This revised edition narrates the brief history of the people, the events, and the ideas that advanced mankind into the electrical, nuclear, and space ages. The book describes the basic concepts of Quantum Mechanics and the efforts made to decipher the secrets of the structure of atoms, molecules, crystals and elementary nuclear particles.

The author emphasizes the inherent limitations of classical mechanics that led to paradoxical outcome of the special theory of relativity, which in turn infected Dirac's attempts to rehabilitate the Schrödinger’s Quantum Wave Equations.

During the hundred and ten odd years of its existence, Quantum Mechanics has passed through three distinct stages of development.

The first stage began by Planck’s quanta and ended de Broglie’s matter waves. It could be properly described as the stage of structuring the electronic shells of the atom.

The second stage in the development of Quantum Mechanics began with de Broglie's discovery of matter waves, in 1924 and ended with the end of WWII. It could be properly described as the stage of deciphering the nuclear forces of the atomic core. The theory of the nucleus of the atom was created and new elementary particles were discovered that revealed some of the secrets of the nuclear forces.

The third period began after World War II with the invention of nuclear reactors, radiospectrometers, and high altitude flights. This stage could be properly described as the phase of high energy exploration of the nuclear elementary particles. During this stage, Quantum Mechanics come up against ever greater difficulties, setbacks and failures. The newly discovered behaviors of elementary particles and their interactions shook the foundation of the old laws upon which Quantum Mechanics was erected.

CHAPTER 1: THE ROAD TO THE ATOM: 1792-1900
The Creation from Nothing
The Road to Conservation
Newton Laws of Conservation
Beginning of the Steam Age
The French Revolution
Birth of Electricity
Nobel’s Incentive
Landmarks of the Nineteenth Century
Ethereal Space
Light Spectrum of Elements
Discovery of the Electron
Thomson Model of the Atom
Discovery of X-rays
Discovery of Radioactivity
Classical Senses and Cannons
Birth of Quantum Mechanics
Thermal Radiation
Black Body Radiation
Boltzmann-Wien Laws
Rayleigh-Jeans Law

CHAPTER 2: THE BIRTH OF THE QUANTA
Thermal Radiation at High Frequencies
The Quanta
Photons and Corpuscles
Discovery of Photons
Dual Nature of Light
Rutherford Atom Model
Bohr Atom Model
Privileged Atomic Quantum Orbits
Emission and Absorption of Radiation
Brightness and Spin of Emitted Radiation
de Broglie Matter Waves
Dual Properties of Electrons
Electron Diffraction
Quantum Wave Theory
Probability Wave Function
Uncertainty Relation
Tunnel Effect
Schrödinger Equation
Harmonic Oscillator
Pauli’s Exclusion Principle
The Spin
Electronic Architecture of the Atom
Periodic Table of Elements
Atomic Spectrum

CHAPTER 3: MOLECULES AND SOLIDS
Molecules
Ionic molecule
Covalent molecules.
Quantum Mechanics of Solids
Compound crystals
Metallic crystals
Stark Effect
Molecular Levels of Energy
Insulators
Conduction in Metal
Superconductivity
Semiconductors

CHAPTER 4: THE INTERIOR OF THE NUCLEUS
Radioactivity
The Nucleus of the Atom
The Neutron
Nuclear Forces
Discovery of the Meson
Nuclear Stability and Abundance
Alpha Particle Decay
Nuclear Energy Levels
Gamma Ray Decay
Nuclear Fission
Beta Particles Decay
The Discovery of the Neutrino
Electron Capture

CHAPTER 5: ELEMENTARY NUCLEAR PARTICLES
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
Dirac’s Quantum Wave Equations
Discovery of Anti-matter
Action at a Distance
Field and Matter
Decay of Subatomic Particles
Deduction of Coulomb’s Law
Classification of Elementary Particles
Decay of Elementary Particles

CHAPTER 6: CRITIQUE ON QUANTUM MECHANICS
Critique on the Special Theory of Relativity
Critique on the Theory of Matter Waves

CHAPTER 7: CONTRIBUTION BY NATIONS OF SCIENTISTS
CHAPTER 8: HIGHLIGHTS OF MAIN FACTS

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