Re: [Phys-l] readings on quantum mechanics for general public by founders of QM?

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@hep.anl.gov>]

Hi-
	I suggest that you look at, and enjoy, "Doubt and Certainty", by 
Rothman and Sudarshan.  At one level, the book is a response to 
Sudarshan's fellow faculty member Steve Weinberg's book, "Dreams of a 
Final Theory", at another level it makes fun of the views of the 
"pioneers", and, at another level it gives some exposition to the views of 
the authors.
		Regards,
				Jack (who is just finishing the book)


"Trust me.  I have a lot of experience at this."
		General Custer's unremembered message to his men,
		just before leading them into the Little Big Horn Valley




On Sat, 23 Apr 2011, Krishna Chowdary wrote:

> Dear Colleagues
>
> Please suggest essays, articles, or books by pioneers in quantum
> mechanics (I'm hoping for early pioneers, such as Planck, Bohr,
> Einstein, Heisenberg, Pauli, etc.) about quantum mechanics that were
> intended for the general public at the time they were published. I
> recognize that there are later textbooks which might be easier for
> contemporary students to understand, and I plan to use those as well,
> but those sources aren't too difficult to find and identify.
>
> Here are some examples for other topics:
>
> 1) Galileo's two "Dialogues" (Chief World Systems and New Sciences).
> You may object that these were not written for the general public, and
> that would be a separate and interesting discussion, but I put it in
> this category as he wrote in Italian and not Latin.
>
> 2) Einstein's "Relativity: The Special and General Theory". In his
> preface, Einstein explicitly indicates his proposed audience. I
> recognize that modern treatments that emphasize the geometric nature
> of spacetime might be preferred by some (including me), but it fits my
> parameters very well.
>
> While books like Gamow's "Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story
> of Quantum Theory" and Infeld's (with Einstein) "The Evolution of
> Physics" are pretty close to what I'm looking, I'm hoping from
> suggestions about what the pioneers themselves wrote about quantum
> physics.
>
> For context, this is for a team-taught interdisciplinary program that
> will be studying revolutions in physics and theater (and possibly
> music) in the early modern period (e.g. Galileo, Shakespeare) and in
> the early 20th century (relativity and QM for the physics). The
> program will be at the introductory and general education level. We'll
> read selections from Galileo and Einstein's book mentioned above.
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> sincerely,
> Krishna
>
> Krishna Chowdary
> Faculty, Physics & Math
> The Evergreen State College
> Olympia WA 98505
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