Subsequent and subsidiary? Rethinking the role of applications in establishing quantum mechanics
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Subsequent and subsidiary? Rethinking the role of applications in establishing quantum mechanics. / James, Jeremiah; Joas, Christian.
In: Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, Vol. 45, No. 5, 01.11.2015, p. 641-702.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Subsequent and subsidiary? Rethinking the role of applications in establishing quantum mechanics
AU - James, Jeremiah
AU - Joas, Christian
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - As part of an attempt to establish a new understanding of the earliest applications of quantum mechanics and their importance to the overall development of quantum theory, this paper reexamines the role of research on molecular structure in the transition from the so-called old quantum theory to quantum mechanics and in the two years immediately following this shift (1926-1928). We argue on two bases against the common tendency to marginalize the contribution of these researches. First, because these applications addressed issues of longstanding interest to physicists, which they hoped, if not expected, a complete quantum theory to address, and for which they had already developed methods under the old quantum theory that would remain valid under the new mechanics. Second, because generating these applications was one of, if not the, principal means by which physicists clarified the unity, generality, and physical meaning of quantum mechanics, thereby reworking the theory into its now commonly recognized form, as well as developing an understanding of the kinds of predictions it generated and the ways in which these differed from those of the earlier classical mechanics. More broadly, we hope with this article to provide a new viewpoint on the importance of problem solving to scientific research and theory construction, one that might complement recent work on its role in science pedagogy.
AB - As part of an attempt to establish a new understanding of the earliest applications of quantum mechanics and their importance to the overall development of quantum theory, this paper reexamines the role of research on molecular structure in the transition from the so-called old quantum theory to quantum mechanics and in the two years immediately following this shift (1926-1928). We argue on two bases against the common tendency to marginalize the contribution of these researches. First, because these applications addressed issues of longstanding interest to physicists, which they hoped, if not expected, a complete quantum theory to address, and for which they had already developed methods under the old quantum theory that would remain valid under the new mechanics. Second, because generating these applications was one of, if not the, principal means by which physicists clarified the unity, generality, and physical meaning of quantum mechanics, thereby reworking the theory into its now commonly recognized form, as well as developing an understanding of the kinds of predictions it generated and the ways in which these differed from those of the earlier classical mechanics. More broadly, we hope with this article to provide a new viewpoint on the importance of problem solving to scientific research and theory construction, one that might complement recent work on its role in science pedagogy.
KW - Friedrich Hund
KW - Fritz London
KW - J. Robert Oppenheimer
KW - Max Born
KW - Molecular physics
KW - Molecular structure
KW - Problem solving
KW - Quantum chemistry
KW - Quantum mechanics
KW - Quantum statistics
KW - Quantum theory
KW - Theory making
KW - Walter Heitler
KW - Werner Heisenberg
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84992379352&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1525/hsns.2015.45.5.641
DO - 10.1525/hsns.2015.45.5.641
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84992379352
VL - 45
SP - 641
EP - 702
JO - Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences
JF - Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences
SN - 1939-1811
IS - 5
ER -
ID: 226826752