Interpreting the Quantum World

Philosophy of physics title by highly regarded author, fully revised for this paperback edition.

Jeffrey Bub (Author)

9780521653862, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 August 1999

308 pages, 16 b/w illus.
24.7 x 17.4 x 1.8 cm, 0.648 kg

'The book contains an amazing wealth of information … there is much to learn from Bub's book, and I recommend it without hesitation to all those who are interested in the foundations of quantum theory.' Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics

This is a book about the interpretation of quantum mechanics, in particular how to resolve the measurement problem introduced by the orthodox interpretation of the theory. The heart of the book is a new result that shows how to construct all possible 'no collapse' interpretations, subject to certain natural constraints and the limitations imposed by the hidden variable theorems. The discussion is self-contained and organized so that the technical portions may be skipped without losing the argument.

Introduction
1. From classical to quantum mechanics
2. Bell's 'no-go' theorem
3. The Kochen and Specker 'no-go' theorem
4. The proof of interpretation
5. Quantum mechanics without observers: I
6. Quantum mechanics without observers: II
7. Orthodoxy
8. The new orthodoxy
Coda
Appendix: some methematical machinery.

Subject Areas: Quantum physics [quantum mechanics & quantum field theory PHQ]