Constructing Quantum Mechanics is the first of two volumes on the genesis of quantum mechanics. This volume traces the early contributions by Planck, Einstein, and Bohr, all showing the need for drastic changes to the physics of their day. It examines the efforts by Sommerfeld and others to develop a new theory, now known as the old quantum theory. After some striking successes, this theory ran into serious difficulties and ended up serving as the scaffold on which the arch of modern quantum mechanics was built.

This volume breaks new ground, both in its treatment of the work of Sommerfeld and his associates, and by offering new perspectives on classic papers by Planck, Einstein, Bohr, and others. Paying close attention to both primary and secondary sources, Constructing Quantum Mechanics provides an in-depth analysis of the heroic struggle to come to terms with the wealth of mostly spectroscopic data that eventually gave us modern quantum mechanics.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction to Volume One

Part I Early Developments

Chapter 2 Planck, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and Black-body Radiation

Chapter 3 Einstein, Equipartition, Fluctuations, and Quanta

Chapter 4 The Birth of the Bohr Model

Part II The Old Quantum Theory

Chapter 5 Guiding Principles

Chapter 6 Successes

Chapter 7 Failures

Review

"An excellent work which innovatively combines conceptual clarity with penetrating analysis of relevant theory." -- Helge Kragh, Annals of Science

"Engineers and scientists from across the board will get a kick out of being able to read about the origins of their everyday toolkits-this is lucid historical reasoning about one of the great accomplishments of modern science. After seeing the author's track the launch of the old quantum theory, I'm looking forward to their account of full-blown quantum mechanics to come in volume 2!" -- Peter Galison, Harvard University

"Clearly written, by highly competent authors, giving full reasoning and calculations for all important developments." -- Olivier Darrigol, CNRS, France

"This will be a widely read book and used in many physics and history of physics courses at the undergraduate college-university level. It will be greeted most enthusiastically by scholars and teachers alike." -- Roger H. Stuewer, University of Minnesota

"Indeed a very important and valuable contribution to the history of quantum mechanics." -- Michael Eckert, Deutsches Museum, Muenchen

"What seemed a good piece of work at the start is magisterial. This is the book I have been waiting to see for a long time." -- Steven N. Shore, University of Pisa

"This book will very likely become a new point of reference for everyone working on the history of quantum physics." -- Christian Joas, Niels Bohr Archive



About the Authors

Anthony Duncan, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA,Michel Janssen, Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA

Anthony Duncan received his PhD in theoretical elementary particle physics in 1975 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the supervision of Steven Weinberg. Following postdoctoral and junior faculty positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and Columbia University in New York, he joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh in 1981 as Associate Professor of Physics. He has taught a wide range of courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, including courses on the history of modern physics. He is now (since 2015) professor emeritus of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Michel Janssen is a historian of modern physics at the University of Minnesota. He has a Master's in physics from the University of Amsterdam and a PhD in history and philosophy of science from the University of Pittsburgh. Before his current position in Minnesota, he was an editor at the Einstein Papers Project. He co-authored The Genesis of General Relativity (Springer, 2007) and co-edited The Cambridge Companion to Einstein (Cambridge, 2014). More recently he has published a series of papers co-authored with Anthony Duncan on the genesis of quantum mechanics.