Crafting the Quantum: Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890-1926 0262013734, 2009022212
204 31 14MB
English Pages 382 [191] Year 2010
Recommend Papers
- Author / Uploaded
- Suman Seth
File loading please wait...
Citation preview
Crafting the Quantum
Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890-1926
Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology
Suman Seth
Jed Z. Buchwald, general editor For a list of the series, see page 3 79.
The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
Contents
© 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Acknowledgments
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
Introduction
The Physics of Problems: Elements of the Sommerfeld Style, 1890-1910
For information on special quantity discounts, email [email protected]. Set in Stone sans and Stone serif by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited. Printed and bound in the United States of America.
vii
2
Pedagogical Economies: The "Sommerfeld School" and the Problems of Teaching 47
3
The Kaiser's Physicists: The Sommerfeld School Goes to War
71
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data II -·· ···""~eth, Suman, 1974-
/,;(,g;;f~~/ii:&;l~~~ng the quantum : Ar~old Som~erfeld and. the practi~e of theory, 1890-1926 I Suman Seth.
11_~0
/f~; \F·· \!f2,. \.·~;L-.
4
The Practice of Principles: Planck, Experiment, and the "Thermodynamic Method" 95
5
The Dynamical and the Statistical: Sommerfeld, Planck, and the Quantum Hypothesis 139
p:>"f,~\11· - (Transformations : studies m the history of science and technology)
Includk~1 I bibliographical references and index.
ISB~!;YS-0-262-01373-4 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1.
~