Compendium of Quantum Physics Concepts, Experiments, History and Philosoph

Since its inception in the early part of the twentieth century, quantum physics has
fascinated the academic world, its students, and even the general public. In fact, it is
– or has become – a highly interdisciplinary field. On a topic such as “the physics of
the atom” the disciplines of physics, philosophy, and history of science interconnect
in a remarkable way, and to an extent that is revealed in this volume for the first
time. This compendium brings together some 90 researchers, who have authored
approximately 185 articles on all aspects of quantum theory. The project is truly
international and interdisciplinary because it is a compilation of contributions by
historians of science, philosophers, and physicists, all interested in particular aspects
of quantum physics. A glance at the biographies at the end of the volume reveals
author affiliations in no fewer than twenty countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom
and the United States. Indeed, the authors are not only international, they are also
internationally renowned – with three Physics Nobel Prize laureates among them.
The basic idea and motivation behind the compendiumis indicated in its subtitle,
namely, to describe in concise and accessible form the essential concepts and experiments
as well as the history and philosophy of quantum physics. The length of the
contributions varies according to the topic, and all texts are written by recognized
experts in the respective fields. The need for such a compendium was originally
perceived by one of the editors (FW), who later discovered that many physicists
shared this view. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this endeavor, it would have
been impossible to realize it without the expertise and active participation of a professional
physicist (DG) and a historian of science (KH). We should not forget,
however, that it was brought to life by the numerous contributions of the many
authors from around the world, who generously offered their time and expertise to
write their respective articles. The contributions appear in alphabetical order by title,
and include many cross-references, as well as selected references to the literature.
The volume includes a short English–French–German lexicon of common terms in
quantum physics. This will be especially helpful to anyone interested in exploring