This collection of articles, which were first published in 1958 and written on various occasions between 1932 and 1957, forms a sequel to Danish physician Niels Bohr’s earlier essays in Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature (1934). “The theme of the papers is the epistemological lesson which the modern development of atomic physics has given us and its relevance for analysis and synthesis in many fields of human knowledge. “The articles in the previous edition were written at a time when the establishment of the mathematical methods of quantum mechanics had created a firm foundation for the consistent treatment of atomic phenomena, and the conditions for an unambiguous account of experience within this framework were characterized by the notion of complementarity. In the papers collected here, this approach is further developed in logical formulation and given broader application.”
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) was a Danish physicist who played a key role in the development of atomic theory and quantum mechanics, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. First published in 1924, this concise volume provides an English translation of a 1923 German language essay which appeared in the Zeitschrift für Physik journal. It concerns itself with the fundamental postulates of quantum theory, aiming to present the principles of the theory in such a way that their application appears free from contradiction. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Bohr's contribution to physics.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) was a Danish physicist who played a key role in the development of atomic theory and quantum mechanics, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. Originally written for various journals during the 1920s, these articles investigate the epistemological significance of discoveries in quantum physics.
``Nuclear Physics'' deals with Bohr's work on nuclear physics which began in the pre-1932 days with his thinking deeply, but inconclusively about the seeming contradictions then presented by the evidence about the nucleus. In 1936, Bohr recognised and described the insights provided by neutron scattering experiments; the excitement of this new understanding and its extension and consolidation occupied much of the subsequent years. In 1939, he was again first in understanding the essential features of the newly discovered phenomenon of fission, applying successfully the point of view of nuclear reactions which he had developed over the past three years. Later, in 1949-50, he was impressed by the success of the nuclear shell model, which on the face of it seemed hard to reconcile with the picture of the closely interacting nucleons which he had pioneered in 1936. Bohr put much effort into clarifying this paradox.
Whilst volume 3 dealt primarily with the development of the quantum theory, ``The Periodic System'' contains in 2 parts the papers treating the application of the theory to the problem of atomic structure and the explanation of the periodic system of the chemical elements.
Volume 7 is a direct continuation of Volume 6, which documented the birth of the complementarity argument and its earliest elaborations. It covers the extension and refinement of the complementarity argument from 1933 until Bohrs' death in 1962. All Bohr's publications on the subject, together with selected manuscripts and extracts of his correspondence with friends and fellow pioneers such as Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli, are included. Divided into two, largely independent parts, the volume begins with Bohr's contributions to "Relativistic Quantum Theory". Together with Léon Rosenfeld, Bohr undertook a thorough investigation of the measuring problem in quantum electrodynamics and demonstrated the full accordance between the formalism and the result of idealized thought experiments. The articles in the second part, although also restricted in scope to the field of physics, address a broader audience. One of the most impressive treatises is Bohr's own account of his debates with Albert Einstein, over more than twenty years, on the consistency, the completeness and the epistemological consequences of quantum mechanics. Volumes 6 and 7 of the Collected Works are in turn related to the forthcoming Volume 10 which broadens the scope by presenting Bohr's applications of the complementarity argument beyond the domain of physics. Although each volume may be read independently, careful attention should be paid to the interrelationships between each volume in order to appreciate the subtlety of Bohr's continued elaboration and fine-tuning of his complementarity argument.
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