Contents

Prefa e
Abbreviations
Typographi onventions
Note on the bibliography
Permissions and opyright noti es

page vii
xiii
xiv
xiv
xv

Part I
Perspe tives on the 1927 Solvay onferen e
1
Histori al introdu tion

1.1 Ernest Solvay and the Institute of Physi s

1.2 War and international relations
1.3 S ienti planning and ba kground
1.4 Further details of planning
1.5 The Solvay meeting
1.6 The editing of the pro eedings
1.7 Con lusion
Ar hival notes

De Broglie's pilot-wave theory

2.1
2.2

2.3

2.4

Ba kground
A new approa h to parti le dynami s: 192324
2.2.1 First papers on pilot-wave theory (1923)
2.2.2 Thesis (1924)
2.2.3 Opti al interferen e fringes: November 1924
Towards a omplete pilot-wave dynami s: 192527
2.3.1 `Stru ture': Journal de Physique, May 1927
2.3.2 Signi an e of de Broglie's `Stru ture' paper
1927 Solvay report: the new dynami s of quanta
ii

1
3
3
6
10
16
20
22
24
26
30
30
37
38
43
54
57
61
72
74

Contents

iii

2.5 Signi an e of de Broglie's work from 1923 to 1927

Ar hival notes

84
88

From matrix me hani s to quantum me hani s

3.1
3.2
3.3

Summary of Born and Heisenberg's report

Writing of the report
Formalism
3.3.1 Before matrix me hani s
3.3.2 Matrix me hani s
3.3.3 Formal extensions of matrix me hani s
3.4 Interpretation
3.4.1 Matrix me hani s, Born and Wiener
3.4.2 Born and Jordan on guiding elds, Bohr on
ollisions
3.4.3 Born's ollision papers
3.4.4 Heisenberg on energy u tuations
3.4.5 Transformation theory
3.4.6 Development of the `statisti al view' in the
report
3.4.7 Justi ation and overall on lusions
Ar hival notes

S hrdinger's wave me hani s

4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6

Planning of S hrdinger's report

Summary of the report
Parti les as wave pa kets
The problem of radiation
S hrdinger and de Broglie
The oni t with matrix me hani s
4.6.1 Early days
4.6.2 From Muni h to Copenhagen
4.6.3 Continuity and dis ontinuity
Ar hival notes

Part II
Quantum foundations and the 1927 Solvay onferen e
5

Quantum theory and the measurement problem

5.1
5.2

What is quantum theory?

The measurement problem today
5.2.1 A fundamental ambiguity

89
90
93
94
94
96
100
102
103
105
107
109
111
115
119
122
123
124
126
128
133
137
139
140
142
146
150

151
153
153
155
155

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Contents
5.2.2
5.2.3
5.2.4

6.1

6.3
6.4

10

157
162
164

Interferen e, superposition, and wave pa ket ollapse 168

6.2

Measurement as a physi al pro ess: quantum

theory `without observers'
Quantum osmology
The measurement problem in `statisti al'
interpretations of

Probability and interferen e

6.1.1 Interferen e in de Broglie's pilot-wave theory
6.1.2 Interferen e in the `quantum me hani s' of
Born and Heisenberg
Ma ros opi superposition: Born's dis ussion of the
loud hamber
6.2.1 Quantum me hani s without wave pa ket
ollapse?
Dira and Heisenberg: interferen e, state redu tion,
and delayed hoi e
Further remarks on Born and Heisenberg's quantum
me hani s

168
169
172

177
178
182
190

Lo ality and in ompleteness

194
194
198
202

Time, determinism, and the spa etime framework

204
204
209
213

Guiding elds in 3-spa e

218

9.2

218
221

7.1
7.2
7.3

8.1
8.2
8.3

9.1

Einstein's 1927 argument for in ompleteness

A pre ursor: Einstein at Salzburg in 1909
More on nonlo ality and relativity
Time in quantum theory
Determinism and probability
Visualisability and the spa etime framework

Einstein's early attempts to formulate a dynami al

theory of light quanta
The failure of energy-momentum onservation

S attering and measurement in de Broglie's pilot-wave

theory
227
10.1 S attering in pilot-wave theory
10.2 Elasti and inelasti s attering: Born and Brillouin,
Pauli and de Broglie
10.3 Quantum measurement in pilot-wave theory
10.4 Re oil of a single photon: Kramers and de Broglie

228

232
244
246

Contents

11

12

Pilot-wave theory in retrospe t

248
250
258
259
265

Beyond the Bohr-Einstein debate

268
269
272

11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4

Histori al mis on eptions

Why was de Broglie's theory reje ted?
Einstein's alternative pilot-wave theory (May 1927)
Obje tions: in 1927 and today

12.1 The standard histori al a ount

12.2 Towards a histori al revision

Part III
The pro eedings of the 1927 Solvay onferen e

H. A. Lorentz
Fifth physi s onferen e

The intensity of X-ray ree tion (W. L. Bragg )

The lassi al treatment of X-ray dira tion phenomena

History of the use of quantitative methods
Results of quantitative analysis
Interpretation of measurements of F
Examples of analysis
The me hanism of X-ray s attering
The analysis of atomi stru ture by X-ray intensity
measurements
The refra tion of X-rays
Referen es
Dis ussion of Mr Bragg's report
Notes to the translation

277
279
281
283
283
285
289
292
295
303
308
312
316
318
327

Disagreements between experiment and the ele tromagneti

theory of radiation (A. H. Compton )
329
Introdu tion
The problem of the ether
The emission of radiation
The photoele tri ee t
Phenomena asso iated with the s attering of X-rays
Intera tions between radiation and single ele trons
Reliability of experimental eviden e
Summary
Dis ussion of Mr Compton's report
Notes to the translation

329
332
333
335
342
347
352
353
355
371

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Contents

The new dynami s of quanta (L. de Broglie )

I.  Prin ipal points of view

II.  Probable meaning of the ontinuous waves
III.  Experiments showing preliminary dire t eviden e for
the new Dynami s of the ele tron
Bibliography
Dis ussion of Mr de Broglie's report
Notes to the translation

Quantum me hani s (M. Born and W. Heisenberg )

373
373
381
389
396
398
406
407
407
409
419

Introdu tion
I.  The mathemati al methods of quantum me hani s
II.  Physi al interpretation
III.  Formulation of the prin iples and delimitation of
their s ope
IV.  Appli ations of quantum me hani s
Con lusion
Bibliography
Dis ussion of Messrs Born and Heisenberg's report
Notes to the translation

Wave me hani s (E. S hrdinger )

428
432
435
437
441
444

Introdu tion
I.  Multi-dimensional theory
II.  Four-dimensional theory
III.  The many-ele tron problem
Dis ussion of Mr S hrdinger's report
Notes to the translation

447
447
448
456
461
468
474

General dis ussion of the new ideas presented

476
476
497
500
520
523

Causality, determinism, probability

Photons
Photons and ele trons
Notes to the translation
Bibliography