Letters on Wave Mechanics: Correspondence with H. A. Lorentz, Max Planck, and Erwin Schrödinger

This is an amazing collection of letters between Einstein and three other giants who founded the modern theory of quantum mechanics and of relativity: Planck, Schödinger and Lorentz. I especially enjoyed the correspondence between Einstein and Schrödinger, two men who had somewhat similar lives in the difficult times before the second world war: both refused to submit to nazi rules and refused to accept war, both ran away from the approaching war and both had the deepest thoughts on the foundation of quantum theories. The correspondence is also interesting for the way the two men shared their opinions, always avoiding difficult mathematical equations to better evidence the roots of the perplexities and paradoxes solicited by the theory. As a theoretical physicist, I strongly recommend all readers to read this 'little' book, which is far more interesting than any textbook on quantum theories.

A wonderful exchange of ideas and formulations by the leading minds of modern physics. A documentation of extraordinary relationships and meetings. The math went beyond my capability, but that did not detract from the interaction and fermentation of ideas.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A DETAILED RESEARCH INTO WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. WHEN PUTTING THE PUZZLE PIECES TOGETHER, NOTHING HELPS MORE THAN TO READ WHAT THE MASTERS SAID TO EACH OTHER. EXCELLENT DOCUMENTATION PERHAPS NOT AVAILABLE IN ANY OTHER ONE PLACE. THANKS!

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This book is hugely underestimated in the history of science as well as the interpretation of quantum theory. Schrodinger was clearly an avocate of the wave theory of matter, not this wave-particle duality nonsense taught in the schools as a result of the confusion of Born's work. If you read born carefully, he is quite clear on the wave theory of matter and not really mentioning this particle nonsense that got confused by Einstein. Oh well, no one likes to read the masters these days because they want to pretend they are their own masters and they understand quantum theory, according to Feynman, who advocate no one understands Quantum Mechanics, so shut up and calculate. Read books like Griffith's and compute. Forget about interpretation except for the skewed, slaughtered interpretation that was inspired by Born but perverted into crap. Read this book if you want to resolve some issues about quantum interpretation, according to Schrodinger, a hugely missed aspect in the quantum theory. Not all of the letters are that instructive, but it really gives you a fresh perspective of how new and enlightening this theory was, even startling. So much, that it's a shame how comfortable theorists and educators are in presenting the theory as if it's their own, without presenting the original philosophical views of their respective founders, particularly Heisenberg, Born, Dirac, and Schrodinger.

Schröndinger's widow, Mrs. Annemarie Schrödinger cherished the wish that the correspondence on wave mechanics of her husband might be published. It is wonderful that these letters are published. The letters show the dominant role of partial differential equation in the pre computer age in physics, through the correspondence between Erwin Schrödinger, Albert Einstein, Max Planck and H.A. Lorentz. Today the description of nature through partial differential is often sidestepped in complex computer programs, which I think makes the discussion and comparison of results difficult and also questionable. From the result posted here [..] follows that physical equation, like Schrödingers equation or the Navier-Stokes equations can never be fully implemented on a digital system.

This is a delightful little book that reveals the inner thoughts of those who struggled to come to terms with quantum mechanics. Letters between Planck, Lorenz, Schrodinger, and Einstein take us back to the first steps in making sense of issues such as the collapse of the wave function.

Zitiere das Buch, um die Aufnahme von Schrödingers Wellenmechanik durch Zeitgenossen zu dokumentieren - weshalb Schrödingers Forderungen an jedwede Quantentheorie (u.a., dass es eben *nicht* Eigenwerttheorie ist) nicht aufgegriffen wurden, habe ich leider nicht erfahren.