![]() Title page of the first edition | |
Author | Paul Dirac |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Quantum mechanics |
Genres | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | 1930 |
Media type | |
Pages | 257 |
The Principles of Quantum Mechanics is an influential monograph on quantum mechanics written by Paul Dirac and first published by Oxford University Press in 1930.[1] Dirac gives an account of quantum mechanics by "demonstrating how to construct a completely new theoretical framework from scratch"; "problems were tackled top-down, by working on the great principles, with the details left to look after themselves".[2] It leaves classical physics behind after the first chapter, presenting the subject with a logical structure. Its 82 sections contain 785 equations with no diagrams.[2]
Dirac is credited with developing the subject "particularly in Cambridge and Göttingen between 1925–1927" (Farmelo).[2] It is considered one of the most influential texts on quantum mechanics, with Laurie M. Brown stating that it "set the stage, the tone, and much of the language of the quantum-mechanical revolution".[3]
The first and second editions of the book were published in 1930 and 1935.[4]
In 1947 the third edition of the book was published, in which the chapter on quantum electrodynamics was rewritten particularly with the inclusion of electron-positron creation.[4]
In the fourth edition, 1958, the same chapter was revised, adding new sections on interpretation and applications. Later a revised fourth edition appeared in 1967.[4]
Beginning with the third edition (1947), the mathematical descriptions of quantum states and operators were changed to use the Bra–ket notation, introduced in 1939 and largely developed by Dirac himself.[5]
Laurie Brown wrote an article describing the book's evolution through its different editions,[6] and Helge Kragh surveyed reviews by physicists (including Heisenberg, Pauli, and others) from the time of Dirac's book's publication.[7]
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![]() | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The Principles of Quantum Mechanics.
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