Written by a respected Harvard physicist, this introductory account of the evolution of quantum physics also explores the subject's philosophical implications. The opening chapters trace the development of physics from antiquity onward, chronicling the origins of quantum mechanics and the ways in which quantum theory was used to address previously unsolved problems and to interpret observable atomic phenomena. Succeeding chapters are devoted to matters at the forefront of research pertaining to elementary particles, and the text concludes with a look at the old and new concepts of physical science and their relationship to issues of philosophy and religion - including considerations of causality, determinism, and free will. 1968 ed. 36 black-and-white figures. 12 halftones.