Best Way to Study Quantum Mechanics (QM)

[1220Student]

Hi all,

I'm studying Quantum mechanics and there seems to be a lot of conceptual concepts involved. Some of it can be a bit dry and I find myself getting easily distracted.

What is the best way to study such a subject?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jtbell]

Which textbook are you using?

 

[1220Student]

Modern Physics 2nd ed by Randy Harris.

Any recommendations about how to study QM would be greatly appreciated from all the guru's out there.

Thanks

 

[Gerenuk]

Use a good textbook.
I like
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471164321/?tag=pfamazon01-20
(even though I didn't learn from it initially, but after knowing basic QM that book seemed good to me) Don't miss that book, but possibly for the very start someone might recommend another one?

Make sure you know all the Maths! Otherwise people will make fun of you, because you will babble b%!$ß!7. Because QM is about Maths only and plain word explanations are misleading. Don't even try to imagine what's going on (at first).
Don't be afraid if QM doesn't seem to fit in the way you pictured physics before. Forget that a particle has both a position and a velocity. There is no such thing as a wave-particle duality. A particle is neither. It's a mathematical wave-function.

After you know undergrad QM a bit, I recommend
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0387989293/?tag=pfamazon01-20
There you have nice pictures and video and you can learn whether you've grasped the theory correctly.

 

[1220Student]

Okay.

Thanks for the recommendations.

The internet has a lot of practice exams/ websites that I could use. Is there any out there that could help me?

 

[maverick280857]

Cohen-Tannoudji is a good book, but it might be a bit heavy for a first time reading. I would suggest that you get started with Griffiths' Quantum Mechanics book, and work your way through all the problems. Oh, and do read the preface before you begin reading the book.

 

[Gerenuk]

Oh, that's what I guessed. Cohen might be heavy for a start. It just would be a bit frustrating at the beginning. But once you've worked through an introductory book and now really want to understand what you've just learned, don't miss it.

 

[maverick280857]

Oh, that's what I guessed. Cohen might be heavy for a start. It just would be a bit frustrating at the beginning. But once you've worked through an introductory book and now really want to understand what you've just learned, don't miss it.

Absolutely. Cohen is a must-read later.

 

[awri]

Anyone use Introductory QM by Richard Liboff? Its the book required for the class but I would like to know if its a good one by standards other than my professor's.