Page Tools:
  • print-friendly version

The Quantum Challenge: Modern Research on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition

Author(s): George Greenstein, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
Arthur G. Zajonc, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
Details:
  • ISBN-13: 9780763724702
  • ISBN-10:076372470X
  • Paperback    296 pages      © 2006
Price: International Sales $133.95 US List
Add to Cart Request a Review Copy

Overview

The Quantum Challenge, Second Edition is an engaging and thorough treatment of the extraordinary phenomena of quantum mechanics, and of the enormous challenge they present to our conception of the physical world.  Traditionally, the thrill of grappling with such issues is reserved for practicing scientists, while physical science, mathematics, and engineering students are often isolated from these inspiring questions.  This book was written to remove this isolation.

Greenstein and Zajonc present the puzzles of quantum mechanics using vivid references to contemporary experiments.  The authors focus on the most striking and conceptually significant quantum phenomena, together with a clear theoretical treatment of each.  The depth and extent of the challenge of quantum mechanics becomes increasingly compelling as they move from the simplest experiments involving single photons or particles, to the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen and Bell's Theorem, and then to macroscopic quantum phenomena.

ShowKey Features

New to this Edition!

Updated to describe seminal experiments that have been done since the first edition published, these more recent experiments have done much to sharpen and shed light on the challenges discussed in the first edition.  Some questions have been answered, while others have been re-framed by this new work.

New to this Edition!

A new chapter on the exciting new field of Quantum Information and Computation includes a discussion of quantum information and quantum computation, including the topics of quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation, and the deutsch/jozsa algorithm in quantum computation.

New to this Edition!

Technology has advanced so rapidly that many of the ground-breaking experiments described in the previous edition can now be done in undergraduate labs and integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.  The second edition contains a detailed, annotated bibliography of recently published articles describing these undergraduate experiments. 

Conceptual issues are presented in an experimental context, in which the difficulties of interpretation are dramatized by means of reference to actual contemporary experiments.

The book’s aim is explicitly pedagogical. It is designed to be accessible to a wide range of readers. Topics are introduced only to the extent that they illustrate one or another of the overarching themes of quantum theory.

Back to top

ShowTable of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1.  Matter Waves
Chapter 2.  Photons
Chapter 3.  The Uncertainty Principle
Chapter 4.  Complementarity
Chapter 5.  The EPR Paradox and Bell's Theorem
Chapter 6.  Testing Bell's Inequalities: Entangled States
Chapter 7.  Schrödinger's Cat
Chapter 8.  Measurement
Chapter 9.  Quantum Information and Computing

Appendix: A Bibliography of Experiments for the Undergraduate Laboratory

Epilogue
Reference
Index


Back to top

ShowAbout the Author(s)

George Greenstein-Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

George Greenstein is the Sidney Dillon professor of astronomy at Amherst College. His research has centered on relativistic astrophysics, and he is currently interested in non-traditional approaches to science education.

Arthur G. Zajonc-Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Arthur G. Zajonc is professor of physics at Amherst College. His research has focused on laser and atomic physics, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and the relationship between science and the humanities.

 

 

Back to top

ShowAppropriate Courses

This text was designed for advanced undergraduate science, mathematics, and engineering students. Possible course titles include: Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics.

Back to top