Recommended Book For Entry to QM

[lyncsta]

Hi guys, The other day I was struggling to to grasp some of the concepts in QM. I realized I would never understand without understanding the math. From what I know the following book is what they give to first year university students.

I'm on page 20, and I am struggling. But I'm determined to finish it even if I don't understand all the math.
Someone join me in struggling!Introduction to Quantum Mechanics - 2nd edition - by David_J._Griffiths

 

[Pythagorean]

Linear Algebra, Calculus, and Differential Equations are basically the math background required, from what I recall. Knowing classical physics wouldn't hurt either (which itself requires calc and diff eq to understand rigorously).

 

[sartregenius]

Read schaums and become a genius at QM. Trust me. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071623582/?tag=pfamazon01-20 . BTW, I can't help but think you meant "into level." When I think of "entry" I think of employment.

 

[meBigGuy]

http://theoreticalminimum.com/courses has a course in QM.

I'm slogging through the entanglement lecture, which includes an intuitive view of the math. You'll need complex numbers and Matrices, but he makes it as painless as is possible and teaches a lot as he goes (in the entanglement class, anyway).

 

[tridianprime]

Oxford university has a very good series of online lectures on QM. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

[LorentzWasWro]

Griffiths is a good book, but from experience you can't just blow through it as if you're reading a Dr. Seuss book, especially if you find some of the notation unfamiliar. Math is a language and like any language you have to first learn its notations. For starters, you should immediately recognize <j> as an average value of ALL j-values and understand the reason for normalization in statistics. Don't be afraid to read each sub-chapter over and over until you have a solid understanding of the material presented. With QM, this is VERY VERY important! Griffiths does a decent job at holding your hand as much as possible, but QM is not exactly intuitive and requires a strong grasp of math to DO effectively. I'm not exactly sure what part of the material you find difficult, but I'd guess that your understanding of linear algebra (specifically the meaning and purpose of "complex conjugates" like psi*) may not be strong enough at the moment. I STRONGLY suggest reading the appendix and fully understanding the notations and mathematical methods discussed if you want to make any sense of the subject. Maybe ask your current prof or a math prof for an introductory book on Linear Algebra that you can use for practice problems. Good luck and beware...even the simplest understanding of QM will permanently change your perception of reality, hopefully for the better.

 

[bobydbcn]

Hi guys, The other day I was struggling to to grasp some of the concepts in QM. I realized I would never understand without understanding the math. From what I know the following book is what they give to first year university students.

I'm on page 20, and I am struggling. But I'm determined to finish it even if I don't understand all the math.
Someone join me in struggling!


Introduction to Quantum Mechanics - 2nd edition - by David_J._Griffiths

Without background of classical mechanics and mathematical knowledge, you can't learn QM. I suggest you give up.

 

[bobydbcn]

For physics major students who study hard, it is not very difficult to learn. If you lack relative background, please master them. Just do it. After that, you can learn.

 

[eri]

Quantum mechanics is a junior/senior level university course, not a first year course. You need 2-3 years of college math and physics before you can really make any progress through that book.