Book Description

This best-selling classical mechanics text, written for the advanced undergraduate one- or two-semester course, provides a complete account of the classical mechanics of particles, systems of particles, and rigid bodies. Vector calculus is used extensively to explore topics.The Lagrangian formulation of mechanics is introduced early to show its powerful problem solving ability.. Modern notation and terminology are used throughout in support of the text's objective: to facilitate students' transition to advanced physics and the mathematical formalism needed for the quantum theory of physics. CLASSICAL DYNAMICS OF PARTICLES AND SYSTEMS can easily be used for a one- or two-semester course, depending on the instructor's choice of topics. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

No fuss over mathematical formalism here!
Why is everyone complaining about the mathematical formalism in this text? While perhaps such formalism requires a certain level of mathematical maturity on the part of the reader, it does *not* detract from pedagogy. In my opinion, it is better to become used to such formalism in the context of classical dynamics, where intuition can be of great help, than later on, and please, calculus and linear algebra is all that's required! It's not *that* formal!

I'd also like to say that the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian sections present one of the more lucid explanations that I have seen.

Finally, no, the author does not give you an example problem and then ask you to do the same problem with different numbers at the end of the chapter--he assumes you could do that. If you can't read a book that doesn't have such trivial problems for you to work, perhaps you should go elsewhere. The problems in this book are often challenging, and require you to extrapolate from the previous chapters. I find such problems more interesting than ones that require you to only look back in the chapter, grab two equations, eliminate one variable, and then plug in numbers. I'm not sure why everyone has jumped on the "the problems aren't worded well" bandwagon either, as I have encountered very little ambiguity throughout this book. If you want to master classical dynamics, this isn't the only book you'll want to work through, but it certainly should be on your list.

Solid Understandable Book in Mechanics
I took a mechanics course 9 years ago with an earlier edition, finished undergrad and left the study of physics. Recently I bought a new edition and I have just finished self studying this book and I felt that it's quite excellent. The problems are challenging but that is precisely what I expected. I think it really deserves 4 stars but I gave it 5 because the average ratings given by other reviewers is too low. I would like to go through the positives and negatives of this text. However keep in mind that the negatives of this text are apparent pretty much in every physics text.

Positives: 1) The text is easy to understand, the problems follow from the text 2) Answers to even numbers excercises in the back of text. This is absolutely crucial if you are self studying without an instructor. 3) Problems are random in their difficulty and individually comprehensive in their review of the chapter.
4) The Mathematics is pretty elementary, with a solid understanding of Calculus and differential equations you should be properly equipped to handle the entire text.

Negatives: 1) There are little to no difficult problems involving Newtonian formalism (Forces). Energy and momentum is predominantly used, for good reason, but it does not hurt to go back to the more rigorous approach of Forces for some difficult problems.

2) It would be nice to have a chapter dedicated to cyclic coordinates, Poisson Brackets and Canonical Transformations.

3)Impulses(chap 9) are dealt with in Integral form as opposed to differential form of the time change in momenta. The latter is much more intuitive and useful for solving problems.

4)Wider use in problems and examples of Poisson's equation for gravity.

5) Relativity should be introduced much earlier in the text. This is one of the formalisms of every undergraduate textbook in physics which I do not understand. Relativity always gets pushed back towards the end of textbooks. There is nothing particularly difficult about the subject that demands that it get treated in such a fashion. As opposed to the three chapters prior (dynamics of rigid bodies, coupled oscillations and waves) which are much more demanding. Furthermore it would be useful for students taking E&M at the same time as Mechanics to have had some experience with 4 vectors before dealing with Maxwell's equations.

A Road to Higher Realms
Whether knowingly or unknowingly, most of the physics text reviews that I have read may be divided into two categories:

- those who loved or hated the book because it was not written to teach physics through a conceptual framework.

- those who loved or hated the book because it was not written to teach physics through the development of skills.

Then the reviews may be divided again into two categories:

- those who loved or hated the book because it conveyed an exclusively classic and/or historical treatment of physics.

- those who loved or hated the book because it conveyed a modern treatments of physics.

Therefore, I will write my review within the same framework that everyone else seems to...

I loved this book because it was written to teach physics through the development of SKILLS; I loved this book because it did so through a CLASSIC TREATMENT of physics.

Now I will explain why...

The study of physics is FAR MORE than an extraction of information from a book, the way that, say, reading an encyclopedia entry is. The study of physics, rather, is a MENTAL DISCIPLINE, that takes 10,000 hours of intensive mental effort just to become a 'fairly skilled beginner', and at least half a lifetime of intensive mental effort to become an expert in just one, very small, sub-sub-field. It is a journey in which one must tavel the same mental footsteps that the great physicists of the past did before one is ready to travel the new and original mental footsteps of their own research activity. Along the way, one must start with easy treatments, must progress through the intermediate treatments, and must one day tackle the tremendously difficult advanced treatments, of every sub-field of study. Early in the study of a new stage of such a sub-field, one must obtain a solid understanding of every concept, and after this, they must move on from mere concepts, and must develop an exceptional skill set. And one day, if one has been utterly dedicated and unwavering, and if one has worked harder than they ever thought would be necessary when they stood at the beginning of the road... one WILL find that they have reached a higher realm.

I am utterly convinced that this book is the ideal written work that one should study at the time and place in the journey that it is usually encountered on this road.

Ad tedium
I came to this course after taking honors freshman physics at Yale with An Intro to Mechanics by Kleppner and Kolenkow. And, unfortunately, this book just is not as good. The mathematical derivations are often tedious and uninsightful, a good description as well for many of the problems. In addition, many of the problems, particularly the tougher ones, are already worked out in the text. For me, the text is a combination of mediocre treatment of material with exceptionally poor problems. The problems in this text are, in general, easier than those in K&K, but they often take three times as long to write out. Many of them are exercises in 10th grade algebra, or 12th grade calculus (read: horrible integrals and looong expressions to simplify). What is required is not insight, but exceptional care at not making simple errors and patience for long derivations of often obvious results. For a physics major, this book just seems like a colossal waste of time and money. If you want reinforcement of concepts, turn to Feynman in his lectures. For insightful and challenging mechanics (though Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamics are missing), Kleppner and Kolenkow is a far better text.

Utterly disgraceful! May be the worst in the physics canon.
(Disclaimer: All my criticisms are directed against Stephen Thornton, who prepared this edition when Marion died. I haven't seriously examined the earlier editions.)

Let it not be said that this book is utterly without virtue. It does have a good store of challenging, interesting problems. Also, the introductory chapter includes a unique (for this level) discussion of the Levi-Civita notation, which is great for managing complicated expressions in vector and tensor analysis (if you're currently taking junior or senior E&M, use this if your teacher asks you to verify all those crazy vector identities on the inside cover of your book!). But beyond this, I can see no redeeming virtues. In a genre which is littered with astoundingly bad books, this book is a standout, and is among the "hated classics" like Reif's statistical mechanics book or J.D. Jackson's E&M book. But even those books, which are admittedly overly-difficult and often obtuse, do contain a lot of quality thought and valuable knowledge. A good book, when re-read, will reveal greater and greater depths of insight and knowledge.

But rereading this book only revealed greater levels of sloppy thought. Only the more elementary derivations are comprehensible; the rest are befuddling, and I found that I had to write my own derivations and look up alternatives because the examples were either unconvincing, incomprehensible, or seemed to be based on incorrect physical reasoning. Ironically, I found that this book improved my confidence in mechanics because I had to spend so much time trying to compensate for the enormous failings logic, calculation, and pedagogy. But I'd still give it zero stars if I could.

This book is just plain bad (a judgement I very rarely make), and I am very curious as to whether the reviewers who defend the book really thought about its contents or tried to follow all of its logic step by step, as one should do during any serious examination of a science text. Now some reviewers had good teachers, in which case they probably paid more attention to their lecture notes than the book. An individual skilled with mathematical manipulation can do surprisingly difficult problems without thinking very much about the underlying physical concepts or looking at any part of a derivation other than the part in the box. Finally, a very bright person may simply think through matters for themselves during and after a class, not taking time to examine the book. So I am not insulting the readers who gave it good reviews; I'm sure they did well in class, since students who get good grades don't write vitriol-filled reviews about the required text on Amazon.com. But I know they didn't really read it carefully.

Instructors often choose this book because they were taught from previous editions (which may be superior), and may be too lazy or recalcitrant to change their ways. Although I often got cross looks from my professors for complaining about it, they generally agreed with my criticisms when I pushed the issue. But I didn't need to convince them. I overheard one professor bashing Chapter 4 as "just hacked together at the last minute because the material is sexy and fashionable." And right he was, for that chapter contains the worst explanations of nonlinear dynamics concepts I have ever seen (even if you discount the wrongly-printed Poincare sections towards the end). This same teacher admitted that he had spend over twenty minutes trying to understand the explanation of a very simple formula (and he is a theoretician who knows far more math than the average physicist).
Another fellow I knew, a Ph.D who was teaching an advanced mechanics class at my school for the first time, and was asked to use Marion, rewrote just about every example and explanation in the book for his students because he found them incomprehensible or too obtuse for beginners.

So don't feel bad if this book befuddled you. You're not alone, either among the great (Ph.D theoreticians and experimentalists) or the small (bile-spouting nobodies with undergraduate degree only).

Finally, a bit of advice for students: If you were made to buy this book, I recommend that you go to your library and find books about classical mechanics. Pick up a book or two that doesn't have the name "Thornton" on the cover. Now, it may be too easy (French's "Newtonian Mechanics" is less mathematical, but I still recommend it) or too hard (Goldstein is for highly motivated and prepared undergrads only), but I can tell you in all confidence that the random mechanics book you pick out will be better than the one you have now. ... Read more

Book Description

Beginning students of quantum mechanics frequently experience difficulties separating essential underlying principles from the specific examples to which these principles have been historically applied. Nobel-Prize-winner Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his colleagues have written this book to eliminate precisely these difficulties. Fourteen chapters provide a clarity of organization, careful attention to pedagogical details, and a wealth of topics and examples which make this work a textbook as well as a timeless reference, allowing to tailor courses to meet students' specific needs.
Each chapter starts with a clear exposition of the problem which is then treated, and logically develops the physical and mathematical concept. These chapters emphasize the underlying principles of the material, undiluted by extensive references to applications and practical examples which are put into complementary sections. The book begins with a qualitative introduction to quantum mechanical ideas using simple optical analogies and continues with a systematic and thorough presentation of the mathematical tools and postulates of quantum mechanics as well as a discussion of their physical content. Applications follow, starting with the simplest ones like e.g. the harmonic oscillator, and becoming gradually more complicated (the hydrogen atom, approximation methods, etc.). The complementary sections each expand this basic knowledge, supplying a wide range of applications and related topics as well as detailed expositions of a large number of special problems and more advanced topics, integrated as an essential portion of the text.
... Read more

Reviews (25)

This book is simply amazing!
Complete, pedagogical, and beautiful. These volumes have it all! Now, they might seem disorganised at first, but once you read the "Introduction" and the "Directions for Use" page you will learn how to navigate the book. Don't be intimidated by the thickness of these two volumes; most of it is due to chapter complements, which are wholly optional.

It is highly recommended that you have some previous experience with elementary quantum physics before hitting Cohen-Tannoudji. Eisber and Resnik or French and Taylor (MIT series) are both good starts.

quantum mechanics by claude cohen-tannoudji, vols I and II
After years of searching for a really good book on non-relativistic quantum mechanics, I found it in this book. The beginning student can easily understand it and it's comprehensiveness will appeal to the more advanced student. It's use of the Dirac notation makes for a clean and concise treatment. The book is FAR better than most other quantum mechanics books found in university libraries, in my opinion.

Cohen is great, but Wiley & Sons could have done better.
Most of what ought to have been said about this book has been said in previous reviews. It is missing a few crucial topics such as group theory, Lie algebras, and the Bell inequality, but it is extremely well-written, and the treatment of topics which are contained is nothing short of thorough. Reading this book is an illuminating experience.

Wiley & Sons (the publisher) fall short in their treatment of the book. This may read like a modern classic, but it is put together like a telephone book. The paper binding is extremely flimsy (given the size of the book, that is to be expected), and the covers are of such low quality that not only do they scuff, crease, and dent easily, but they stick to surfaces when only a bit of dampness is present, and are impossible to remove without damage.

For the price, one ought to expect more. A book like this deserves to be in a rounded, full-cloth, non-acid edition. At the very least, they could have put it in a textbook binding with sturdy cardboard covers. Timeless references ought to take more abuse than the Yellow Pages.

THE BEST QM BOOK FOR STARTERS
This is the best book on QM that any person can lay his hands on,and it is a shame it is not introduced as a first cource in QM for every science student interested in the subject.Once you go through the book,you may even be able to solve all classical problems quantum mechanically!!

The plus points of this book which other books lack:
complete and elaborate discussion of all mathematical tricks and tools needed in chapter 2,clear layout of the postulates of QM in chapter 3 so that one faces no conceptual difficulty in the remainder of the book,angular momentum addition and clebsch-Gordan coeeffecient calculation in CH.10,electromagnetic interaction with matter in chapter 13(complement),clearly explained probabaility calculation concepts for identical particles ,Ch14.,and a understandable tratment of scattering ,partial traces and the wigner-eckart theorm with applications.

I would recommend this book for any one who wishes to learn QM without laziness(the book is tiringly comprised of 2 volumes)before touching any other book in this subject(others an only lead you astray).the book is self suffecient in all respects and doesnt make a single step jump(no wonder its shear volume).

Good luck!
ganesh

BEST QM BOOK FOR STARTERS
It is a book which every student who needs to master QM sometime should thoroughly read and solve.It is a shame that it is not taught in the very first course of QM that any student comes across in his academic life,since this book clears the very fundamental so much that when you are done with it ,you can even solve any classical problem quantum mechanically yourself.

The second chapter clearly lays down all fundamentalmathematical tricks and tools required to grasp the subject,and chapter 3 has the basic QM postulates so clearly and elaborately explained that one has no problem in understanding the application of quantum mechanical postulates to the problems in the later chapters.

The basic plus points which other popular books lack are,elaborate treatment of angular momentum and Clebsch-Gordan coeffetients,partial traces,scattering,decay of a descrete state resonantly coupled to a continuum of final states and the probabilty calculations when particles are identical.

it is a self consistent book,with exercises which clear the concepts (though not enough always).a major amount of worked out problems with clear explanations for all steps.

it is a book which covers a great deal with no step jumps at all,no wonder it has two tiring fat volumes.
I repeat,a must for any science student willing to learn QM,before he touches any other book of the subject(the rest can only lead you astray).

good luck. ... Read more

Book Description

Science has recently begun to prove what ancient myth and religion have always espoused: There may be such a thing as a life force.

Lynne McTaggart, indefatigable investigative journalist, reveals a radical new biological paradigm -- that on our most fundamental level, the human mind and body are not distinct and separate from their environment but a packet of pulsating power constantly interacting with this vast energy sea.

The Field is a highly readable scientific detective story that offers a stunning picture of an interconnected universe and a new scientific theory that makes sense of supernatural phenomena. Original, well researched, and well documented by distinguished sources, The Field is a book of hope and inspiration for today's world.

Reviews (19)

Scientists Explore the Last Frontier - the Zero Point Field
With an ear for human interest and eye for detail, Lynne McTaggart masterfully tells the true story in THE FIELD of how pioneers in science and consciousness research are working to achieve a more complete understanding of the true nature of reality -- an understanding which includes (rather than ignores) consciousness.

THE FIELD describes how scientists have gradually become aware of what appears to be a unifying energy structure in our universe. This "Zero Point Field" provides us with a simpler explanation for how things work than previous overly-complex ideas require. Simplicity in science is a good thing, because it generally indicates which theories will win out as time goes by. The Zero Point Field theory demonstrates it's elegant simplicity by allowing physicists to derive the famous equation F=ma (rather than take it as a starting assumption), and by helping medical practitioners understand the underlying scientific basis for homeopathy.

Our scientific conceptualization of this universe has changed considerably over the last few centuries and now faces one of the biggest overhauls ever -- and THE FIELD demonstrates why the Zero Point Field is likely to be the last frontier for us to explore. THE FIELD is packed with detailed descriptions of some of the most exciting experiments recently conducted by leading researchers in the field of consciousness such as: Cleve Backster, Jacques Benveniste, William Braud, Bob Jahn, Edgar Mitchell, Fritz-Albert Popp, Hal Puthoff, Rupert Sheldrake, Russell Targ, Elisabeth Targ, and Charles Tart.

I give this book my highest recommendation.

Lucid Exploration Of The Quantum-Holistic View Of Reality
In The Field, the author takes the reader along on a quest to understand the metaphysics that underlie our perceived universe. This book mainly reviews the data and theories of scientists exploring new paradigms in physics, consciousness, and subtle energy fields. While the evidence in these areas is open to theoretical interpretation, the findings consistently disprove dominant materialistic and mechanistic notions about life and the universe. The Field makes it evident that a deep analysis of scientific paradigms will lead those seeking a greater truth into the realm of metaphysics and consciousness, which have traditionally been the terrain of mystics, philosophers and spiritual seekers. This book provides an excellent overview of the most important developments in the sciences that examine the most vital issues of existence. This book is also great for challenging materialists and even some religious fanatics, as it documents contradictions to widely held beliefs.

Stunning Information
A fantastic piece of scientific reporting, knowledgeable enough to explain complex physics processes so that the lay person can understand. Adding to this other reading I've done, it makes it clear that science and philosophy are moving closer to each other. Those of us with minds open enough to at least speculate and imagine, are seeing and hearing scientific support for things we've known intuitively for a long time. What an exciting book!

Fantastic bridge spanning science and the "paranormal"
I have background in engineering and also work as a lecturer for the Silva UltraMind System. I recommend this book to everyone who attends my class. Its a great read and hard to put down. The only drawback may be the authors constant reference to Physics(frequency, zero-point field, resonance, Fourier Series) that may put off readers without a basic science background.

eye opening !!
I recommend everybody to read this book !
The theory of the author explains many until now unexplained things. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

A first-class book on quantum mechanics
Sakurai was one of the smartest physicists of his generation, and it shows in this book. A characteristic of the physics writings of such greats as Einstein, Pauli, Heisenberg, and Dirac is that they make advanced physics theories seem so clear and transparent that one is always inclined to think, "of course, that's the way to do it." Sakurai's book comes across the same way, but there are plenty of good problems to bring you back down to Earth. Especially useful are the discussions of Feynman path integrals, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, the WKB approximation, Schwinger's treatment of angular momentum, and the Dyson series in perturbation theory.

Wonderful book for a second course. Newbies hands off.
This book is not for your virgin encounter with quantum mechanics. You will be devastated. I had seen other less prepared students struggle mightily with the book back in grad school days. However, quoting Schwinger, this book does go to "the heart of the quantum experience". To read this book at the right level, you need to already know QM well enough to free yourself from the confines of wave functions, and think in terms of the state of a quantum system, with wave functions being its spatial incarnation. The concept of states, not wave functions, IS the essence of quantum physics. For this level of readership, there are few books out there that does it better than Sakurai.

For newbies, I suggest that you get a solid grounding in linear algebra and vector spaces before diving in.

One of the best books on QM
Well, I've read all of this book some years ago and, at that time (while learning for my QM I and QM II exams) I used this book together with L.D.Landau (non relativistic QM), W.Greiner (vol. I, II and some of III), F. Schwabl (QM) and the everused R.Shankar (QM). In the following years I went on using J.Sakurai several times as a reference. Today, I think that J.Sakurai book is one of the best choices for learning QM: his treatment of spin theory in QM is still one of the best (probably the best!). Just the last 2 chapters seem to me a bit uneven compared to the rest of the book. I must also say: if you have to learn QM, then you'll have to use Sakurai together with another book that tells you something more about the introductory part of QM (ondulatory mechanics and so on: for example, a good choice would be M.Born, Gasiorowicz, Greiner vol. I, or Schwabl), but J.Sakurai and L.D.Landau are, in my opinion, probably still the best textbooks on the core part of QM.

One of the better QM books out there
Out of the books I have studied for QM, this is my favorite. Some of the details are missing and the perturbation theory and scattering sections do need additional details but overall I found his method of introducing the Dirac notation about the best for me personally. Others may differ. Make no mistake about it: this is not a book that you can just hand to a student and tell them to go on about it and be a responsible instructor. It does suffer from the same limitation as almost all other QM books: it just teaches QM but does not tell the student what theoretical physics is all about. They probably do this because the course is for such a wide range of people. But I still believe the communication of this information lends insight unavailable elsewhere and useful for all. That is what make Dirac's book on QM great even today (although I will not presume to maintain its relevance for the modern student).

An excellent book on QM
This is simply a wonderful book. It is well written and very clear. The introduction to the Dirac notation is nicely done and the rest of the book falls in place. QM is not an easy subject but I think this book makes more understandable. ... Read more

Book Description

In this first comprehensive introduction to the main ideas and techniques of quantum computation and information, Michael Nielsen and Isaac Chuang ask the question: What are the ultimate physical limits to computation and communication? They detail such remarkable effects as fast quantum algorithms, quantum teleportation, quantum cryptography and quantum error correction. A wealth of accompanying figures and exercises illustrate and develop the material in more depth. They describe what a quantum computer is, how it can be used to solve problems faster than familiar "classical" computers, and the real-world implementation of quantum computers. Their book concludes with an explanation of how quantum states can be used to perform remarkable feats of communication, and of how it is possible to protect quantum states against the effects of noise. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Good for Research and Self-Study
I think that this book is excellent for self-study, and does provide a significant level of rigour.

I believe that the authors do a significantly good job defining their terms and making sure the reader is "with them." For example, just a few lines up from Equation 5.36 on page 226, in fact immediately after the start of Section 5.3.1, the authors make the comment, "For positive integers x and N, x < N, with no common factors,...". Now I would assume that Equation 5.36 would reference these same variables, and thus the restriction would still apply.

This is admittedly rather a specific example, but it illustrates the point: the authors have a well-developed sense of logical flow, and such flow makes it much easier to follow what is rather a difficult subject. The subject is difficult because it spans such a huge variety of disciplines.

My advice is to take courses in mathematics: linear algebra (easily the most important of all the classes), abstract algebra, discrete mathematics, advanced calculus, number theory; in physics: classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism; electrical engineering: linear circuits, digital logic, microprocessors; and in computer science: algorithms and data structures, cryptography. Then I think you would have an adequate background to understand this top-notch, advanced book.

The Reader Review by Julian Miller is INCORRECT!
Dr. Julian Miller is either an idiot and obviously didn't read the book carefully at all. On page 226 just above the equation Miller talks about it says "For positive integers x and N, x < N, with no common factors, ..." and goes on to clearly define EVERYTHING. I read this book and I disagree 100% with that review and have just proved to you that the reviewer was completely wrong and just didn't read the book carefully on page 226. I had no trouble understanding the topics in this book and don't have PhD in anything, just a Bachelors in Physics and took a couple graduate courses. Everything was very clear in this book to me and I think it is a great book. Don't believe what that reviewers said, if he/she had just read the book more carefully he/she would notice that everything is defined. I bet that reviewer wasn't reading the book carefully at all and was just skipping sections and jumping around from page to page, skimming over certain paragraphs. It's a great book and it's the first one I encountered that was helpful enough to allow me to really make sense of this subject.

Essential Quantum Information/Computing
This is *the* book to learn Quantum Information/Computation theory from. I tried others but nothing made much sense until I read and worked through this book, then I went back to the other books and everything made sense to me.

Someone who has been doing research in this area for many years probably cannot use this book for much other than an occasional reference, but for those who want to learn the subject it is a GREAT place to start.

Needs solutions to problems!
I have over 3 dozen books on the subject and this is by far the clearest. I believe this book to be extremely well written and much clearer than other texts. In addition, the circuit notation used in the text is BY far easier than what is found in a text on Quantum Physics. Also, the way things are stated about general Quantum Theory is so much kinder and more logical than in any other text I have read, both saying the same things only this text explains this painful subject in a nice clean way.

In any case, I believe this to be the best book on the subject. I also recommend Explorations in Quantum Computing (Williams, Clearwater), it is useful since it has many Mathematica Workbooks to simulate Quantum Circuits and that related. Really you need to read many books to understand this subject, but Nielsen and Chuang make a good foundation.

I do agree that this book could be better, as could all texts, but being the best book in a very complicated new area of study is worthy of 5 stars. Simply, this is the best book on the subject that I have seen. If you are trying to teach yourself this material from any book chances are you will fail, but if you must I would get this one first and then the Williams book. Regards.

Good, just advanced enough
This book covers quantum information theory at a level that can be understood by someone who has only had an introductory course in quantum mechanics and the same in basic computability theory. While this still rules out most of the general public, this is an excellent book for anyone seriously thinking of entering the field. The first third of the book reviews the required basics of quantum mechanics, computability, and information theory, and outlines where QIT differs from the classical theory. The rest of the book goes into more specifics.
While this book does cover introductory level quantum circuit design, elementary quantum information theory, and the basics of just about every part of the field, it doesn't go into terribly much depth. This makes it an excellent introductory book (targeted at graduate or upper-level undergraduate physics majors), but if you want something more targeted towards a particular facet of quantum computation and information, you may want to try something else. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Monistic Idealism Creates Confidence In Your Consciousness
I've recently returned from a journey to the rain country of western Oregon where I discovered "monistic idealism." It's about to become a philosophy of choice in the consciousness revolution.

I gathered this intelligence at the Eugene home of Amit Goswami, Professor of Physics at the Institute of Theoretical Studies at the University of Oregon. I arranged this special interview because of Goswami's new book, The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World. (Tarcher/Putnam). I wanted to meet the person who authored such a book and to make sure I was correctly understanding its many profundities.

At first glance, the book appears to be one of those "new science" books that have become so popular. It does describe quite well the basic experiments of quantum physics, the ones that produce such paradoxes as the dual identity (wave and particle) of electrons and their ability to communicate at a distance with each other instantaneously (non-locality). But rather than simply leaving us with a "Gee, whiz, isn't this incredible?" impression that the real world isn't as we assumed, Goswami boldly, yet very thoughtfully, introduces us to monistic idealism and suggests we accept it as a foundation for a new, and quite compelling, worldview.

Monistic idealism is the academically correct name given to a philosophical position that once was considered pre-scientific. It existed before the advent of what philosophers today label as materialistic dualism,. or what we might call the current official scientific world view. Materialistic dualism is the assumption that physical matter is the primary reality and that mind is separate from, but dependent upon, matter. In this view, mind is a secondary phenomena, or, to use the favored term, is an "epiphenomenon," meaning that it is some kind of separate, extra stuff that bubbles harmlessly out of brains. Monistic idealism, however, turns things around. In this position (dating back to Plato in the West, to Hinduism and Buddhism in the East), there is but one mind and it is the primary reality. Matter is an expression of mind, not separate from mind, but mind manifested materially. The worldview expressed in Edgar Cayce's psychic readings is a perfect example of monistic idealism. Cayce's formula, "Spirit is the Life, Mind is the Builder, the Material is the Result," for example, gives consciousness a very creative role in manifesting the material world.

Goswami's book basically says, "Look, if you'll adopt the viewpoint of monistic idealism, then everything--the paradoxes of quantum physics, the puzzle of individual consciousnesss and free will, the enigma of psychic abilities, the universals in spiritual teachings--everything falls into place!" His book is a journey of creative thinking, providing the most credible and complete tour of the worldview we call "The New Paradigm" that I've yet read.

One of the early warning signs of this new paradigm, which Goswami refers to as the "consciousness revolution," was Heisenberg's uncertainty principle: The observer affects the observed. The scientist looks into the microscope at nature to find nature responding to the observation. How did nature know there was a scientist looking? It takes an electron, it turns out, to know an electron. When the scientist flashes a light on atomic structures, the photons of light disrupt the atoms observed. This simplistic explanation, however, is misleading because it hides the greater truth. Goswami points out that we habitually use materialism to assume that there is a fixed material reality--independent of the observer--one that is simply rebuffed by our gaze. Reality is not fixed, however, and that is where the observing consciousness makes a difference. There is literally a quantum leap of creativity that comes into play as the observer, searching for the material electron "thing" within the etheric electronic wave activity, forces the many possibilities into a single, manifested actuality by the very act of observation The quantum leap is, according to Goswami, like an act of grace--creative, unpredictable, synchronistic and "non-local" (psychic). In talking with him, I realized that it took a quantum leap in my own imagination to fully digest all the implications of monistic idealism. It was easy to understand the ethical implication that we each have to take responsibility for our choices. Goswami emphasizes that it make a difference which ideals we live by, because they determine which potentialities in the unmanifest, quantum mind will materialize through the channel of our individual lives.

Individuality, by the way, especially in the context of a universal consciousness, becomes an intriguing question. Edgar Cayce once had a dream envisioning the mind as being like a single star with spokes radiating out to form individually functioning conscious minds. This model expresses exactly the transcendent, unitary mind assumed by monistic idealism. The spokes even anticipate Goswami's formulation as to how and why the unitary mind creates the impression of separate individual minds.

Why, if consciousness is truly unitive and singular, do we have the experience of separate minds? The brain, according to Goswami, is a measuring instrument. It collapses the non-local (a.k.a., infinite and eternal) quantum mind into concreteness and specificity as manifested through individual experience. Our individual "minds" are necessary to "realize" (make real) the material world. We are co-creators of reality, yet created ourselves to help reality become aware of itself. Goswami refers to the theory of &quot

Great re-thinking of the implications of quantum physics!

Most books that explore the intersection between science and spirituality seem to be written by non-scientists who explain some basic scientific principles and then extrapolate wildly to support their spiritual viewpoint.

Goswami, a physics professor, approaches it from the other direction. He carefully lays out a scientific theory - essentially that matter is a phenomina of consciousness rather than vice versa.

In the process he navigates through various topics in physics, mathematics, religion, and philosophy in order to provide the necessary components for us to get a grip on his theory of "monistic idealism" which he proposes as an alternative to the current "material realism" (matter is all that is real) which pervades scientific thought today.

I don't want to imply that I'm stupid, but the only fault I found with the book was that much of his jargon and scientific references went right over my head - so I came away with a good understanding of his theory, but also with the impression that much of it's depth and subtlties were lost on me.

I'm not sure how this book was received by the author's peers (if at all) but he impressed me as a "blow-the-lid-off-the-subject" type of scientist who is willing to ruffle feathers and push beyond the traditional limitations of his field to integrate various disciplines in a search for a truth that doesn't just look right on paper but also jives with human experience and the soul.

Well worth reading.

Spirituality from the perspective of physics.... amazing!
It has been a long time since I was so happy reading a book.

I grew up in Christian Science. As a Christian Scientist I would not normally approach the subject of spirituality from the perspective of physics. However, even though Goswami doesn't OVERTLY talk about spirituality per se, I was amazed at how you can get to virtually the same conclusions on God, Life, and universal consciousness as Mary Baker Eddy taught and wrote about in "Science and Health" about 130 years ago.

I hope that "The Self-Aware Universe" and Dr. Goswami don't get burdened with erroneous labels of "cultism". Maybe the Science will be a little more accepted in this day and age.

Accepting new concepts of reality
I thought that this book was very interesting. I would also recommend "The Science of G-d" by Israeli physicist Gerrard Shroeder. I am constantly surprised by the number of individuals that seem threatened by different concepts of reality. I am an environmental scientist and not a physicist, but I keep up with many of the current trends in physics. Considering the fact that it has been proven multiple times in reputable physics labs that reality can be affected by consciousness. I didn't feel this book was a big leap. Anyone that studies up on laboratory experiments involving photons and observation would be doing a disservice to science by not at least acknowledging that the mind can exist on levels beyond physical synapses.

How else could physical observation by an intelligent mind effect the ultimate outcome of any individual photon?

Ignore much of the negative reviews
Really good books always challenge you, and the response to the challenge can be quite varied.

Some people respond with a wary eye but an open mind.

Others don't care.

Still others enthusiastically embrace any challenge and work with it to see where they get to in the end.

Then there are the people who just as enthusiastically resist any open challenge to an established, "gut" idea. These people respond irrationally, with fear and excessive caution. Many of the reviews of this book fall into the latter category.

Yes, Goswami's interpretation of quantum mechanics has been disputed. What this has to do with anything is rather irrelevent. To the gentleman who named Polkinghorne by name, Polkinghorne's interpretation of physics has been challenged numerous times as well. There is no one interpretation physicists agree on. Look at the results and you can even see that not all of them agree the Earth exists!

Further, this gentleman points out that the reformulation of Descartes' Cogito argument could well be "God chooses, therefore I am". How silly this is supposed to be a criticism. Anyone who understands the book knows that Goswami is talking about a transcendent mind, not a personal one. He IS talking about God.

It is true that Goswami does not hold up every so-called "paranormal" event as evidence of his idealist philosophy. Again, this is irrelevent. Science always progresses this way--a new model appears and allows us to explain something we previously though impossible, but it does not logically follow that everything we thought impossible is now explainable by the model, now does it?

I was ready to blast Goswami's point about the OBE (Out-of-body-experience) because I read the Amazon.com review that declares Goswami debunks the OBE because it suggests dualism (which it does not, at least necessarily). This is not at all what Goswami does--what he says in the book is that the appearance that the mind has escaped the body is false, but the event is not. Goswami basically points out that if all that exists is (fundamentally) mind, then the OBE is merely a "shift of perception" if you will in the universal Mind. If I sit across from my friend, there is no difference between perceiving my body through her mind or through my own, because our minds are really the same since both derive from and reside within the transcendent mind--it is the assumption that they are not which leads to the mistaken belief the mind has somehow "left" the body.

Goswami makes a fine argument for demolishing material realism. It's not that hard, to be honest, because you have to be a blockhead to be a materialist (pun intended). Goswami's monistic idealism is certainly not the only possible scientific viewpoint (there are dozens of contenders) but so far this is the only view that bridges a gap between science and religion so well. ... Read more

Book Description

In this Audio Learning Set, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf takes the listener on a stirring intellectual ride through the realms of human consciousness and its relationship to quantum physics. He espouses his theories on the universe, relativity, quantum mechanics, and much more. ... Read more

Book Description

o

A completely revised and expanded edition of the international bestseller (over 230,000 copies sold)
o This new edition includes an entirely new chapter—"Change: The Capacity of Life"—and the newest developments in the new sciences, updated examples, and even more accessible writing that will appeal to a much broader audience than the first edition
o Leadership and the New Science was named the Best Management Book of the Year by Industry Week magazine, one of the top ten books of the past decade by CIO Magazine, and one of the top ten business books of all time by Xerox Business ServicesIn a completely revised and updated edition of her bestselling classing, Margaret Wheatley shows how the "New Science"—the revolutionary discoveries in quantum physics, chaos theory, and biology that are overturning centuries-old models of science—provides powerful insights for transforming how we design, lead, and manage organizations. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

A Good Read!
Author Margaret J. Wheatley describes how new developments in the sciences show us how to design a new, more effective organizational structure. The new structure is more responsive to human needs and to our rapidly changing times. Based on this understanding, you need to make your organization more flexible and adaptable. Using leadership and vision as a guiding force in an organization involves participation, self-management and shared information and power.

This excellent, thoughtful, break-through book offers a new way of thinking about organizations and leadership. In clear, compelling language, it emphasizes the ways we are all part of an ever-changing natural order. Wheatley explains the need to get rid of our old out-dated mechanistic models and adapt our organizations to prosper in the future. Our accepted analytical world view, based on using logical analysis and relying numbers to chart progress, should be replaced, Wheatley says. She makes a compelling case and urges organizations to become more effective by becoming more human and natural. We [...] recommend this pivotal book to leaders at all levels.

A Spiritual Gift That will Awe and Excite You!
Margaret Wheatley has indeed revised and updated her orignal book. This edition offers more clarity to the "new science" and in some ways is an autobiography of her growth and connectedness to the positve "energy" that guides and informs our ever expanding creation. Her new chapter, "Change, the Capacity of Life," is exciting to read for the clarity and universal spirituality emanating from her observations. If you have read her original "Leadership and the New Science," and "A Simpler Way," you will marvel at how this new chapter and her updating of others unifies "The New Science" and adds depth and wisdom to her life's work.

I work in a Jesuit high school and part of my job is to connect my community to the new world that is building all around us. This book is a gift to organizations worldwide and will help those who lead their organizations, no matter the size, to do so from a "personal centeredness" of trust and integrity. Her insights offer hope as we struggle with the great issues of our time.

New Direction in Leading Organizations
I was a bit skeptical about the book after the first chapter. However, after opening my mind to what the author had to say, I realized that she had some good points, which are applicable to everyday organizations and leadership.

The book could have been kept to under 100 pages without all the extra examples. Then again, I see how many examples can engage someone, especially if he is not familar with organizations. Nevertheless, if she would have stuck to her point that our current paradigm in understanding organizations is from the seventeenth century and illusionary that would have sufficed.

The book does not offer any concrete examples for working with systems instead of parts, which is the main point the author drives home. The author does offer a theoretical framework. The framework is a lot better because it is meant to apply to many situations.

This book is worth reading if one is familiar with old models of organizations and leadership. Otherwise, reading it will be too abstract and meaningless.

Interesting conclusions, lack of good argument
In this book, the author describes current theories in science and applies them to human organizational management. She develops a number of concepts that I think are applicable to organizational management, such as flexibility, greater communication within an organization, the importance of information, and valuing the intelligence of individual workers.

However, the reasons for applying these principles developed from science to organizations are not well established in this book, in my opinion. The applications may be valid, but a strong case for them is not made here. For example, one claim made to justify one conclusion is that "organizations are open systems and are responsive to the same self-organizing dynamics as all other life." (p. 97). This is a bold claim, to link life sciences to management, that is not well substantiated in the book.

The author seems to revel in the ancient (and ongoing) philosophical tension between the parts and the whole, calling us to look at the whole of a system, though rejecting objective reality (an ultimate whole), and with a bit of Gnostic thinking as well: "Matter doesn't matter" (p. 153),

Also, this is not an informative work, rather its intention appears to be persuasive. The author does reference many works in the scientific literature, but it is not intended to be a review or strict proof (I hope) of her position. Some aspects of science that seem to me to contradict some of her conclusions are not discussed, such as the order imposed top-down in the theory of relativity (according to my limited understanding of it), and the fact that some changes must be wholly destructive and cannot have positive effects (e.g., certain genetic mutations).

Again, some good points are made, but their basis is not well established here. As an industrial engineer, I do not think we should throw away all the current practices, and hopefully that attitude is not simply self-serving. I cannot recommend this particular book, but hope there is a more substantial treatment of these concepts elsewhere.

What science??
First off, the author is not a scientist. Second, the author tries to link PHYSICAL science with human leadership. I only read 1/4 of the book, and I had to put it into trash because I felt like barfing everytime I lay my eyes on it. If you think a non-scientist has any right to write a book with "New Science" on its title, then you should buy this book. Otherwise, stay away from this LSD induced junk. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A modern classic
I have used this book for the past five years, teaching a one
semester course on Intro to Quantum Field Theory.
I also taught the second half of the book two times.
I am still amazed by how well written and enlightening this book
is, and I regard it as a modern classic. After a years
worth of study, the student is really able to dive into research.
They know the Standard Model in enough detail to
perform radiative corrections in the electroweak model, and
where the Feynman rules come from in different gauges.
The book is accessible to experimental and theoretical students
in all areas of physics, and drives home all the essential
points. I wish this book had been around twenty years ago
when I was first trying to learn the material.

A major step since Bjorken/Drell
The book of Peskin/Schroeder represents in my view a major stepforward since Bjorken/Drell. Not only do they cover everything in moredetails but their book also reflect the considerable advancement and refinement of quantum field theory. In any case, one should still start with Bjorken/Drell in order to get a good understanding before moving over to Peskin/Schroeder. This is not to say that Peskin/Schroeder is difficult to read, quite the contrary, but the physics embedded in the mathematics will be much easier to master. The problems are very well tied to each chapter and are also clearly written for a further and deeper understanding of the subjects. Also, Peskin/Schroeder cover quite a bit in quantum field theory and one will never have the feeling that something was left out. This also makes it an excellent reference book as well.

Good but could be better
I used P&S for an intro QFT course. I learned much from the text as I found it clear and full of helpful examples. Particularly nice sections were those introducing free quantum fields, functional methods (path integrals), and non-abelian gauge theories and their quantization. In other sections, however, P&S often take many pages and indirect paths towards deriving basic results, which is particularly frustrating when one wishes to use the text for reference. The chapter introducing interacting fields seems disorganized, and the treatments of infrared and uv divergences (renormalization) seem to go on forever, with interesting or important results scattered through hundreds of pages. The discussion of the Standard Model is likewise overly verbose yet incomplete, and there is no discussion of susy. In this and other ways this text is less advanced than Ryder's, though I found its presentations clearer than Ryder's.

Overall, I found this a nice book to learn from, but horrible to return to when I try to fill in the gaps of my understanding of QFT.

The best book on QFT
This is the best book for learning and teaching quantum field theory. Although it doesn't cover philosophical or very formal aspects of QFT, it is very readable and more than sufficient to teach a year long introductory course.

This book is also excellent for self study. Unlike Weinberg which is too formal or several others that are too specialized, Peskin & Schroeder presents a nice general overview of the topic.

Horrible book!
This is by far the worst book on QFT that I know of. There is absolutely no logic or motivation. One doesn't learn concepts or computational techniques. There are many other modern texts available which are much better. Try Weinberg or Sterman, for example. ... Read more

Book Description

Careful and detailed explanations of challenging concepts, and comprehensive and up-to-date coverage in this best-selling quantum mechanics book, continue to set the standard in physics education.In this new edition, a new chapter on the revolutionary topic of of quantum computing (not currently covered in any other book at this level) and thorough updates to the rest of the book bring it up to date.For anyone interested physics or quantum mechanics. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Important
Before you attempt to study Quantum Mechanics, try taking classical mechanics first. If you don't understand operators and all that other mechanics stuff, don't bother trying to learn quantum mechanics yet. This book is certainly not for the beginning physics student who wants an "understanding" of quantum mechanics, no no, this is the real deal.
I feel that one major drawback of this book is that it is written in numbers rather than letters and that someone who considers themselves prone to reading words rather than equations should look for an easier text.
Although, if your taking, say an intermediate Quantum course, than you should consider this book.

Great for beginners
The first course in quantum mechanics that I took at Berkeley required only the Griffiths book. After realizing how terrible that book was, I picked up the Liboff book and was thoroughly satisfied. Although it is lacking in depth at some points, the subject matter is chosen very well and each section is reasonably self contained (as much as it can be in this subject). The mathematical level is just right for a second/third year physics major as it does a good job introducing new mathematics such as Airy functions, Legendre polynomials, spherical harmonics, and spherical Bessel and Neumann functions. It is also nice to see Liboff give a taste of more advanced topics such as path integration and relativistic quantum mechanics. The treatment of angular momenta and their addition (orbital and spin) is especially good for beginners. All undergraduates in physics would benefit from this text.

Good Book, but requires a supplement
Liboff goes into much more detail in his explanations than do many other undergraduate texts on quantum mechanics. Unfortunately, it is often necessary to look at another book before you begin trying to decifer this one. In my undergraduate quantum course I often read Griffiths first to give me a basic idea of what it was I needed to understand, and then I would follow through with Liboff in order to actually understand it. This book was definitely helpful with a first course in Quantum Mechanics.

Good for reading without a teacher.
First a little about myself. I was a math major when I went to school thirty years ago. I took a few elementary physics courses back then but remember very little. I read most of Principles of QM by P.A.M. Dirac before I read this book. However I have not read any other texts and so I cannot do a good job of comparing this book to others. I have the second printing of the fourth edition. This printing has hundreds of typos. I sent a bunch of e-mails to Professor Liboff informing him of the ones that I found and he indicated to me that in subsequent printings these typos would be fixed.

I found that I was able to understand most of it without access to a teacher to help me. My complaint with Dirac is that although it explains theory quite well, it doesn't privide problem solving techniques. Liboff's book is quite good for that. As for theory, although Dirac is more thorough, there were important gaps in my understanding after reading Dirac that were cleared up by Liboff. Liboff is easier to understand.

In the fourth edition there is a new chapter on Quantum Computing. In my opinion, this chapter is extremely weak. Shor's algorithm for factoring integers is a probabilistic one, but this fact is not mentioned in the text. A probabilistic algorithm, simply stated, is one that does not always work. For instance Shor's algorithm fails to factor the number 9, but Liboff uses 9 as an example. In fact there is a definition of probabilistic algorithms in the book, but it fails to bring out the features that make Shor's alorithm understandable. Fortunately, this one bad chapter does not ruin the book.

Terribly written and lacks explanation
The books dives into numerous topics without first giving thorough FOUNDATION or MOTIVATION. The examples are sparse, the explanations are few and far between, and the structure is overall bad. For those who need a book that teaches instead of a book that annoys and frustrates, get the Quantum Physics MIT introductory series book by AP French. It's a million times clearer, easier to read, and much more enriching. ... Read more

Book Description

An esteemed researcher and acclaimed popular author takes up the challenge of providing a clear, relatively brief, and fully up-to-date introduction to one of the most vital but notoriously difficult subjects in theoretical physics. A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on.

Quantum field theory was invented to deal simultaneously with special relativity and quantum mechanics, the two greatest discoveries of early twentieth-century physics, but it has become increasingly important to many areas of physics. These days, physicists turn to quantum field theory to describe a multitude of phenomena.

Stressing critical ideas and insights, Zee uses numerous examples to lead students to a true conceptual understanding of quantum field theory--what it means and what it can do. He covers an unusually diverse range of topics, including various contemporary developments, while guiding readers through thoughtfully designed problems. In contrast to previous texts, Zee incorporates gravity from the outset and discusses the innovative use of quantum field theory in modern condensed matter theory.

Without a solid understanding of quantum field theory, no student can claim to have mastered contemporary theoretical physics. Offering a remarkably accessible conceptual introduction, this text will be widely welcomed and used. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

BRAVO ! ! !
BRAVO ! ! !
It has been over fifteen years since I've last read a book on QFT. This book is extremely clear, enlightening, entertaining, at times deep and always worth the effort. I have read several small sections and it has already made quite an impression on me. I recommend this book without hesitation.

I just don't understand the two star review by someone who thinks this is one step up from popularization. First, I don't know of any books in that category that discuss and show calculations for field theory in curved spacetime, renormalization, the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron, basics of Chern-Simons Theory and TQFT, etc. Second, if it's rigor you want, say non-commutative C* Algebras and QFT, why would you expect to find it "in a Nutshell?" Try, for a bit more rigor, "The Mathematical Foundations of Gauge Theories" by Marathe & Martucci or the wonderful works of John Baez. Or go to Glimm and Jaffe's "Quantum Physics: A Functional Integral Point of View" for lots of rigor but almost nothing in four dimensions. De gustibus non disputandem est - but let us not get ridiculous.

Joseph R. Dell'Aquila, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Quantum Fields Forever!
One characteristic which distinguishes this book from ordinary physics books is that it is written by a human physicist for other humans!

This text on quantum field theory is filled with charming psychology of physicists. It not only teaches up-to-date quantum field theory, but also tells readers how research is actually done and shows how to think about physics. For example, it is told how Yang-Mills theory was born out of a great mind in 20th century physics. It is also told how theorists and experimentalists live with each other. Readers can even know about how a life in physics is like, say, through the career of Confusio. These may belong to what people usually say `cannot be learned from books'.

This book is in the same style as ``Fearful Symmetry'' and ``Einstein's Universe'', two `popular' physics books. I think one can recognize that they are written by the same author merely by reading the texts. I have to use quotation marks for the word `popular', as those two books geneuinely teach physics, with a same taste as this quantum field theory book except with less technical details.

All the three books, by a special theoretical physicist, are classics.

Billy D. Jones, theoretical physicist
This book is awesome.
It's for the beginner.
It's for the expert.
It's for the next generation...

Highly recommended
A delightful introduction to a difficult subject;
intuitive, insightful and fun!
An ideal introductory graduate level text.
Highly recommended.

Funny, chatty, physical. QFT education transformed!!
This Quantum Field Theory text stands apart from others in so many ways that it's difficult to list them all :-). A very unique QFT introductory text.

One problem with learning QFT is that it is so easy to get lost in the mathematical details that the core physics concepts often get obscured.

In my opinion, Tony Zee overcomes this particular problem quite successfully. He keeps algebra to a bare minimum, and tries to find the shortest route to the physics ideas. He chooses examples that illustrate concepts in the fastest possible way.

The chapters are short. So refreshing! Each chapter has one or two core ideas. You can go through one in ten minutes (glossing over the math), and then you go back and do the math.

Part I (first eighty or so pages) is called "Motivation and Foundation" and is a rapid introduction to QFT. It is also a summary and sweeping overview --- introducing path integrals and Feynman diagrams and making a very intuitive transition from Quantum mechanics to Field theory.

The next three parts cover spin-1/2 particles (Dirac spinors), renormalization, and symmetry (breaking), standard fare for QFT texts. A sampling of condensed-matter applications is given in Parts V & VI, and then current high-energy topics are treated in parts VII & VIII.

The applications make this text stand out. There is a selection of advanced current topics like the quantum hall physics, surface growth, string theory, D-branes and quantum garavity, not usually found in introductory field theory texts. Of course none of these topics can be done justice in a book at this level, but getting a taste of advanced issues is a great treat.

The exposition is breezy and chatty, as the author admits was his intention. The text is never boring to read, and is at times very, very funny. Puns and jokes abound, as do anecdotes involving the inventors of QFT.

Renormalization is discussed through a lively dialog between student Confusio, a female Smart Experimentalist (SE), and a senior (Egghead) theorist. Ode to Galileo! Section headings alternate between serious and hilarious --- one section is called "Wisdom of the son-in-law". The path integral formulation of quantum mechanics comes out of a conversation between a teacher and a "wise-guy" student, who happens to be Feynman.

And so on and so forth.

The net result is a book which is much easier, and more fun, to read than any of the other common QFT books out there. Tony Zee's skills as a popular physics writer have been used to excellent effect in writing this textbook.

One more distinctive feature is that there is equal emphasis on condensed-matter and high-energy applications. Most QFT texts today, unfortunately, are so biased toward particle-physics that they tend to put off condensed-matter students. A. Zee has broken the mold!

Is the treatment "over"-simplified? Maybe simplified, but not dumbed-down. The high concept-to-pain ratio certainly seems worth the simplification.

Is this text only good as a supplement? Well, it is after all a "Nutshell", so maybe other texts are better for details. But as an introduction to QFT concepts, few other books match this.

Wholeheartedly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

This book first teaches learners how to do quantum mechanics, and then provides them with a more insightful discussion of what it means. Fundamental principles are covered, quantum theory presented, and special techniques developed for attacking realistic problems.The book's two-part coverage organizes topics under basic theory, and assembles an arsenal of approximation schemes with illustrative applications. ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Perfect companion to more difficult texts
This introductory text by Griffiths has two major advantages: first it is exceedingly interesting to read, at such an extent one could believe the material is easy. Exercises are challenging enough to show it is just an impression. Second, the text covers a rather big amount of the (non-relativistic) theory, in a concision which is exemplar. It is a short text, which travels in the corners of the field: quantum statistics, solid state physics, perturbation theories, scattering... Of course the counterpart is those topics aren't dealt with at depth. This is a book to see things, before to work on them. For all those reasons, it is a very, very bad reference, but it is not its purpose. For example, the bra and ket formalism is introduced a bit lately, and its use is not stressed. The functional notation for what is currently referred to as |n, l, m> conceals the power of Dirac notations. Tensor product of Hilbert space are completely omitted, thus obscuring the (short but important) section on angular momenta, especially their addition. However, following the book's spirit, you have an opportunity to see Clebsch-Gordan coefficients at work, with their pretty cascading tables.

The book is accessible without serious prerequisites, not even in electromagnetism, you just need to know the basis of calculus. Therefore it is the text to get if as a beginner you want to get acquainted with this fundamental piece of physics, along with learning your first physical theories (mechanics or electromagnetism). For others, it is useless to they who ever know pretty much of the theory, even as a review. To students who encounter this strange world for the first time, but with a fierce amount of classical knowledge on their back, I recommend it either as a companion to a more demanding detailed text--Shankar seeming the perfect pick--or as the only text if tremendous amount of personal work is to be furnished to fill in and explore by oneself what is missing. I wouldn't rely too much on it however.

A poorly organized introduction
I had previously written a review of this text based upon my experiences with it first semester, dealing mostly with chapters 1-4. Upon further reading of the book and comparison to various other texts (the Baym, Sakurai and Shankar, specifically), I have decided that I need to rewrite my review.

First off, the good side: If you're interested in a wave mechanics approach to learning quantum mechanics, this book isn't horrible. You certainly learn a lot about solving differential equations, although you are never asked to solve any yourself. Also, the problems for the students to work range from the insanely trivial to the intriguingly difficult. Now for the bad part...

Well, the problem with those worked problems is that there is a lot of important stuff in the problems, and Griffiths assumes you have worked every single problem. This wouldn't be an issue, except most of the chapters have over 50 problems, and the odds that you did the right problem you need when he references that problem three chapters later is pretty slim.

Also, he does not introduce you to the Dirac notation or the linear algebra approach to quantum mechanics until the third chapter, after which he promptly discards that powerful tool in favor of the way he had been going, which is with wave mechanics. So he deprives the readers of knowledge of a remarkably useful language to discuss quantum mechanics.

He begins with the Schrodinger equation, without any motivation at all, and proceeds from there. He could start out talking about two level systems, the collapse of the state vector, eigenvalue measurements and all that long before getting into infinite-dimensional systems, but he seems to think that solving a differential equation without explaining what the Schrodinger equation actually is (the Hamiltonian operator) or giving any idea of its physical significance.

Some problems are absurdly ambiguous to the point that you really wonder what exactly you're supposed to do, and the working of nontrivial examples is few and far between (with exceptions being the hydrogen atom and the raising and lowering operators for the various applications of those).

Because I don't want to conclude being completely negative, I would like to point out that the sections on approximation methods are very good and easy to follow.

I think everyone else put it best when they said that this is quantum mechanics for those with no mathematical inclination, and if you are a physics major with no mathematical inclination, I have to question your choice of study. For those serious about learning quantum mechanics, purchase the Shankar, it's cheaper and much more fulfilling.

The best introductory QM text
This is the best first course quantum mechanics text book by far. I used it as a text in first semester QM. How do I know it is the best? During first semester qm I spent many hours in the school library reading qm books. The library had a large section of qm books. I used to take 10 to 20 books home at a time. I was always looking for better explanations of particular expositions, and I found that often one book gave the clearest exposition in a particular area. Also, Ifound it helpful to read how several books described, for example, solution to the step function and others. But David Griffiths book is the best written book of all those others I read.

The Griffiths book is easy to understand. That is what makes it a good book for the beginning student of qm. Let me give an example of what I am saying: Fourty five years ago, when I first studied calculus, there was only one text book. It was the then venerable Calculus and Analytic Geometry by George Thomas, Jr. This book was not easy to study. It is not a well written book compared to modern calculus text books. But now there are many good calculus text books. Now calculus is a fairly easy subject because the text books are well written. They are student friendly. I think that most qm books are like the Thomas book in that they are not student friendly, and the Griffiths book is the first student friendly qm book in my view.

The one criticism that students might have of the Griffiths books is that the problems are long and time consuming. This is true if you do not use Mathematica or some other math program. If you use Mathematica, the problems can be worked in minutes.

The Griffiths book uses wave mechanics notation throughout, which every physicist must learn. To learn the Dirac notation, the best book I found (and the most elegant qm book I found) is Quantum Mechanics, by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Bernard Diu, and Franck Laloe.

Lacking substance
I have read the first 4 chapters of the 1st Ed, and carefully looked at the 2nd. The book is an introduction to wave mechanics, starting with the Schrodinger Eq on the first page! It feels like he doesn't begin at the begining. He should at least give brief comments on the development of quantum ideas (both wave and matrix) and JUSTIFY why the wave approach is more suited as an introduction. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
All these jumps add up: when you try to work the problems you are working with wavefunctions like you've known them all your life! One could find this and that, but I was never sure how the results could be used (in an experimental setting for example). What system does this wavefunction represent, or at least approximate, give the reader some motivation for working on a problem for almost an hour.
I would also say the book is dull, because the author explains every single math step he takes. Sometimes it is helpful, but most of the time it kills the thrill. In places where things are harder to explain in details this approach is abandoned; in chapter 3 you'll find plen