Overview

The first comprehensive philosophical and historical account of the experimental foundations of Niels Bohr’s practice of physics. Niels Bohr was a central figure in quantum physics, well known for his work on atomic structure and his contributions to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In this book, philosopher of science Slobodan Perović explores the way Bohr practiced and understood physics and analyzes its implications for our understanding of modern science. Perović develops a novel approach to Bohr’s understanding of physics and his method of inquiry, presenting an exploratory symbiosis of historical and philosophical analysis that uncovers the key aspects of Bohr’s philosophical vision of physics within a given historical context. To better understand the methods that produced Bohr’s breakthrough results in quantum phenomena, Perović clarifies the nature of Bohr’s engagement with the experimental side of physics and lays out the basic distinctions and concepts that characterize his approach. Rich and insightful, Perović’s take on the early history of quantum mechanics and its methodological ramifications sheds vital new light on one of the key figures of modern physics.

Full Product Details

Author:   Slobodan Perovic
Publisher:   The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:   University of Chicago Press
ISBN:  

9780226798332

ISBN 10:   022679833
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   01 October 2021
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: Preliminaries 2 From Laboratory to Theory 3 From Classical Experiments to Quantum Theory Part 2: Bohr's Vision in Practice: the Old Quantum Theory 4 Spectral Lines, Quantum States, and a Master Model of the Atom 5 The Correspondence Principle as an Intermediary Hypothesis 6 Reception 7 The Scientific Moderator Part 3: Toward Quantum Mechanics 8 Quantum Corpuscles, Quantum Waves, and the Experiments 9 The Uncertainty Principle as an Intermediary Hypothesis 10 Metaphysical Principles and Heuristic Rules 11 New Formalisms and Bohr's Atom 12 Complementarity Established and Applied Part 4: Aftermath 13 Bohr and the Copenhagen Orthodoxy 14 Bohr's Response to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Argument 15 The Mature Bohr and the Rise of Slick Theory and Theoreticians Acknowledgments Bibliography Index

Reviews

Perovic offers a novel and refreshingly unorthodox interpretation of Bohr's seminal contributions to quantum physics and their philosophical implications. Adopting a method of historically sensitive analysis, he argues convincingly that the great Dane came to his overarching hypotheses, including the complementarity principle, by inductive reasoning inherently based on experiments. He skillfully defends Bohr against the charges that his epistemological and methodological views were amateurish armchair philosophy. Perovic's book on Bohr's vision is recommendable from a scientific, historical, and philosophical perspective. --Helge Kragh, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen

Author Information

Slobodan Perovic is professor of the history and philosophy of science at the University of Belgrade. His work has been featured in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Foundations of Science, and Synthese, among others.

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