Subsequent and Subsidiary? Rethinking the Role of Applications in Establishing Quantum Mechanics

Abstract

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.

Taking approximations seriously: The cases of the Chew and Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models

“…A number of recent works in the philosophy of quantum field theory (QFT) have also engaged with the use of approximations in that context, treading similar ground to our analysis of our case studies-see James , Koberinski (2021) and Miller (2021). Finally, historians of physics have discussed the importance of approximation crafting in the development of many areas of modern theoretical physics-some examples being Darrigol (2005Darrigol ( , 2013, James and Joas (2015) and Kaiser (2009) (which we discuss further below). We see the main contribution of our paper as making the distinctive role played by approximation methods fully explicit.…”

What Have the Historians of Quantum Physics Ever Done for Us?

“…Although we are accustomed to read narratives on the theoretical development of quantum physics, several authors have recently highlighted the role of applications and experiments not only in backing up theories, but also in keeping disciplinary unity, fostering new questions, refining old concepts and setting new research agendas. This revamping of the interest for material culture has not been limited to classical experiments of old quantum physics (see, for instance, Gearhart, , ), but has also reached the history of solid state physics and quantum optics (Bromberg, , ; Silva and Freire Jr, ; James and Joas, ).…”

Prestige Asymmetry in American Physics: Aspirations, Applications, and the Purloined Letter Effect

“…Since the mid-1970s, the Division of Condensed Matter Physics and the Division of Particles and Fields have been the two largest topical divisions of the America Physical Society (APS), the flagship professional organization for American physics, with the former hovering between 1.5 and 2 times the size of the latter. 2 Conceptually, both take as their central mission the task of applying one of the foundational physical theories-quantum mechanics-to matter and energy, with high energy physics claiming the realm of elementary particles and condensed matter physics focusing on complex matter, and a significant crosspollination has persisted between them (see James and Joas 2015;Schweber 2015). The distinction between these two types of research has also been institutionalized within the APS.…”

“…Both take as their central intellectual mission the application a foundational physical theory – quantum mechanics – to matter and energy. High energy physics claims the realm of elementary particles and condensed matter physics focuses on complex matter, and a significant crosspollination has persisted between them (James and Joas 2015; Schweber 2015). The distinction between these two types of research has been institutionalized within the APS.…”