Venkataraman G. Quantum Revolution I: The Breakthrough

Universities Press (India) Limited, Hyderabad, India, 1994. – 204 p. – ISBN10: 81-7371-0023The Feynman Lectures are great but they are at the textbook level and meant for serious reading; Moreover, they are a bit expensive, at least for the; average Indian student. It seemed to me that there was scope for small books on diverse topics in physics which would stimulate interest, making at least'some of our young; students take up later s serious study of physics; and reach for the Feynmani as, well; as the Landau classics.
The ascent of man is a stirring saga, with many exciting landmarks en route. Man discovered fire, invented the wheel, mastered agriculture, developed languages (arid used them to create literature), discovered art and also learnt to probe Nature. In addition he pondered deeply forming notions of space, time, reality, and "the world out there". But all this accumulated knowledge was of little avail when in the early part of this century he began probing inside the atom. For a couple of decades there was a heavy cloud of confusion and mystery until a few daring young men came along and swept it all away by stunning discoveries. There was a sigh of relief when this happened but soon it was realised that the new mechanics, quantum mechanics as it came to be called, was bewildering in its philosophical implications. So far-reaching are they that the discovery of quantum mechanics is often hailed as the greatest revolution in human thought. This volume, the first in a series of three, seeks to capture the drama of this supreme achievement.
The breakthrough referred to above occurred in a short span of five to six years. Thereafter most of the. leading personalities turned to an exploration of the new world of subatomic particles (which is an epic story in itself). But in the process, certain crucial issues relating to matter and radiation got sorted out (did they really?); this story will be narrated in Part II (QED: The Jewel of Physics).The only mystery
What QM is all about
A closer look
Dramatis personae
The curtain rises
Act I Scene I
Act I Scene II
Does God play dice?