Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

The Dutch scientist Hendrik Kramers (1894-1952) was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century--and one of a mere handful who have made major contributions across the whole field. Physicists know his name from, among other things, the Kramers dispersion theory, the Kramers-Heisenberg dispersion formulae, the Kramers opacity formula, the Kramers degeneracy, and the Kramers-Kronig relations. Yet few people know more than the name, or recognize the full depth and range of his contributions. In this book, D. ter Haar seeks to change that. He presents for the first time anywhere a comprehensive discussion of Kramers's scientific work, and reprints twelve of his most important papers.


The author shows us that Kramers's remarkable and diverse work makes him at least the equal of such celebrated physicists as Fermi and Landau. He takes us through Kramers's groundbreaking research in such subjects as quantum theory, quantum electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and solid-state physics. The papers he reprints include Kramers's derivation of the dispersion formulae that led to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics; his classic paper on the Brownian-motion approach to chemical reactions; a pioneering paper on polymers; and a paper on renormalization, a concept first introduced by Kramers and now one of the basic ideas of modern field theory.


This book will change how we view the course of twentieth-century science and will show that Kramers was indeed one of the masters of modern physics.

1146276769
Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

The Dutch scientist Hendrik Kramers (1894-1952) was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century--and one of a mere handful who have made major contributions across the whole field. Physicists know his name from, among other things, the Kramers dispersion theory, the Kramers-Heisenberg dispersion formulae, the Kramers opacity formula, the Kramers degeneracy, and the Kramers-Kronig relations. Yet few people know more than the name, or recognize the full depth and range of his contributions. In this book, D. ter Haar seeks to change that. He presents for the first time anywhere a comprehensive discussion of Kramers's scientific work, and reprints twelve of his most important papers.


The author shows us that Kramers's remarkable and diverse work makes him at least the equal of such celebrated physicists as Fermi and Landau. He takes us through Kramers's groundbreaking research in such subjects as quantum theory, quantum electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and solid-state physics. The papers he reprints include Kramers's derivation of the dispersion formulae that led to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics; his classic paper on the Brownian-motion approach to chemical reactions; a pioneering paper on polymers; and a paper on renormalization, a concept first introduced by Kramers and now one of the basic ideas of modern field theory.


This book will change how we view the course of twentieth-century science and will show that Kramers was indeed one of the masters of modern physics.

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Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

by Dirk ter Haar
Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contributions of H. A. Kramers

by Dirk ter Haar

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Overview

The Dutch scientist Hendrik Kramers (1894-1952) was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century--and one of a mere handful who have made major contributions across the whole field. Physicists know his name from, among other things, the Kramers dispersion theory, the Kramers-Heisenberg dispersion formulae, the Kramers opacity formula, the Kramers degeneracy, and the Kramers-Kronig relations. Yet few people know more than the name, or recognize the full depth and range of his contributions. In this book, D. ter Haar seeks to change that. He presents for the first time anywhere a comprehensive discussion of Kramers's scientific work, and reprints twelve of his most important papers.


The author shows us that Kramers's remarkable and diverse work makes him at least the equal of such celebrated physicists as Fermi and Landau. He takes us through Kramers's groundbreaking research in such subjects as quantum theory, quantum electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and solid-state physics. The papers he reprints include Kramers's derivation of the dispersion formulae that led to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics; his classic paper on the Brownian-motion approach to chemical reactions; a pioneering paper on polymers; and a paper on renormalization, a concept first introduced by Kramers and now one of the basic ideas of modern field theory.


This book will change how we view the course of twentieth-century science and will show that Kramers was indeed one of the masters of modern physics.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691219523
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 10/06/2020
Series: Princeton Series in Physics , #35
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 296
File size: 16 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

D. ter Haar is Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and the author of numerous books about physics, including Elements of Statistical Mechanics.

Table of Contents

Preface

1 Introduction 3

2 The Old Quantum Theory 9

3 Quantum Mechanics 31

4 Quantum Electrodynamics 59

5 Statistical Mechanics, Solid-State Physics, and Low-Temperature Physics 67

6 The Kramers Problem and Polymer Physics 93

7 Miscellaneous Topics 109

A On the Scattering of Radiation by Atoms 121

B Some Remarks on Heisenberg's Quantum Mechanics 145

C Wave Mechanics and Half-Odd-Integral Quantisation 151

D The Scattering of Light by Atoms 163

E General Theory of Paramagnetic Rotation in Crystals 173

F Classical Relativistic Spin-Theory and Its Quantization 187

G On the Eigenvalue Problem in a One-Dimensional Field of Force 195

H The Use of Charge-Conjugated Wavefunctions in the Hole Theory of the Electron 203

I Brownian Motion in a Field of Force and the Diffusion Model of Chemical Reactions 213

J Statistics of the Two-Dimensional Ferromagnet 231

K Fundamental Difficulties of a Theory of Particles 249

L The Behavior of Macromolecules in Inhomogeneous Flow 257

References 273

Publications of H. A. Kramers 277

Index 283


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