Related papers: Schroedinger discovery of wave mechanics
Schrodinger path to the quantum mechanical wave equation was heuristic and guided more by physical intuition than formal deduction. Here we derive the Schrodinger equation for the particle wave function, assuming that it has a meaning of…
In this paper I explain how I usually introduce the Schr\"odinger equation during the quantum mechanics course. My preferred method is the chronological one. Since the Schr\"odinger equation belongs to a special case of wave equations I…
The year 2005 marks the hundredth anniversary of the pioneering contribution of Einstein's to modern physics in 1905. The discussion of Einstein's five groundbreaking fundamental papers, which change our picture of the universe and ideas…
In his 1916 ground-breaking general relativity paper Einstein had imposed a restrictive coordinate condition, his field equations were valid for coordinate systems which are unimodular. Later, Einstein published a paper on gravitational…
Schroedinger's first proposal for the interpretation of quantum mechanics was based on a postulate relating the wave function on configuration space to charge density in physical space. Schroedinger apparently later thought that his…
In his seminal part IV, Ann. der Phys. Vol 81, 1926 paper, Schrodinger has developed a clear understanding about the wave equation that produces the correct quadratic dispersion relation for matter-waves and he first presents a real-valued…
In the year 1905 Albert Einstein published four papers that raised him to a giant in the history of science of all times. These works encompass the photon hypothesis (for which he obtained the Nobel prize in 1921), his first two papers on…
Heisenberg's breakthrough in his July 1925 paper that set in motion the development of Quantum Mechanics through subsequent papers by Born, Jordan, Heisenberg and also Dirac (from 1925 to 1927) is reexamined through a modern lens. In this…
We discuss the discovery of the relativistic wave equation for a spin-zero charged particle in the Coulomb field by Erwin Schr\"odinger (and elaborate on why he didn't publish it).
The photoelectric effect has been discovered by H. Hertz, and studied experimentally by P. Lenard. First theoretical explanation has been done by A. Einstein who suggested the corpuscular theory of light introducing the "photons" which are…
We have recently passed the 75th anniversary of one of the most important results in solar and space physics: Hannes Alfv\'en's discovery of Alfv\'en waves and the Alfv\'en speed. To celebrate the anniversary, this article recounts some…
The paper is based on a talk given to celebrate {\O}rsted's discovery of electromagnetism in 1820. It gives a brief account of {\O}rsted's life and work, before using the evidence of articles on electricity and magnetism in the…
Two essential shortcomings of the axiomatics of wave mechanics are revealed, which make its consistent interpretation impossible. The first is that the standard formulation of the superposition principle contradicts the exact solutions of…
The wave equation in quantum mechanics and its general solution in the phase space are obtained.
The hydrogen atom is a system amenable to an exact treatment within Schroedinger's formulation of quantum mechanics according to coordinates in four systems -- spherical polar, paraboloidal, ellipsoidal and spheroconical coordinates; the…
Unusual features of water waves that Galileo described in a letter to Cardinal Orsini in 1616 are revisited from the perspectives of singular optics and geometric analysis.
The event GW150914 was the first historical detection of gravitational waves (GWs). The emergence of this ground-breaking discovery came not only from incredibly innovative experimental work, but also from a centennial of theoretical…
The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." While not magical by any means, the technology used to detect gravitational waves starting in 2015 is surely…
Einstein in 1905, his year of miracles, wrote five papers which mark a watershed between classical physics and modern physics. They dealt with problem of reality of atoms, theory of special relativity which overthrew Newtonian conceptions…
The discovery of Electromagnetism by Oersted (1820) started an 'extraordinary decennium' ended by the discovery of electromagnetic induction by Faraday (1831). During this decennium, in several experiments, the electromagnetic induction was…