Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century
Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century
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量子世代：二十世纪物理学史
DOI：
10.1088/0143-0807/21/6/701
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发表时间：
2000
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
H. Rechenberg
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
H. Rechenberg
作者试图处理最重要的物理学发展的二十世纪，即量子理论，在一个，不太笨重，卷。这一伟大的任务分为29章，每一章所讨论的主题都是量子理论本身（以及它的一些同伴）以及与之相关的实验发现、技术、社会学和科学政治学这一大主题的一个明确的子部分，第一部分的内容大致涵盖了世纪的前20年。还有章节介绍了量子的作用和原子结构，气体放电，低温研究以及科学与第一次世界大战中工业和军事事务的相互作用。第二部分，导致了广岛原子弹，包括，除了核物理学的兴起，量子场论和量子力学的物理和哲学解释等中心章节，进一步帐户的Eddington-Milne宇宙学，物理学在国家社会主义，法西斯主义和斯大林主义的独裁政权，和知识分子移民在20世纪30年代到美国。第三部分将故事带到了世纪末，包括核能、大科学（即军事和民用项目中的物理学）、基本粒子理论、关于“大统一”的猜测、量子电子学，以及过去30年来对科学日益敌视的态度等重大话题。简短的第四部分包含两章关于一个世纪的回顾，这实际上是物理学的世纪。本书涉及了大量的材料，人们不禁要问，一个人怎么能对所有这些话题说些合理的话。总体组织和各章的选择看来是精心规划的，执行得相当成功。在这位评论家看来，有些章节，例如狄拉克的理论工作或宇宙学（作者在这方面贡献了开创性的历史研究）提供了特别有能力的评论，而其他章节，例如量子理论的介绍依赖于令人失望的二手资料。物理学家将特别受益于社会学和其他背景材料对他们的科学;门外汉往往面临的只是一个列表的物理概念，而不是启蒙有关其内容。当然，在这样一个全球性的故事中，一些历史错误是不可避免的：比如塞缪尔·古德斯密特（Samuel Goudsmit）没有获得诺贝尔奖，玛丽亚·戈佩特-迈耶（Maria Goeppert-Mayer）和弗里茨伦敦（Fritz）也不是波兰出生的。作为本书的一个特点，即使在主要来源更容易获得的情况下，也总是引用次要（科学史）文献。正如作者在序言中所说，他认为《量子世代》的标准读者既不是科学家，也不是科学史学家。尽管如此，这本书可能很难在提到的圈子之外赢得读者。
The author attempts to handle the most important physics development of the twentieth century, namely that of quantum theory, in one, not too bulky, volume. This heroic task is split into 29 chapters, each treating a topic that forms a well defined subpart of the big theme embracing quantum theory itself (and also some of its companions), and the experimental discoveries, technology, sociology and science politics connected with it. The contents of Part One cover roughly the first twenty years of the century. There are also chapters on the introduction of the quantum of action and atomic constitution, on discharge in gases, low-temperature research and the interaction of science with industrial and military affairs in World War I. Part Two, leading up to the Hiroshima bomb, includes, beyond such central chapters as the rise of nuclear physics, quantum field theory and the physical and philosophical interpretation of quantum mechanics, further accounts of the Eddington-Milne cosmology, physics in the dictatorial regimes of National Socialism, Fascism and Stalinism, and the intellectual immigration during the 1930s into the USA. Part Three brings the story up to the end of the century, embracing great topics like nuclear energy, Big Science (i.e. physics in military and civil projects), fundamental particle theories up to speculations about `grand unification', quantum electronics, or the increasingly hostile attitude toward science in the past 30 years. The short Part Four contains two chapters on a century in retrospect, which was really the century of physics. An enormous amount of material has been addressed in this book, and one wonders how one person can say anything reasonable about all these topics. The overall organization and the selection of chapters appears to be well planned and carried out quite successfully. In this reviewer's opinion, some chapters, e.g. on Dirac's theoretical work or cosmology (on which the author has contributed pioneering historical studies) provide particularly competent reviews, while others, e.g. the one on the introduction of quantum theory depend on disappointing second-hand sources. Physicists will profit particularly from the sociological and other background material given on their science; the layman is often confronted with a mere list of physical concepts rather than enlightenment concerning their contents. Of course, a number of historical mistakes cannot be avoided in such a global story: thus Samuel Goudsmit did not win the Nobel Prize, and Maria Goeppert-Mayer and Fritz London were not Polish born. As a particular feature of the book, references are always given to secondary (history of science) literature, even when the primary sources are more easily accessible. As the author stated in the preface, he thought that the standard reader of his Quantum Generations would be neither a scientist nor a historian of science. Still, it may be very difficult to win an audience for this book beyond the circles mentioned.