Practicing the Correspondence Principle in the Old Quantum Theory

This book presents a history of the correspondence principle from a new perspective. The author provides a unique exploration of the relation between the practice of theory and conceptual development in physics. In the process, he argues for a new understanding of the history of the old quantum theory and the emergence of quantum mechanics.

The analysis looks at how the correspondence principle was disseminated and how the principle was applied as a research tool during the 1920s. It provides new insights into the interaction between theoretical tools and scientific problems and shows that the use of this theoretical tool changed the tool itself in a process of transformation through implementation. This process, the author claims, was responsible for the conceptual development of the correspondence principle.

This monograph connects to the vast literature in the history of science, which analyzed theoretical practices as based on tacit knowledge, skills, and calculation techniques. It contributes to the historical understanding of quantum physics and the emergence of quantum mechanics. Studying how physicists used a set of tools to solve problems, the author spells out the skillful guessing" that went into the making of quantum theoretical arguments and argues that the integration and implementation of technical resources was a central driving force for the conceptual and theoretical transformation in the old quantum theory.

Auteur
Martin Jähnert is a historian of science focused on conceptual developments in 19th- and 20th-century physics. As a fellow at the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge he is currently working on the history of photometry as practiced at lighthouses in the 19th century. He was part of the project History and Foundation of Quantum Physics at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science where he worked on the conceptual development of the old quantum theory, in particular of the correspondence principle and the interpretational debate on quantum mechanics in the 1920s.

Jähnert studied History and Physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and completed his Ph.D. thesis Practicing the Correspondence Principle in the Old Quantum Theory at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the Technische Universität Berlin. Currently he is a post-doc at the Berlin Center for the History Knowledge with the project Photometry at the Lighthouse.

Contenu

1. Introduction
2. The Correspondence Principle in Copenhagen 19131923: Origin, Formulation and Consolidation2.1. Formulating the Problem, Part I: The State-Transition Model and the Relation between Radiation and Motion2.2. Formulating the Problem, Part II: The State-Transition Model and the Radiation Process in Quantum Theory2.3. Bohr's Adaptive (Re-)Formulation: The Emergence of the Correspondence Principle (19161918)2.4. Consolidation and Extension of the Correspondence Principle (19191923)2.5. Conclusion
3. The Correspondence Principle in the Quantum Network 191819263.1. From Reception to Adaptation: Paraphrases of the Correspondence Principle 191819263.2. The Dissemination of the Correspondence Principle: Preliminary Considerations3.3. Conclusion
4. Using the Magic Wand: Sommerfeld, Multiplet Intensities and the Correspondence Principle4.1. Formulating the Problem: The Gesetzmäßigkeiten of Multiplet Spectra and Their Model Interpretation4.2. Implementing the Correspondence Principle: Heisenberg's Model Interpretation and Sommerfeld's Intensity Rule4.3. Recognizing Problems: Sommerfeld, Heisenberg and the Total Intensity of Split-up Lines4.4. Adaptive Reformulation: Sommerfeld, Hönl and the Theory of Intensities4.5. Conclusion
5. Fertilizer on a Sandy Acreage: Franck, Hund and the Ramsauer Effect5.1. Formulating the Problem: Franck, Hund and the Argon Effect5.2. Implementing the Correspondence Principle: Franck, Hund and the Non-deflection Hypothesis5.3. Recognizing Problems: Hund and the Estimate of Transparency5.4. Adaptive Reformulation: Franck, Hund and the Statetransition Model for Scattering5.5. Conclusion
6. That I Cannot Conceive of After the Results of Your Dissertation: Fritz Reiche and the F-sum Rule6.1. Formulating the Problem: Ladenburg, Reiche and the Number of Dispersion Electrons6.2. Implementing the Correspondence Principle: Reiche, Ladenburg and the Determination of Transition Probabilities6.3. Recognizing Problems: Reiche and the Comparison of Absorption in Classical and Quantum Theory6.4. Adaptive Reformulation: Reiche, Thomas and the F-sum Rule6.5. Conclusion
7. Copenhagen Reactions: The Intensity Problem in Copenhagen, 192419257.1. Defending the Correspondence Principle: The Sum Rules in Copenhagen7.2. Reformulating the Intensity Problem: The Vanishing At the Edges Argument in Copenhagen7.3. Pauli, Heisenberg, and Kronig and the Search for a Quantum Kinematics7.4. The Intensity Problem and Heisenberg's Umdeutung7.5. Conclusion
8. Conclusion8.1. The Correspondence Principle and the Patchwork of Problems8.2. Transformation through Implementation: The Conceptual Development of the Correspondence Principle
   A. Applications of the Correspondence Principle 19181928Archives
   BibliographyIndex