.”
“Well, I don’t want her then, father. Do please send her away, and
get me the pony instead, or even the cat.”
“I think we’ve got to keep her, Peggy. Suppose you wait till you
see her. Perhaps you won’t wish then to send her away.”
“Can she walk, if she is so stupid, and can’t talk?” Peggy asked
suspiciously.
“Oh no, she can’t walk; she is dressed in long robes, just like your
Belinda.”
“Who has been playing with her?” Peggy asked. “Has mother? It
doesn’t amuse her much to play with Belinda, and if this thing is just
like her, I wonder mother cares to play with it either.”
“Yes, mother has played with her most of the time.”
“Well, I think it’s very queer of her, for she doesn’t like Belinda a
bit,” said Peggy. Then, after a moment’s silence, she added,
“Perhaps I’ll like it too; I don’t feel as if I would. And please, father,
will you let me ride up to the house on your back?”
This ended the discussion about the new sister.
And now, if I were to tell you how precious the new sister was to
Peggy, it would take another volume as big as this to tell it. For when
Peggy’s sister grew a little older, they had such wonderful
adventures together that Peggy used to wonder how she had got on
all the tiresome years when she was alone.
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