Name: The Principles of Quantum Mechanics
ISBN: 9780198520115

The Principles of Quantum Mechanics

This is one of the most clear presentations of Quantum Mechanics (QM). Starting with a simple motivation for the need of a theory beyond classical physics, Dirac describes a number of features required in the new theory (QM), and proceeds to delineate properties which physical states (quantum states) have to obey in order to make sense in the observable world. The text proceeds to develop the standard QM terminology (state vector, operator, observable, equation of motion) and delves then into idealized and real physical systems (harmonic oscillator, free particle, hydrogen atom). The latter part of the book covers advanced topics like perturbation theory, scattering problems, multi-particle systems, relativistic systems. Only the chapter on Quantum Electro Dynamics might be considered to short by modern standards, but certainly serves as a good introduction. Paul Dirac, the author of this masterwork, is one of the founders of Quantum Mechanics. Mainly known today for the Dirac Equation, he can be considered one of the early Quantum Physicists who presented a complete picture of the mathematical foundations of the then new theory. His 'Principles' has withstood the test of time, and is as valuable a resource today as it was in the 1930s.

What Hacker News says

gazeSep 2021

Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Shankar is my favorite upper-undergrad book on the subject.

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jeffreyrogersAug 2020

This is a pretty good list. I used it is a starting point for my own studies. I just have two comments to make:

1. It's very likely you do not have good enough math skills to start learning physics. I have a math minor and CS major, but after being out of school for a few years I had forgotten a lot of stuff. I needed to spend a week reviewing algebra and trigonometry and then longer reviewing calculus. This is humbling but will make your progress a lot easier. If you don't do this there will be examples you can't follow because you don't know what trick the author is using to go from one step to another in a solution.

2. If your mathematical preparation is good you can skip a lot of the introductory stuff. I.e. just go straight to Taylor's Classical Mechanics, and Griffith's Introduction to Electrodynamics. You can also learn QM from the graduate texts. No need to read Griffith's QM book first. I'm working through Shankar's Principles of Quantum Mechanics and it is definitely doable. He introduces all the math you need for the rest of the book in the first chapter, so if you can make it through that (it is mostly linear algebra) you will be ready for the rest of the book.

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FuckButtonsMar 2020

Start by brushing up on your math, there’s not much you can really get into without first getting into the calculus of variations, which you probably haven’t covered. From that you can get into Hamiltonian mechanics and from there you can start to really grapple with quantum mechanics.

After dealing with the more technical side, you should read Paul Dirac’s book “the principles of quantum mechanics”

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antogniniMar 2020

My personal recommendations for an undergraduate course in physics (based in large part off of my own undergrad curriculum):

Foundations:

1. Newtonian Mechanics by A.P. French (https://archive.org/details/NewtonianMechanics/mode/2up). This will give you a good foundation for what is to come.

2. Spacetime Physics by Taylor & Wheeler --- first edition if you can find it! It is much, much better than the second! Special relativity is conceptually strange, but mathematically pretty easy, so you can jump right into it after learning Newtonian mechanics. Have a little fun!

3. Electricity & Magnetism by Purcell. This book is a little unusual in that it derives magnetism from the laws of special relativity. This is the more natural approach than just asserting the laws of magnetism since magnetism is fundamentally a relativistic phenomenon.

4. Waves by Crawford. (https://archive.org/details/Waves_371/mode/2up) A bit hard to find in print, but a really excellent textbook. Waves are a fascinating topic because they come up in every area of physics, so a course focused around them has a huge number of applications.

5. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths. The best introduction to the topic you will find!

6. Thermal Physics by Kittel & Kroemer. I haven't actually found an introductory book on statistical physics that I'm crazy about, but this one isn't too bad.

That should last you some time. But once you're through with those and are looking for more, then here are some advanced topics:

7. Analytical Mechanics by Hand & Finch. This will teach you advanced Newtonian mechanics --- in particular Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics. There is a chapter on chaotic dynamics towards the end, too. Another option here is Classical Mechanics by Goldstein.

8. Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths. More advanced E&M than Purcell. If you want to go further, then there's always Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson.

9. Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Shankar. This spends more time on the mathematical foundations of QM than Griffiths does and goes into the path integral formalism and touches on relativistic QM towards the end of the book.

10. A First Course in General Relativity by Schutz. There are arbitrarily advanced texts on GR, but I'd recommend starting off with something friendly like Schutz.

11. An Introduction to Elementary Particles by Griffiths. Not super advanced mathematically, but it's a good thing to read over to prepare you for more advanced QFT texts. The first chapter is especially good as a history of the development of particle physics.

12. Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell by Zee.

13. Modern Classical Physics by Thorne & Blandford. This is a tour de force. It's an enormous book but it really touches on everything that is left out by the above books. It covers optics, fluid dynamics, statistical physics, plasma physics, and more. (I'm currently reading through it and have only gotten through 6 chapters, but it's really an incredible textbook.)

14. Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity by Sethna. This is a really fun book, but almost all the material is in the problems.

Finally, and most importantly --- remember that physics is not a spectator sport! You must do problems. A lot of them --- and hard ones, too!

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escherplexOct 2018

A) math refresher: Basic Training in Mathematics - Shankar

B) undergrad A-level text: Principles of Quantum Mechanics - Shankar

Happened to like his approach given that he's trying to convey information with serviceable clarity given the subject matter without trying to impress you with his divine intellect, like some of the pedagogues who are legends in their own minds

C) Road to Reality - A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe - Penrose

Last one sounds pretentious but was a magnum opus. His postulates concerning consciousness as a synthesis of quantum functioning were probably a bit much.

FWIW when studying Japanese back in 2002 I liked the Heisig method but wanted animated stroke order displays for the characters. Jim Breen at Monash in Australia had half the set in .gif but I had to coax Jack Halpern in Japan to release the other half. Armed with the full set I was finally able to digitize the Remembering the Kanji in a useful .html form for personal use over the space of a month (still keep it as a bookmarked local app in Firefox). When done, apps like Anki (tr: memorization) J-flashcards started showing up, duplicating the work. :)

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wayn3May 2017

Dirac derives quantum physics from first principles, including the relevant thought experiments, in one of his books. that was good enough for me. made a lot of sense.

"Principles of Quantum Mechanics"

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