Pauli Lectures on Physics: Volume 5, Wave Mechanics

By Wolfgang Pauli

Book Overview

These lectures covering topics basic to classical and modern physics were given by Pauli at the Zurich Federal Institute, where they were transcribed by his collaborators. They have now been translated and edited for English publication, and are introduced by Victor Weisskopf, who writes as follows: "It is often said that scientific texts quickly become obsolete. Why are the Pauli lectures brought to the public today, when some of them were given as long as twenty years ago? The reason is simple: Pauli's way of presenting physics is never out of date. His famous article on the foundations of quantum mechanics appeared in 1933 in the German encyclopedia Handbuch der Physik.Twenty-five years later it reappeared practically unchanged in a new edition, whereas most other contributions to this encyclopedia had to be completely rewritten. The reason for this remarkable fact lies in Pauli's style, which is commensurate to the greatness of its subject in its clarity and impact. Style in scientific writing is a quality that today is on the point of vanishing. The pressure of fast publication is so great that people rush into print with hurriedly written papers and books that show little concern for careful formulation of ideas. Mathematical and instrumental techniques have become complicated and difficult today; they demand so much skill and training that most of the effort of writing and learning is devoted to the acquisition of this skill instead of insight into important concepts. Essential ideas of physics are often lost in the dense forest of mathematical reasoning. This situation need not be so. Pauli's lectures show how physical ideas can be presented clearly and in good mathematical form, without being hidden in formalistic expertise."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262660377
• ISBN13: 9780262660372
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 121 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Never knew these lectures were SO good

Ok - so I'd seen these books during my physics graduate school career - but for some reason never picked them up (too short, too concise...not sure what my problem was)! If I wanted good lectures - I referred to Feynman - and a few other odds and ends. Recently - I got my hands on the 'Wave Mechanics' lectures by Pauli. Two things struck me about this wonderful exposition 1) Concise clarity - unlike any other book (and I am including Feynman lectures - what Feynman takes 50 pages to convey - Pauli conveys in 5). 2) Mathematical formalism that is easy to understand. Again - unlike Feynman who leaves out bulk of the mathematics for the 'physical understanding'. This is not a critique of Feynman - just that Pauli's lectures excel in BOTH areas - the mathematical as well as the physical formalism.

Lectures by a great master

Pauli was one of the great physicists of the 20th century. He invented neutrinos, for instance. The Pauli principle explains the Periodic Table and the rigidity of matter. These lectures on quantum mechanics are not the famous Handbuch article which was, for many years, a main reference on QM. These are notes taken by his students (and carefully edited by senior physicists, such as Charles Enz)at his classes. They are much more accessible, being meant for students. Being quite compact, I woulnd't say they are adequate for standard beginning students. They are, however, perfect for clarifying subtle points and have an exquisite elegance, in their simplicity. A friend of mine, an eminent experimentalist, considered it "his bible". An interesting exercise in style is comparing these lectures with the analogous ones by Fermi, in his Chicago lectures. Who wins? My favorite is Fermi's. But it is a close match.