Einstein and the quantum. The quest of the valiant Swabian (Q2855985)

This fascinating book describes the life and action of A. Einstein among the other involved famous European scientists during the three decades from the research on black-body radiation until the emergence of quantum mechanics in its present form in a true-to-life way. It would be surely a bestseller if the subject matter of this book would be accessible for everyone. Some knowledge in physics is needed although the author explains the problems well in an everyday language.NEWLINENEWLINEThe book is organized in an introduction and 29 chapters entitled by the bottom lines of their content. So the first chapter, ``An Act of Desperation'', describes the struggle of Max Planck to understand his famous radiation formula which he guessed through asymptotic fitting. He discovered the ``energy elements'' but, as described in the introduction and later chapters, Albert Einstein understood the meaning and significance of these ``quanta'' which affected his thinking and work thereafter. He commented to Otto Stern, ``I have thought a hundred times as much about the quantum problems as I have about relativity theory.'' The second chapter, ``The impudent Swabian'', tells about Einstein's time as a scholar in Munich and a student in Switzerland. The chapters 3 through 6 are concerned with Einstein's difficult life without a job, the impressions he got studying literature by L. Boltzmann and J.C. Maxwell, his correspondence with his fiancé Mileva Marie, and his experience giving private lessons until he got the job at the patent office in Bern. Chapter 9, which tells about Einstein's famous paper on the photo effect is entitled ``Tripping the light heuristic'', chapter 11, which tells about his first explanation of the radiation law is entitled ``Stalking the Planck''. ``Frozen vibrations'' reports on Einstein's application of quanta to the heat capacity of solids. Chapters 15 through 18 are concerned with the emergence of global acceptance of him as a scientist, beginning with his appointment as an extraordinary professor at the university of Zürich, Walther Nernst visiting Einstein, the ordinary professorship at Prague university until his invitation to the first Solvay conference in 1911. This is continued in chapter 19, where his growing interest to unify inertial and gravitational forces, his return to Zurich on a position of an ordinary professor, as well as his appointment to be a member of the Prussian Academy of Science and the finally successful effort of Nernst, F. Haber and Planck to find a position for Einstein to get him to Berlin is described. This was contrasted by a misery in his private life: his separation from his family because he felt in love with his cousin Elsa, who became later his second wife. Chapter 20, ``Bohr's atomic sonata'', begins mentioning Einstein's astonishment about the enthusiasm for war by his colleges in Berlin but then it is almost completely devoted to Niels Bohr, his thoughts leading to the postulates on atomic radiation. It ends with a quotation of Einstein, who could not find a theoretical motive for to postulate Bohr's law: ``This is the highest form of musicality in the sphere of thought''. After shortly mentioning Einstein's triumph with general relativity chapter 21 reports broadly on his anew research on the quantum theory of radiation interacting with matter, the introduction of the Einstein coefficients and a more consequent derivation of Planck's radiation formula. Chapter 22 tells about the turnip winter in Berlin 1916, Einstein's illness and contact with physicians, his relation to Elsa taking care of him, Mileva's consent to divorce, his slow convalesce, his correspondence with A. Sommerfeld and attempts to conceive the quantization of motion. Chapter 23, ``Fifteen million minutes of fame'', is about the first time after the war, the depression in Germany, the Weimar republic. By the approval of light bending by the British expedition under A. S. Eddington Einstein became famous all over the world. The emergence of the Arian physics proclaimed among others by Philipp Lenard arguing against general relativity did not affect Einstein, who found these arguments much too artificial s.t. reacting is unnecessary. It is reported how Einstein, after a trip with C. Weizmenn to USA visited many countries and finally got the Nobel award for his explanation of the photo effect, no mention of general relativity. Chapter 23, ``The Indian comet'', is endowed to S. N. Bose, his difficulties to publish his derivation of Planck's radiation law based on a guessed counting method and Einstein's help to publish it [\textit{S. N. Bose}, Z. Phys. 26, 178--181 (1924; JFM 51.0732.04)]. Another paper, [\textit{S. N. Bose}, Z. Phys. 27, 384--393 (1924; JFM 51.0732.05)], was also published with help of Einstein although he criticized it in some points. Bose spent some time in Europe but went back to Dacca. Chapter 25, ``Quantum dice'', is concerned with Einstein's applications of Bose's counting methods to quantum gases, Einstein's breakthrough discovery of it's background: the principle of (undistinguishable) identical particles, here explained analogously by throwing several dice. The chapter ends with Einstein's proposal of quantum condensation, now called Bose-Einstein condensation because Einstein was inspired by the counting method guessed by Bose. Chapter 26, ``The royal marriage: \(E=mx^2=h\nu\)'', deals with Louis de Broglie, the growing up in his aristocratic family, his brother Maurice who guided him, his studies and growing interest for quanta, and how he came to propose matter waves in his thesis in 1924. P. Langevin consulted Einstein who supported the thesis warmly proclaiming this idea among German speaking physicists. Einstein suggested to improve the wave hypothesis experimentally which was done two years later by Walter Elsasser. Chapter 27, ``The Viennese polymath'', deals with Erwin Schrödinger, his life, his education, his many sided interests and talents. Working on the new counting method including de Broglie's matter waves in quantum statistics he corresponded with Einstein. His way to form the quantum wave equation finishes this chapter. Chapter 28, ``Confusion and then uncertainty'', refers to matrix mechanics proposed in the ``three men work'' by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan, Einstein's scepsis until the equivalence with Schrödinger's wave mechanics came out. Einstein was shocked by Max Born's probability interpretation although Born was inspired by Einstein's earlier contemplation about photons guided by electromagnetic waves. ``I am convinced He doen't throw dice'' expresses Einstein's indignation.The chapter closes with Heisenberg's uncertainty relation. Chapter 29, ``Nicht diese Töne'', summarizes Einstein's life, thinking, and work. He contributed a lot to the development of quantum theory but was dissatisfied with its final probability interpretation. The famous paper by Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen reveals his doubt that reality is completely described. The fundamental importance the EPR situation invented as a thought experiment, came out almost fifty years later when the quantum information theory was formed. Quoting Beethoven's \(9^{\text{th}}\) symphony similises Einstein's desire to ``bring the atomic symphony to a harmonic solution.''NEWLINENEWLINEThis is a fascinating book on the role of Einstein among the other important founders of quantum theory written in colloquial language. It clears out the sometimes occurring opinion that the elder Einstein did not understand quantum theory: he understood it well but was not satisfied with it. The sources, including letters and notes, are listed for each chapter in the section ``Notes''. The founders of quantum theory are listed in Appendix 1. Appendix 2 is an overview on the three essential thermal radiation laws. An index allows to seek for special items in the text.NEWLINENEWLINEThis excellent book can be best recommended to everybody interested is the early history of quantum theory and the impact of A. Einstein.