dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe third way to quantum mechanics is the forgotten first
| Authors | S. Antoci, D. -E. Liebscher |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9704028 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9704028 |
| Journal | Annales Fond.Broglie 21:349,1996 |
Abstract
Quantum mechanics can be formulated in three ways, as Heisenberg, Schr\"odinger and Feynman did respectively. For the last way, an unknown (i.e. forgotten) forerunner exists, that we have found in a paper by Gregor Wentzel, published before the famous works by Heisenberg and Schr\"odinger, and contemporary with the fundamental works of L. de Broglie. In that paper, one can find the basic formulae and their interpretation as they were adopted by Feynman twenty years later. We believe that Wentzel's work was forgotten for several reasons: (I) Schr\"odinger's equation was much simpler to deal with (Wentzel himself contributed to its development in the same way as L.Brillouin and H.Kramers did). (II) The first application was rejected by Heisenberg and Kramers. (III) The approximation used by Wentzel was too na\"\i ve and failed. Nevertheless, the foundation laid by Wentzel was sound, as it has been shown by Feynman's work. Therefore, Wentzel has to be considered as one of the founders of quantum mechanics.
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"abstract": "Quantum mechanics can be formulated in three ways, as Heisenberg,\nSchr\\\"odinger and Feynman did respectively. For the last way, an unknown (i.e.\nforgotten) forerunner exists, that we have found in a paper by Gregor Wentzel,\npublished before the famous works by Heisenberg and Schr\\\"odinger, and\ncontemporary with the fundamental works of L. de Broglie. In that paper, one\ncan find the basic formulae and their interpretation as they were adopted by\nFeynman twenty years later. We believe that Wentzel\u0027s work was forgotten for\nseveral reasons: (I) Schr\\\"odinger\u0027s equation was much simpler to deal with\n(Wentzel himself contributed to its development in the same way as L.Brillouin\nand H.Kramers did). (II) The first application was rejected by Heisenberg and\nKramers. (III) The approximation used by Wentzel was too na\\\"\\i ve and failed.\nNevertheless, the foundation laid by Wentzel was sound, as it has been shown by\nFeynman\u0027s work. Therefore, Wentzel has to be considered as one of the founders\nof quantum mechanics.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9704028",
"authors": [
"S. Antoci",
"D. -E. Liebscher"
],
"categories": [
"physics.hist-ph",
"physics.gen-ph",
"quant-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Annales Fond.Broglie 21:349,1996",
"title": "The third way to quantum mechanics is the forgotten first",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9704028"
},
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