What is the best QM textbook for me?

[SEYED2001]

Summary:: I am a last year high school student. I haven't chosed physics for my course, but I am very interested in QM, because I believe it act lik a gateway to the meaning of existence, and so the nature of mind, my particular interest. I want to know which textbook is the best for me.

I am a last year high school student. I haven't chosed physics for my course, but I am very interested in QM, because I believe it act lik a gateway to the meaning of existence, and so the nature of mind, my particular interest. I want to know which textbook is the best for me.

I know some calculus, e.g. gradient and directional differentiation in multivariable calculus. I also know some linear algebra, like eigenvectors and matrix transformations. I also know differential equations (only first and second order).

I am looking for a textbook that doesn't just tell me some equations to memorize, but also where did they comme from and what they mean. I also want a textbook that is general, so many topics (preferably including relativity) are covered. I want it to be detailed as well, so I can learn many things for only one topic.

Th most important characteristic that I want my draem textbook (!) to have is mentioning where does each theory/equation come from. For example, where has the Schrödinger equation come from? What does it mean to apply a wave equation to an electron? What does it mean to behave like a wave? These are the sort of questions I want to know, as well as learning the skills required to handle different equations to come up with new theories.

Thank you in advance
Seyed

 

[PeroK]

Summary:: I am a last year high school student. I haven't chosed physics for my course, but I am very interested in QM, because I believe it act lik a gateway to the meaning of existence, and so the nature of mind, my particular interest. I want to know which textbook is the best for me.

I am a last year high school student. I haven't chosed physics for my course, but I am very interested in QM, because I believe it act lik a gateway to the meaning of existence, and so the nature of mind, my particular interest. I want to know which textbook is the best for me.

I know some calculus, e.g. gradient and directional differentiation in multivariable calculus. I also know some linear algebra, like eigenvectors and matrix transformations. I also know differential equations (only first and second order).

I am looking for a textbook that doesn't just tell me some equations to memorize, but also where did they comme from and what they mean. I also want a textbook that is general, so many topics (preferably including relativity) are covered. I want it to be detailed as well, so I can learn many things for only one topic.

Th most important characteristic that I want my draem textbook (!) to have is mentioning where does each theory/equation come from. For example, where has the Schrödinger equation come from? What does it mean to apply a wave equation to an electron? What does it mean to behave like a wave? These are the sort of questions I want to know, as well as learning the skills required to handle different equations to come up with new theories.

Thank you in advance
Seyed

Try this to start with:

https://physics.mq.edu.au/~jcresser/Phys304/Handouts/QuantumPhysicsNotes.pdf

 

[SEYED2001]

Thank you sir! Once I finished it, I will post another question asking for further guidance. Thank you very much!

 

[Demystifier]

but I am very interested in QM, because I believe it act lik a gateway to the meaning of existence, and so the nature of mind, my particular interest. I want to know which textbook is the best for me.

I'm afraid there is no QM textbook for you, if your primary goal is to understand the nature of mind.

 

[SEYED2001]

I'm afraid there is no QM textbook for you, if your primary goal is to understand the nature of mind.

Thank you for your comment; I wonder why you believe (or know) that QM wouldn't be an appropriate approach to understand the existence of mind?

 

[Demystifier]

Thank you for your comment; I wonder why you believe (or know) that QM wouldn't be an appropriate approach to understand the existence of mind?

Because I know many QM textbooks. Most of them say absoletely nothing about the mind. A few of them say something, but at a rather vague and superficial level.

 

[SEYED2001]

Because I know many QM textbooks. Most of them say absoletely nothing about the mind. A few of them say something, but at a rather vague and superficial level.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me, but I am not looking to find an answer in a QM textbook, but trying to make one by understanding the QM concepts and hopefully use them, along neuroscientific and philosophic ones, in order to develop a better understanding of the mind. I am not sure if QM is the right approach, so I would probably post a question here asking about it. You also mentioned that some QM textbooks talk about mind. Would you please tell me which textbooks have done that? I really want to know how does mind look like in a quantum physical viewpoint. Thank you once again.

 

[Demystifier]

You also mentioned that some QM textbooks talk about mind. Would you please tell me which textbooks have done that?

For instance von Neumann, Mathematical Foundations of Quantum mechanics (last chapter)

 

[SEYED2001]

Thank you very much!

 

[Lord Jestocost]

...but I am not looking to find an answer in a QM textbook, but trying to make one by understanding the QM concepts and hopefully use them...

Maybe, the book “Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness” by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner might be of help as a start.
https://quantumenigma.com/

 

[hutchphd]

I assume you are aware of Roger Penrose, but on never knows:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195106466/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[SEYED2001]

Thank you all for your help. Hopefully, I would have enough time to read these all and arrive at a conclusion before my death.

 

[vanhees71]

Because I know many QM textbooks. Most of them say absoletely nothing about the mind. A few of them say something, but at a rather vague and superficial level.

It's not science, if you ask me, or can you give a scientific definition of what "mind" or "consciousness" might be?

One should be very careful with books who claim otherwise. Most are esoterics rather than science, and the quantum-esoterics bookshelf is pretty large, because it might sell better than scientific textbooks.

 

[Demystifier]

Thank you all for your help. Hopefully, I would have enough time to read these all and arrive at a conclusion before my death.

Well, it depends on what your conclusion will be. If it will be "the mind is still a mystery and quantum mechanics doesn't help to demystify it", you can arrive at that much before the death.

 

[andresB]

Trying to use QM to study the phenomenom of mind and conciousness is a laudable effort, of course. Having said that, if you actually want to do a serious scientific work you have to fully learn standard QM on its own, so just use standard textbooks.

For example, Griffiths for a very first reading of the theory then go for Cohen-Tannoudji.

 

[vanhees71]

Griffiths is very confusing however (see the plethora of threads from confused students of this textbook). Cohen-Tannoudji seems to be much better. Our textbook in my undergrad. studies at the university was Sakurai (revised edition with Tuan), and I still consider it a very good textbooks to start with. Another very valuable read is the Dirac's Principles of Quantum Mechanics and Pauli's encyclopedia article on wave mechanics. It's available in English as a textbook.

For a no-nonsense discussion of interpretational issues, see the book by Peres, Quantum Theory - Concepts and Methods.

 

[SEYED2001]

Thank you for your suggestions. I am planning to read
https://physics.mq.edu.au/~jcresser/Phys304/Handouts/QuantumPhysicsNotes.pdf
How do you compare these lecture notes with the textbooks you've mentioned, e.g. Sakurai?

 

[PeroK]

Thank you for your suggestions. I am planning to read
https://physics.mq.edu.au/~jcresser/Phys304/Handouts/QuantumPhysicsNotes.pdf
How do you compare these lecture notes with the textbooks you've mentioned, e.g. Sakurai?

I recommended those notes because a) it is probably the most accessible undergraduate level material I have seen; b) even if you skip some of the maths you can get a good insight into where QM comes from and why it's eminently plausible as a fundamental theorem of nature; c) there is a lot of background and exposition on the concepts, eperiments and theory; very little is pulled out of the hat.

Griffiths, I would say, is a more hard-core introduction to wave-mechanics. I like it, but unless you have undergraduate level mathematics, it's of limited applicability. He just bangs out the Schrödinger equation on page 1 and gets on with it.

Sakurai is a deep and beautiful introductory treatment. But, it demands a significant aptitude for abstract concepts and mathematics.

 

[hutchphd]

I taught a course using Gasiorowicz and liked it very much (doesn't seem to be that popular!?). Had the good fortune to be taught by Kurt Gottfried and like his QM textbook very much. Sakurai is very good.

 

[SEYED2001]

I taught a course using Gasiorowicz and liked it very much (doesn't seem to be that popular!?). Had the good fortune to be taught by Kurt Gottfried and like his QM textbook very much. Sakurai is very good.

Thank you all. So I will read the lecture notes as planned before, then I will probably ask you which textbook to read next. Thank you all for helping me!