Lectures on Quantum Mechanics

Beautifully illustrated and engagingly written, Twelve Lectures in Quantum Mechanics presents theoretical physics with a breathtaking array of examples and anecdotes. Basdevant’s style is clear and stimulating, in the manner of a brisk classroom lecture that students can follow with ease and enjoyment. Here is a sample of the book’s style, from the opening of Chapter 1: "If one were to ask a passer-by to quote a great formula of physics, chances are that the answer would be ‘E = mc2’. In fact, of the three watershed years for physics toward the beginning of the 20th century – 1905: the Special Relativity of Einstein, Lorentz and Poincaré; 1915: the General Relativity of Einstein, with its extraordinary reflections on gravitation, space and time; and 1925: the development of Quantum Mechanics – it is surely the last which has the most profound implications for the development of science and technology. There is no way around it: all physics is quantum, from elementary particles, to stellar physics and the Big Bang, not to mention semiconductors and solar cells."

A graduate of the Ecole Normale Superieure, Jean-Louis Basdevant is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at the Ecole Polytechnique, and Director of Research for the CNRS. Specializing in the theoretical physics of elementary particles, quantum field theory and astrophysics, Prof. Basdevant works in the Leprince-Ringuet Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique.

• astrophysics
• elementary particle
• field theory
• gravity
• hydrogen
• mechanics
• quantization
• quantum field
• quantum field theory
• quantum mechanics
• relativity
• semiconductor
• special relativity
• theoretical physics
• theory of relativity

From the reviews:

"This book is a transcription of the introductory lectures on quantum mechanics that Basdevant gives at Ecole Polytechnique in France. … The strength of the book lies in Bedevant’s obvious talent as a lecturer. He is engaging and interesting and uses a wide variety of examples and sources. … These are interesting lectures and would be useful to anyone interested in an advanced introduction, or a review, of the topic. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate student; faculty." (E. Kincanon, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), August, 2007)

"This textbook presents theoretical physics with a breathtaking array of examples and anecdotes. The author’s style is clear and stimulating, in the manner of a brisk classroom lecture that students can follow with ease and enjoyment. The book is written in physical language, without the excessive mathematics." (Vladimir Dzhunushaliev, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1115 (17), 2007)

• Physics Department, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

  Jean-Louis Basdevant

A graduate of the Ecole Normale Superieure, Jean-Louis Basdevant is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at the Ecole Polytechnique, and Director of Research for the CNRS. Specializing in the theoretical physics of elementary particles, quantum field theory and astrophysics, Prof. Basdevant works in the Leprince-Ringuet Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique.

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