Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum

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Basic Books, Feb 25, 2014 - Science - 384 pages
From the bestselling author of The Theoretical Minimum, an accessible introduction to the math and science of quantum mechanics 
 
“If you want to know how physicists really think about the world, this book is the place to start.”―Sean Carroll, author of The Particle at the End of the Universe 


First he taught you classical mechanics. Now, physicist Leonard Susskind teams up with data engineer Art Friedman to present the theory and associated mathematics of the strange world of quantum mechanics. 
 
In this follow-up to the New York Times best-selling The Theoretical Minimum, Susskind and Friedman provide a lively introduction to this famously difficult topic by illustrating the behavior of sub-atomic objects through mathematical abstractions. Unlike other popularizations that shy away from quantum mechanics' weirdness, Quantum Mechanics embraces it. The authors offer crystal-clear explanations of the principles of quantum states, uncertainty and time dependence, entanglement, and particle and wave states, among other topics, and each chapter includes exercises to ensure mastery of each area.  
 
Approachable yet rigorous, Quantum Mechanics provides a tool kit for amateur scientists to learn physics at their own pace. 
 

Contents

Quantum States
35
Principles of Quantum Mechanics
51
Time and Change
93
Uncertainty and Time Dependence
129
Entanglement
149
More on Entanglement
183
Particles and Waves
235
Particle Dynamics
273
The Harmonic Oscillator
311
Appendix
347
Index
353
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About the author (2014)

Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the Dirac Medal, the Galileo Medal, and the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization, among numerous other honors. He is the author of the New York Times-bestselling The Theoretical Minimum series. He lives in Palo Alto, California. 
   
Art Friedman is a data consultant who previously spent fifteen years at Hewlett-Packard as a software engineer. A lifelong student of physics, he lives in Murphys, California. 

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