[SOLVED] Learning QED [Archive]

himog

Nov21-04, 02:54 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\ndegrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\nwould like to know more.\n\nIdeally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\nproduction, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d\nalso like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand\nwhy some processes with similar diagrams have very different\nprobabilities of occurence.\n\nHowever, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\ntreats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\nin all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\nhit their target audiences.\n\nI\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found\nare either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n\nI just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman\'s QED\nand a modern QFT text.\n\nI don\'t know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be\ninspired to write one?\n\nThank you for any interest.\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
would like to know more.

Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd
also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand
why some processes with similar diagrams have very different
probabilities of occurence.

However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
hit their target audiences.

I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found
are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.

I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman's QED
and a modern QFT text.

I don't know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be
inspired to write one?

Thank you for any interest.

Igor Khavkine

Nov22-04, 05:14 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>\n\nOn Sun, 21 Nov 2004 08:54:42 +0000, himog wrote:\n\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n>\n> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\n> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d also\n> like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand why some\n> processes with similar diagrams have very different probabilities of\n> occurence.\n>\n> However, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\n> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram in\n> all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to hit their\n> target audiences.\n>\n> I\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found are\n> either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n>\n> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman\'s QED and\n> a modern QFT text.\n\nSounds like you are looking for one of the older fashioned texts on QED or\nRelativistic Quantum Mechanics. Perhaps you already ran into some of them,\nbut found out of date. For the purposes of learning the theory they are\nquite up to date. The most recent piece of the QED puzzle that was put in\nplace was renormalization, and that was done quite a while ago.\n\nTake a look at:\n\nJ. J. Sakurai\nAdvanced Quantum Mechanics\n\nGreiner\nQuantum Electrodynamics\n\nBjorken and Drell\nRelativistic Quantum Mechanics\n\nLandau & Lifshitz (vol 4)\nQuantum Electrodynamics\n\nBTW, there is no real reason to be afraid of quantum field theory, it\'s\ngoal is to make things simpler, not more complicated.\n\nIgor\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 08:54:42 +0000, himog wrote:

> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.
>
> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd also
> like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand why some
> processes with similar diagrams have very different probabilities of
> occurence.
>
> However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram in
> all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to hit their
> target audiences.
>
> I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found are
> either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.
>
> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman's QED and
> a modern QFT text.

Sounds like you are looking for one of the older fashioned texts on QED or
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics. Perhaps you already ran into some of them,
but found out of date. For the purposes of learning the theory they are
quite up to date. The most recent piece of the QED puzzle that was put in
place was renormalization, and that was done quite a while ago.

Take a look at:

J. J. Sakurai
Advanced Quantum Mechanics

Greiner
Quantum Electrodynamics

Bjorken and Drell
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Landau & Lifshitz (vol 4)
Quantum Electrodynamics

BTW, there is no real reason to be afraid of quantum field theory, it's
goal is to make things simpler, not more complicated.

Igor

John T Lowry

Nov22-04, 05:14 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>\n"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message\nnews:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting .google.com...\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n>\n> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\n> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d\n> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand\n> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different\n> probabilities of occurence.\n>\n> However, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\n> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\n> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\n> hit their target audiences.\n>\n> I\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found\n> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n>\n> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman\'s QED\n> and a modern QFT text.\n>\n> I don\'t know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be\n> inspired to write one?\n>\n> Thank you for any interest.\n>\n\nI recommend Sakurai\'s Advanced Quantum Mechanics, but there are\ncertainly others.\n\nJohn Lowry\nFlight Physics\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message
news:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google.c om...
> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.
>
> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd
> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand
> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different
> probabilities of occurence.
>
> However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
> hit their target audiences.
>
> I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found
> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.
>
> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman's QED
> and a modern QFT text.
>
> I don't know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be
> inspired to write one?
>
> Thank you for any interest.
>

I recommend Sakurai's Advanced Quantum Mechanics, but there are
certainly others.

John Lowry
Flight Physics

FrediFizzx

Nov22-04, 05:14 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>\n"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message\nnews:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting .google.com...\n| I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n| degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n| would like to know more.\n|\n| Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\n| production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d\n| also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand\n| why some processes with similar diagrams have very different\n| probabilities of occurence.\n|\n| However, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\n| treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\n| in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\n| hit their target audiences.\n|\n| I\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found\n| are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n|\n| I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman\'s QED\n| and a modern QFT text.\n\nTry the combination of "Introduction to Elementary Particles" by Griffiths\nand Milonni\'s "The Quantum Vacuum: An Introduction to Quantum\nElectrodynamics". The math for Quantum Mechanics will be helpful if you\ndon\'t know it.\n\nFrediFizzx\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message
news:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google.c om...
| I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
| degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
| would like to know more.
|
| Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
| production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd
| also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand
| why some processes with similar diagrams have very different
| probabilities of occurence.
|
| However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
| treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
| in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
| hit their target audiences.
|
| I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found
| are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.
|
| I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman's QED
| and a modern QFT text.

Try the combination of "Introduction to Elementary Particles" by Griffiths
and Milonni's "The Quantum Vacuum: An Introduction to Quantum
Electrodynamics". The math for Quantum Mechanics will be helpful if you
don't know it.

FrediFizzx

Hendrik van Hees

Nov22-04, 05:40 PM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>Since QED is a QFT it is very difficult to find a book which treats QED\nwithout QFT. In very old days there was Diracs hole theory, which is,\nas far as I know, physically equivalent to QED but much more difficult\nto comprehend and to apply to real problems.\n\nOn the other hand, why don\'t you want to learn QFT? It\'s a great\ntechnique to describe the physical world and last but not least it\'s\nalso great fun to learn about it.\n\nI do not dare to suggest my absolute favorite books on the subject,\nwhich are the three volumes of Weinberg, Quantum Theory of Fields. They\nare most convenient since from the very beginning you learn, why QFT is\nas it is.\n\nRecently I found a much less challenging book which is not bad. The only\ndisadvantage is that you need to read Weinberg or Peskin/Schroeder\nanyway to understand what\'s behind the (Feynman) rules, but to begin\nwith, it\'s a great thing:\n\nI. J. R. Aitchison, A. J. G. Hey, Gauge theories in Particle Physics,\nVol. I From Relativistisc QM to QED\n\nVol. II is for my taste to vague, it\'s about the non-abelian part of the\nStandard Model.\n\nhimog wrote:\n\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n>\n> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\n> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d\n> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand\n> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different\n> probabilities of occurence.\n>\n> However, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\n> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\n> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\n> hit their target audiences.\n\n--\nHendrik van Hees Cyclotron Institute\nPhone: +1 979/845-1411 Texas A&M University\nFax: +1 979/845-1899 Cyclotron Institute, MS-3366\nhttp://theory.gsi.de/~vanhees/ College Station, TX 77843-3366\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>Since QED is a QFT it is very difficult to find a book which treats QED
without QFT. In very old days there was Diracs hole theory, which is,
as far as I know, physically equivalent to QED but much more difficult
to comprehend and to apply to real problems.

On the other hand, why don't you want to learn QFT? It's a great
technique to describe the physical world and last but not least it's
also great fun to learn about it.

I do not dare to suggest my absolute favorite books on the subject,
which are the three volumes of Weinberg, Quantum Theory of Fields. They
are most convenient since from the very beginning you learn, why QFT is
as it is.

Recently I found a much less challenging book which is not bad. The only
disadvantage is that you need to read Weinberg or Peskin/Schroeder
anyway to understand what's behind the (Feynman) rules, but to begin
with, it's a great thing:

I. J. R. Aitchison, A. J. G. Hey, Gauge theories in Particle Physics,
Vol. I From Relativistisc QM to QED

Vol. II is for my taste to vague, it's about the non-abelian part of the
Standard Model.

himog wrote:

> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.
>
> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd
> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand
> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different
> probabilities of occurence.
>
> However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
> hit their target audiences.

--
Hendrik van Hees Cyclotron Institute
Phone: +1 979/845-1411 Texas A&M University
Fax: +1 979/845-1899 Cyclotron Institute, MS-3366
http://theory.gsi.de/~vanhees/ College Station, TX 77843-3366

Rufus Anton

Nov22-04, 05:42 PM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>What is all the stuff in Peskin and Schroeder you think you don\'t need\nto understand QED? Chapter 1 gives a brief heuristic introduction\nquite relevant to QED. Most people find this confusing on a first pass\nbut enjoy reading it in the end. You can skip it completely if you\ndon\'t like it. Chapter 2 gives a brief introduction to scalar field\ntheory. This is absolutely essential knowledge and I think P&S\'s\nexposition is quite nice. Chapter 3 introduces spinors and Dirac\ntheory in a concise way -- you absolutely have to know this for QED.\nChapter 4 introduces perturbation theory, starting with scalar field\ntheory. OK, you want spinors, but it is definitely the easiest to\nunderstand scalars first and then worry about the differences to\nspinors. Chapter 5 teaches you to calculate essential QED processes.\nChapter 6 introduces radiative corrections, in particular, it\ndiscusses the bremsstrahlung you\'d like to understand. The subsequent\nchapters introduce some formal developments, all of which are quite\nimportant, but you can decide for yourself how far you want to read.\nThere is actually a lot of fun stuff coming, like functional\ntechniques (path integrals) and renormalization. Just read as much as\nyou like.\n\nI guess you won\'t find a much better introduction to QED than this.\n\nBest,\nRufus\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>What is all the stuff in Peskin and Schroeder you think you don't need
to understand QED? Chapter 1 gives a brief heuristic introduction
quite relevant to QED. Most people find this confusing on a first pass
but enjoy reading it in the end. You can skip it completely if you
don't like it. Chapter 2 gives a brief introduction to scalar field
theory. This is absolutely essential knowledge and I think P&S's
exposition is quite nice. Chapter 3 introduces spinors and Dirac
theory in a concise way -- you absolutely have to know this for QED.
Chapter 4 introduces perturbation theory, starting with scalar field
theory. OK, you want spinors, but it is definitely the easiest to
understand scalars first and then worry about the differences to
spinors. Chapter 5 teaches you to calculate essential QED processes.
Chapter 6 introduces radiative corrections, in particular, it
discusses the bremsstrahlung you'd like to understand. The subsequent
chapters introduce some formal developments, all of which are quite
important, but you can decide for yourself how far you want to read.
There is actually a lot of fun stuff coming, like functional
techniques (path integrals) and renormalization. Just read as much as
you like.

I guess you won't find a much better introduction to QED than this.

Best,
Rufus

Danny Ross Lunsford

Nov23-04, 03:08 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>\n\n\nhimog@email.com (himog) wrote in message news:<819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google. com>...\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n\n> ..treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\n> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\n> hit their target audiences.\n>\n> I\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found\n> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n\nClassics: Heitler, Wentzel, Jauch & Rohrlich.\n\nMore recent: Kallen, Akhiezer, Feynman, Landau.\n\nModern: None I can think of that aren\'t full-blown field theory books.\n\nNote, you should know SR in your bones before starting.\n\n-drl\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>himog@email.com (himog) wrote in message news:<819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google.com>...
> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.

> ..treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
> hit their target audiences.
>
> I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found
> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.

Classics: Heitler, Wentzel, Jauch & Rohrlich.

More recent: Kallen, Akhiezer, Feynman, Landau.

Modern: None I can think of that aren't full-blown field theory books.

Note, you should know SR in your bones before starting.

-drl

mike.james

Nov24-04, 01:48 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message\nnews:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting .google.com...\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n>\n\nA book I found helpful after reading the Feynman was\n\nThe Quantum Theory of Light\nRodney Loudon 0198501765\n\nI read an older edition and I haven\'t seen a more recent one.\nIt can be a bit "engineering" oriented in places but when you\nare trying to see how things work and how to use the model its good.\n\nmikej\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>"himog" <himog@email.com> wrote in message
news:819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google.c om...
> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.
>

A book I found helpful after reading the Feynman was

The Quantum Theory of Light
Rodney Loudon 0198501765

I read an older edition and I haven't seen a more recent one.
It can be a bit "engineering" oriented in places but when you
are trying to see how things work and how to use the model its good.

mikej

Roy Brooks

Nov27-04, 06:40 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>himog@email.com (himog) wrote in message news:<819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google. com>...\n> I\'m looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor\'s\n> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and\n> would like to know more.\n>\n> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair\n> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I\'d\n> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand\n> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different\n> probabilities of occurence.\n>\n> However, I don\'t wan\'t to be bogged down by QFT. I\'d like a book that\n> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram\n> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to\n> hit their target audiences.\n>\n> I\'ve tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I\'ve found\n> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.\n>\n> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman\'s QED\n> and a modern QFT text.\n>\n> I don\'t know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be\n> inspired to write one?\n>\n> Thank you for any interest.\n\nYou might find the book An Interpretive Intro. to Quantum Field Theory\nBy Paul Teller(Princeton Paperbacks)helpful. I enjoyed reading very much.\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>himog@email.com (himog) wrote in message news:<819d1153.0411201627.69d6760e@posting.google.com>...
> I'm looking for a book that is just about QED. I have dual batchelor's
> degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and have read QED by Feynman, and
> would like to know more.
>
> Ideally, I would like to learn about things like bremsstrahlung, pair
> production, annihilation, photon-photon scattering and the like. I'd
> also like to be able to actually do some calculations and understand
> why some processes with similar diagrams have very different
> probabilities of occurence.
>
> However, I don't wan't to be bogged down by QFT. I'd like a book that
> treats just QED at a beginning graduate level without trying to cram
> in all the stuff that Peskin & Schroeder, Zee, etc have to cover to
> hit their target audiences.
>
> I've tried to find a book like this, but the only QED books I've found
> are either hopelessly out of date or aimed at post-doc researchers.
>
> I just want something that fills the (huge) gap between Feynman's QED
> and a modern QFT text.
>
> I don't know if such a beastie exists, but maybe someone will be
> inspired to write one?
>
> Thank you for any interest.

You might find the book An Interpretive Intro. to Quantum Field Theory
By Paul Teller(Princeton Paperbacks)helpful. I enjoyed reading very much.

Roy Brooks

Nov27-04, 11:49 AM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>two FBI agents this.\n\nGo figure.\n\nI call this Internet-is-irresistible siren call: "Internet Fever".\n\n\nWhen it comes to ECHELON, it was never discussed with the American people.\n\nWe never had a chance to vote on it.\n\nIt was done in secret.\n\nIt is done in secret.\n\nWhen you lift up the phone, you don\'t hear a message warning you\nthat the NSA is monitoring it.\n\nBut they are.\n\n"Anytime, anywhere" is their motto.\n\n\n\n************************************ *****************************************\n\n\nOn Being Monitored\n-- ----- ---------\n\nOn being black.\n\nAfrican-Americans are a heavily monitored group.\n\n* "Above the Law", by David Burnham, ISBN 0-684-80699-1, 1996\n*\n* Even while Lyndon Johnson fought for far-reaching civil rights\n* legislation and spoke out against racism and government eavesdropping,\n* the Johnson White House created a special squad of FBI agents to place\n* wiretaps and bugs on most of the African Americans who came to Atlantic\n* City during the 1964 Democratic convention.\n\n\n----\n\nA while back, I saw a black ex-police officer take a camera with him in\na car in LA at night. This was somewhere around the time of the Rodney\nKing beating. I was watching C-SPAN. Some sort of police officers\nassociation meeting...\n\nIt was amazing how often he was pulled over, and the cheesy reasons the\nofficers gave.\n\n"Your tail light was broken"\n\nHe got out with the camera still on, showed the tail light was fine, and\nasked the officer what he was talking about.\n\n"Oh, you\'re right. Sorry."\n\nHe was pulled over again and again and again.\n\n----\n\nThe New Jersey State Police admitted they were targeting black drivers.\n\nPulling them over, and searching their vehicles inch-by-inch.\n\n----\n\n* The New York Times, December 14\n\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>two FBI agents this.

Go figure.

I call this Internet-is-irresistible siren call: "Internet Fever".

When it comes to ECHELON, it was never discussed with the American people.

We never had a chance to vote on it.

It was done in secret.

It is done in secret.

When you lift up the phone, you don't hear a message warning you
that the NSA is monitoring it.

But they are.

"Anytime, anywhere" is their motto.

************************************************** ***************************

On Being Monitored
-- ----- ---------

On being black.

African-Americans are a heavily monitored group.

* "Above the Law", by David Burnham, ISBN 0-684-80699-1, 1996
*
* Even while Lyndon Johnson fought for far-reaching civil rights
* legislation and spoke out against racism and government eavesdropping,
* the Johnson White House created a special squad of FBI agents to place
* wiretaps and bugs on most of the African Americans who came to Atlantic
* City during the 1964 Democratic convention.

----

A while back, I saw a black ex-police officer take a camera with him in
a car in LA at night. This was somewhere around the time of the Rodney
King beating. I was watching C-SPAN. Some sort of police officers
association meeting...

It was amazing how often he was pulled over, and the cheesy reasons the
officers gave.

"Your tail light was broken"

He got out with the camera still on, showed the tail light was fine, and
asked the officer what he was talking about.

"Oh, you're right. Sorry."

He was pulled over again and again and again.

----

The New Jersey State Police admitted they were targeting black drivers.

Pulling them over, and searching their vehicles inch-by-inch.

----

* The New York Times, December 14

Roy Brooks

Nov27-04, 01:16 PM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>is beaming.\n* [snip]\n*\n* Pine Gap employs nearly 1,000 people, mainly from the CIA and the U.S.\n* National Reconnaissance Office.\n*\n* It is the ground station for a U.S. satellite network that intercepts\n* telephone, radio, data links and other communications around the world.\n\nWorldwide telephone interception.\n\n\n******************************* ***********************************************\n\ nNew Zealand: Unhappy Campers\n--- ------- ------- -------\n\nYou\'d be unhappy too if French terrorists - er - French intelligence agency\noperatives sank a ship (GreenPeace!) on the shores of your country, and the\nUSA controlled ECHELON system failed to warn you.\n\nHere comes the usual - GROAN: "the usual" -\nPLUS a description of the basic mechanisms.\n\nSpy tools, come \'n\' get yer spy tools...a comprehensive look at ECHELON\nDICTIONARY. A look at the Beast in your phone. This is the big one.\n\nIn the section after this, \'On Monitoring\', I give detailed examples of\nthe capability of ECHELON DICTIONARY to seek out information from noise.\nTo pick out conversations from a massive dragnet. I even give the keyword\nmonitoring logic for spotting conversations of people actively searching\nto leave their current job for another employer. First read this section.\n\n\n*** "Secret Power" by Nicky Hager, 1996, ISBN 0-908802-35-8\n\n\nGCSB is New Zealand\'s Government Communications Security Bureau.\n\nP8-9\nIt was with some apprehensio\n\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>is beaming.
* [snip]
*
* Pine Gap employs nearly 1,000 people, mainly from the CIA and the U.S.
* National Reconnaissance Office.
*
* It is the ground station for a U.S. satellite network that intercepts
* telephone, radio, data links and other communications around the world.

Worldwide telephone interception.

************************************************** ****************************

New Zealand: Unhappy Campers
--- ------- ------- -------

You'd be unhappy too if French terrorists - er - French intelligence agency
operatives sank a ship (GreenPeace!) on the shores of your country, and the
USA controlled ECHELON system failed to warn you.

Here comes the usual - GROAN: "the usual" -
PLUS a description of the basic mechanisms.

Spy tools, come 'n' get yer spy tools...a comprehensive look at ECHELON
DICTIONARY. A look at the Beast in your phone. This is the big one.

In the section after this, 'On Monitoring', I give detailed examples of
the capability of ECHELON DICTIONARY to seek out information from noise.
To pick out conversations from a massive dragnet. I even give the keyword
monitoring logic for spotting conversations of people actively searching
to leave their current job for another employer. First read this section.

*** "[/itex]Secret Power" by Nicky Hager, 1996, ISBN [itex]0-908802-35-8

GCSB is New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau.

P8-9
It was with some apprehensio

Roy Brooks

Nov27-04, 01:34 PM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>energy causing matter\nto be formatted by information, becoming "more complex"?\n\n* "The Human Use of Human Beings", by Norbert Wiener\n*\n* A light quantum is a very small thing, but it turns out the energy\n* transfer which is necessary for an effective information coupling\n* is quite small.\n*\n* Thus, for the leaf of a tree, photosynthesis uses radiation from the\n* sun to form starch and other complicated chemicals necessary for life,\n* out of the simpler atoms of water and the carbon dioxide of the air.\n*\n* An enormous local decrease in entropy may be associated with quite a\n* moderate energy transfer.\n\nSunshine on a photosynthesising leaf. The Sun as direct life-giver.\nCausing matter to become more complex: simple atoms transformed to\nmore complex molecules. On purpose, to sustain life.\n\nGround zero, a soup-of-life mixture zapped with energy:\n\nScientists have absolutely no problem creating amino acids - the building\nblocks of all life - from constituent chemicals. It takes a Darwinian\namount of time to get higher-evolved life forms, but it eventually happens.\n\nThis property of matter to spontaneously become more complex is called\nnegentropy (negative entropy), and it means \'matter formatted by information\'.\n\n* "Platform for Change", by Stafford Beer, 1978, ISBN 0 471 06189 1\n*\n* We human beings mean more than the few-pence-worth of our chemical\n* constituents, because information *informs* those component chemicals\n* by means of a genetic blueprint.\n*\n* Life itself is a negentropy pump. The universe means more than a\n* collapsed energetic equation of \'x-heat = x-cold = nothing\', because\n* information structures the balance. The result\n\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>energy causing matter
to be formatted by information, becoming "more complex"?

* "The Human Use of Human Beings", by Norbert Wiener
*
* A light quantum is a very small thing, but it turns out the energy
* transfer which is necessary for an effective information coupling
* is quite small.
*
* Thus, for the leaf of a tree, photosynthesis uses radiation from the
* sun to form starch and other complicated chemicals necessary for life,
* out of the simpler atoms of water and the carbon dioxide of the air.
*
* An enormous local decrease in entropy may be associated with quite a
* moderate energy transfer.

Sunshine on a photosynthesising leaf. The Sun as direct life-giver.
Causing matter to become more complex: simple atoms transformed to
more complex molecules. On purpose, to sustain life.

Ground zero, a soup-of-life mixture zapped with energy:

Scientists have absolutely no problem creating amino acids - the building
blocks of all life - from constituent chemicals. It takes a Darwinian
amount of time to get higher-evolved life forms, but it eventually happens.

This property of matter to spontaneously become more complex is called
negentropy (negative entropy), and it means 'matter formatted by information'.

* "Platform for Change", by Stafford Beer, 1978, ISBN 471 06189 1
*
* We human beings mean more than the few-pence-worth of our chemical
* constituents, because information *informs* those component chemicals
* by means of a genetic blueprint.
*
* Life itself is a negentropy pump. The universe means more than a
* collapsed energetic equation of 'x-heat = x-cold = nothing', because
* information structures the balance. The result

Roy Brooks

Nov27-04, 04:18 PM

<jabberwocky><div class="vbmenu_control"><a href="jabberwocky:;" onClick="newWindow=window.open('','usenetCode','toolbar=no, location=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,status=no ,width=650,height=400'); newWindow.document.write('<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Usenet ASCII</TITLE></HEAD><BODY topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 BGCOLOR=#F1F1F1><table border=0 width=625><td bgcolor=midnightblue><font color=#F1F1F1>This Usenet message\'s original ASCII form: </font></td></tr><tr><td width=449><br><br><font face=courier><UL><PRE>\'s Encryption Plan Fits Law and Market"\n* Letters to the Editor, Mickey Kantor, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 10/9/96\n*\n* Users may need a "spare key" to recover information that is lost or\n* otherwise inaccessible, in much the same way that we give a trusted\n* neighbor a spare key to our house...and the U.S. will have that key.\n\nThe government says in case you lose you own decryption key,\nthey will be there to save the day with their LE key. (Key Recovery\nhas a \'Law Enforcement\' key, which is a SECOND key to decrypt the\nsame traffic.)\n\nWithout getting into a lot of technical detail, basically,\nthe LE KEY = Your Key.\n\nSo, because they have a separate but equivalent key, they are claiming\nto be your emergency backup key, like a key left with a neighbor.\n\nPeople who have no idea how computer systems work will\nthink like that sounds like a reasonable thing.\n\nLike a "good faith attempt to balance...".\n\nNow picture it being YOUR business.\n\nYou have a cryptographic key that needs to be protected.\n\nThe key itself is a big number you can\'t memorize.\n\nThe key itself is protected by a (MD5-like) password to\nunlock access to it. That means the password can be as long\na thing as you\'d like to type in, not merely a short password.\nAs long as you can remember it.\n\nThis is standard...MIT\'s Kerberos and Phil Zimmerman\'s PGP\nuse a password to unlock the cryptographic key.\n\nSo, how do you back up the key without GAK?\n\nIn other words, what do all companies do for this situation now?\n\nA situation that applies to all company data whether or not it is encrypted.\n\nA situation that has existed since the invention of the computer.\n\nSimple.\n\nYou back it up.\n\nMake backups of the key.\n\nYou can start by making your own key copy\n\n\n</UL></PRE></font></td></tr></table></BODY><HTML>');"> <IMG SRC=/images/buttons/ip.gif BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER ALT="View this Usenet post in original ASCII form">  View this Usenet post in original ASCII form </a></div><P></jabberwocky>'s Encryption Plan Fits Law and Market"
* Letters to the Editor, Mickey Kantor, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 10/9/96
*
* Users may need a "spare key" to recover information that is lost or
* otherwise inaccessible, in much the same way that we give a trusted
* neighbor a spare key to our house...and the U.S. will have that key.

The government says in case you lose you own decryption key,
they will be there to save the day with their LE key. (Key Recovery
has a 'Law Enforcement' key, which is a SECOND key to decrypt the
same traffic.)

Without getting into a lot of technical detail, basically,
the LE KEY = Your Key.

So, because they have a separate but equivalent key, they are claiming
to be your emergency backup key, like a key left with a neighbor.

People who have no idea how computer systems work will
think like that sounds like a reasonable thing.

Like a "good faith attempt to balance...".

Now picture it being YOUR business.

You have a cryptographic key that needs to be protected.

The key itself is a big number you can't memorize.

The key itself is protected by a (MD5-like) password to
unlock access to it. That means the password can be as long
a thing as you'd like to type in, not merely a short password.
As long as you can remember it.

This is standard...MIT's Kerberos and Phil Zimmerman's PGP
use a password to unlock the cryptographic key.

So, how do you back up the key without GAK?

In other words, what do all companies do for this situation now?

A situation that applies to all company data whether or not it is encrypted.

A situation that has existed since the invention of the computer.

Simple.

You back it up.

Make backups of the key.

You can start by making your own key copy