Related papers: Early Atomic Models - From Mechanical to Quantum (…
For the simple system of a point-like particle confined to a straight line, I compile, initially in a concise table, the structural elements of quantum mechanics and contrast them with those of classical (statistical) mechanics. Despite…
The nuclear collective models introduced by Bohr, Mottelson and Rainwater, together with the Mayer-Jensen shell model, have provided the central framework for the development of nuclear physics. This paper reviews the microscopic evolution…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago, there ensued a quest to understand the often counterintuitive predictions of the theory. These endeavors invariably begin with the assumption of the "truth"…
We give an account of the appearance and first developments of the statistical model of atoms proposed by Thomas and Fermi, focusing on the main results achieved by Fermi and his group in Rome. Particular attention is addressed to the…
It is argued that by the end of the 1920s a quantum-mechanical model could have been in place, that not only produces the atomic and molecular energy levels of the many-body Pauli equation with Coulomb interactions and external classical…
In 1919 A. Einstein suspected first that gravitational fields could play an essential role in the structure of elementary particles. In 1937, P.A.M. Dirac found a miraculous link between the properties of the visible Universe and elementary…
Elementary Cycles Theory is a self-consistent, unified formulation of quantum and relativistic physics. Here we introduce its basic quantum aspects. On one hand, Newton's law of inertia states that every isolated particle has persistent…
Starting from a new principle inspired by quantum tomography rather than from Born's rule, this paper gives a self-contained deductive approach to quantum mechanics and quantum measurement. A suggestive notion for what constitutes a quantum…
An early approach to include pointers representing measurement devices into quantum mechanics was given by von Neumann. Based on this idea, we model such pointers by qubits and couple them to a free particle, in analogy to a classical…
It is shown that many dissipative phenomena of "old" quantum mechanics which appeared 100 years ago in the form of the statistics of quantum thermal noise and quantum spontaneous jumps, have never been explained by the "new" conservative…
Dawning neutron physics was more complex than one might expect. The chance that the neutron comprised a proton and an electron was diffusely taken into account after the discovery of the neutron. Moreover, uncertainties persisted about the…
Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general dificulty in the formation of human ideas, inherent…
In applied physics and in engineering intuitive understanding is a boost for creativity and almost a necessity for efficient product improvement. The existence of soliton solutions to the quantum equations in the presence of…
Ongoing experimental efforts to measure with unprecedented precision electron-capture probabilities challenges the current theoretical models. The short range of the weak interaction necessitates an accurate description of the atomic…
The biggest and most lasting among David Bohm's (1917-1992) many achievements is to have proposed a picture of reality that explains the empirical rules of quantum mechanics. This picture, known as pilot wave theory or Bohmian mechanics…
To understand the foundations of quantum mechanics, we have to think carefully about how theoretical concepts are rooted in -- and limited by -- the nature of experience, as Bohr attempted to show. Geometrical pictures of physical phenomena…
We sketch the foundations of classical electrodynamics, in particular the transition that took place when Einstein, in 1915, succeeded to formulate general relativity. In 1916 Einstein demonstrated that, with a choice of suitable variables…
Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas,…
In the initial stages of its development, atomic theory had to bypass the laws of classical electromagnetism in an ad hoc manner in order to explain the stability of atoms. In quantum mechanics, however, the classical theory may find again…
Time-resolved investigations of ultrafast electronic and molecular dynamics were not possible until recently. The typical time scale of these processes is in the picosecond to attosecond realm. The tremendous technological progress in…