Traditionally the quantum time problem is the question Is time a parameter or an observable in quantum mechanics? The essence of a parameter is that it is a label describing the state of a given system. On the other hand, the essence of a quantum observable is that it is a property of a quantum… Read More »
To many students, quantum mechanics is an academically imposed phantom that comes and goes as quickly as the semesters start and end. A primary reason, I believe, is that they find it so far removed from their familiarities. They approach quantum mechanics with the Newtonian mindset which is in accord with their everyday experience. When… Read More »
We, physicists, are obviously not afraid. Our literature, from our notes to our papers to our books, is replete with them. We are not at all embarrassed by our seemingly wanton disregard to mathematical rigor in our mathematical acrobatics that often lead to our ill-defined or infinite-valued divergent integrals. Our enduring affair with such almost… Read More »
It is not uncommon to come across the phrase Hilbert space in any book of quantum mechanics, with the author mentioning Hilbert space as if the exact mathematical description of the Hilbert space is a nuance that can be relegated to a side study. For example, we have Susskind and Friedman, in their book Quantum… Read More »
Quantum mechanics provides the most accurate description of our physical universe so far. It reigns supreme in its scope, from the smallest known particles that are the quarks to the largest conglomeration of objects that is the cosmos. It accounts for all the observed properties of the elements of the periodic table, and the molecules… Read More »