Quantum theory at the crossroads reconsidering the 1927 Solvay conference ; [with a complete translation of the original proceedings

The 1927 Solvay conference was perhaps the most important in the history of quantum theory. Contrary to popular belief, questions of interpretation were not settled at this conference. Instead, a range of sharply conflicting views were extensively discussed, including de Broglie's pilot-wave theory (which de Broglie presented for a many-body system), Born and Heisenberg's 'quantum mechanics' (which apparently lacked wave function collapse or fundamental time evolution), and SchrГ¶dinger's wave mechanics. Today, there is no longer a dominant interpretation of quantum theory, so it is important to re-evaluate the historical sources and keep the debate open. This book contains a complete translation of the original proceedings, with essays on the three main interpretations presented, and a detailed analysis of the lectures and discussions in the light of current research. This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics and in the history and philosophy of quantum theory. Title ......Page 3 Copyright ......Page 4 Contents ......Page 7 List of illustrations......Page 12 Preface......Page 15 Abbreviations......Page 21 Part I Perspectives on the 1927 Solvay conference......Page 27 1 Historical introduction......Page 29 2 De Broglie’s pilot-wave theory......Page 53 3 From matrix mechanics to quantum mechanics......Page 106 4 Schrödinger’s wave mechanics......Page 137 Part II Quantum foundations and the 1927 Solvay conference......Page 163 5 Quantum theory and the measurement problem......Page 165 6 Interference, superposition and wave packet collapse......Page 178 7 Locality and incompleteness......Page 201 8 Time, determinism and the spacetime framework......Page 210 9 Guiding fields in 3-space......Page 223 10 Scattering and measurement in de Broglie’spilot-wave theory......Page 231 11 Pilot-wave theory in retrospect......Page 250 12 Beyond the Bohr–Einstein debate......Page 268 Part III The proceedings of the 1927 Solvay conference......Page 277 H. A. Lorentz......Page 281 Fifth physics conference......Page 283 The intensity of X-ray reflectiona BY MR W. L. BRAGG......Page 285 Disagreements between experiment and the electromagnetic theory of radiation BY MR ARTHUR H. COMPTON......Page 327 The new dynamics of quanta BY MR LOUIS DE BROGLIE......Page 367 Quantum mechanics BY MESSRS MAX BORN AND WERNER HEISENBERG......Page 398 Wave mechanics BY MR E. SCHRÖDINGER......Page 432 General discussion of the new ideas presented CAUSALITY, DETERMINISM, PROBABILITY......Page 458 Appendix......Page 497 Bibliography......Page 528 Index......Page 541 The 1927 Solvay conference was perhaps the most important in the history of quantum theory. Contrary to popular belief, questions of interpretation were not settled at this conference. Instead, a range of sharply conflicting views were extensively discussed, including de Broglie's pilot-wave theory (which de Broglie presented for a many-body system), Born and Heisenberg's "quantum mechanics" (which apparently lacked wave function collapse or fundamental time evolution), and Schrödinger's wave mechanics. Today, there is no longer a dominant interpretation of quantum theory, so it is important to re-evaluate the historical sources and keep the debate open. This book contains a complete translation of the original proceedings, with essays on the three main interpretations presented, and a detailed analysis of the lectures and discussions in the light of current research. This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics and in the history and philosophy of quantum theory. - Publisher. Part 1 : Perspectives on the 1927 Solvay Conference. Historical introduction De Broglie's pilot-wave theory From matrix mechanics to quantum mechanics Schrödinger's wave mechanics Part 2 : Quantum foundations and the 1927 Solvay Conference. Quantum theory and the measurement problem Interference, superposition, and wave packet collapse Locality and incompleteness Time, determinism, and the spacetime framework Guiding fields in 3-space Scattering and measurement in de Broglie's pilot-wave theory Pilot-wave theory in retrospect Beyond the Bohr-Einstein debate Part 3 : The proceedings of the 1927 Solvay Conference. The intensity of X-ray reflection Disagreements between experiment and the electromagnetic theory of radiation The new dynamics of quanta Quantum mechanics Wave mechanics General discussion This book contains a complete translation of the original proceedings of the 1927 Solvay conference, with background essays and an extensive analysis in light of current research. This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics, and the history and philosophy of quantum theory. The 1927 Solvay conference was very important meeting in the history of quantum theory, but no consensus was reached. This book contains a complete translation of the original proceedings, with background essays on the three main interpretations of quantum theory presented at the conference