Einstein, Physics and Reality

by Mehra, Jagdish

• ISBN13: 9789810239138
• ISBN10: 9810239130
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUB CO INC

Summary

Albert Einstein was one of the principal founders of the quantum and relativity theories. Until 1925, when Bose-Einstein statistics was discovered, he made great contributions to the foundations of quantum theory. However, after the discovery of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg and wave mechanics by Schrodinger, with the consequent development of the principles of uncertainty and complementarity, it would seem that Einstein's views completely changed. In his theory of the Brownian motion, Einstein had invoked the theory of probability to establish the reality of atoms and molecules; but, in 1916-17, when he wished to predict the exact instant when an atom would radiate -- and developed his theory of the A and B coefficients -- "a statistical residue remained," which he did not quite have the courage of his convictions to accept, as he told his friend Max Born. However, he wrote later to Born that quantum mechanics "is certainly imposing," but "an inner voice tells me that it is not the real thing ... It does not bring us closer to the secret of the 'Old One'. I,

Author Biography

Trained as a theoretical physicist in the schools of Heisenberg and Pauli, Jagdish Mehra is a distinguished historian of modern physics. He lives in Houston, Texas, USA, where he is associated with the University of Houston

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(2)
The `Non-Einsteinian Quantum Theory'	3	(22)
The Bohr-Sommerfeld Atom	4	(3)
Physics and the Correspondence Principle	7	(3)
Quantum Mechanics	10	(4)
Wave Mechanics	14	(2)
The Interpretation of Microphysics	16	(9)
The Probability Interpretation of the Wave Function	17	(3)
The Uncertainty Relations	20	(5)
`The Crisis in Theoretical Physics'	25	(26)
Einstein's Early Readings	26	(3)
The Basic Principles in Einstein's Early Work	29	(3)
The Discussion of the Light-Quantum with Niels Bohr	32	(5)
Does Field Theory Present Possibilities for the Solution of the Quantum Problem?	37	(14)
A New Heuristic Viewpoint	39	(3)
Foundations of the Theory of Gravitation	42	(3)
Towards the Unified Field Theory	45	(6)
Letters on Wave Mechanics	51	(8)
The Real Schrodinger Equation	52	(2)
On the Uncertainty Relation	54	(1)
Are There Quantum Jumps?	55	(4)
Epistemological Discussion with Einstein: Does Quantum Mechanics Describe Reality Correctly?	59	(18)
The Fifth Solvay Conference (1927)	60	(7)
The Discussions on Epistemological Problems	67	(4)
Bohr's Principle of Complementarity and the Copenhagen School	71	(6)
Is the Quantum-Theoretical Description of Nature Complete?	77	(16)
`Knowledge of Past and Future in Quantum Mechanics'	78	(1)
The Completeness Problem	79	(5)
Physics and Reality	84	(5)
Quantum Mechanics and Reality	89	(4)
Does God Play Dice?	93	(16)
The `Statistical Einstein'	96	(3)
Einstein's Last Discussion About Statistical Causality and Determinism	99	(10)
Mach contra Kant: Aspects of the Development of Einstein's Natural Philosophy	109	(28)
The Heuristic Points of View	110	(4)
The Economy of Thought	114	(2)
`Theories Are Free Inventions of the Mind'	116	(4)
Between Scylla and Charybdis	120	(2)
Presuppositions and Anticipations	122	(4)
Intuition and Experience	126	(2)
What Is Reality?	128	(2)
Description and Reality	130	(3)
Science and Hypothesis	133	(4)
Notes and References	137