Atticus Rare Books

The Quantum Postulate and the Recent Development of Atomic Theory in Nature, Vol. 121, pp. 580-590, 1928 [BOHR’S COMPLEMENTARITY/COPENHAGEN INTERPRETATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS]

Bohr, N. [Niels]

London: Macmillan & Co., 1928. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, FULL VOLUME, OF BOHR’S SEMINAL INTRODUCTION OF HIS ‘complementarity’ principle, the basis of what became known as the ‘Copenhagen interpretation’ of quantum mechanics. Handsomely rebound in half calf.

“Immediately after Heisenberg’s work on uncertainty relations, Bohr presented his concept of complementarity at a conference… Bohr’s lecture marked the first attempt to provide a genuine philosophical underpinning to the new advances in physics. The uncertainty relations had provided Bohr a concrete measure of the consequences of the wave-particle duality and thereby a physics-based justification for his ideas.

“Bohr had already embraced the wave-particle duality underlying quantum theory and he presented the concept of complementarity as the fundamental feature of a new conceptual framework. For Bohr, complementarity was an almost religious belief that the paradoxes of the quantum world must be accepted as fundamental, not to be ‘solved’ or trivialized by attempts to find out ‘what’s really going on down there.’ Bohr used the word in an unusual way: the ‘complementarity’ of waves and particles, for example (or of position and momentum), meant that when one existed fully, its complement did not exist at all” (Louisa Gilder).

“The lecture was published in Nature in 1928 in a revised form… It sparked significant debate in the years that followed and solidified the boundaries between those who accepted Bohr’s view of the consequences of quantum theory and those who were seeking a more ‘realistic’ microscopic theory or a more realistic interpretation of quantum theory itself” (McEvoy).

"It is hard to overestimate was Bohr has done... The principle of complementarity... is possibly one of the greatest discoveries in the scientific history of mankind, with ramifications on many other levels of science." (Josef Jauch). “From the epistemological point of view, the discovery of the new type of logical relationship that complementarity represents is a major advance that radically changes our whole view of the role and meaning of science…” (DSB).

ALSO: “New Results on Cosmic Rays” by R. A. Millikan and G. Harvey Cameron pp. 1-8 [Millikan paper concludes that cosmic rays come from outside the Milky Way].

ALSO: “A New Type of Secondary Radiation” by C. V. Raman and K. S. Krishnan pp. 501-502; “A Change of Wave-length in Light Scattering” by C. V. Raman pp. 619; “The Optical Analogue of the Compton Effect” by C. V. Raman and K. S. Krishnan pp. 711. [Raman's three papers announce Raman scattering, for which he was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics]. Item #1304

CONDITION: London: Macmillan. 4to. (11 x 8.25 inches; 275 x 206mm). Entire volume, not ex-libris. Handsomely and professionally rebound in half leather. 5 raised bands at the spine, gilt-ruled. The boards are purposefully scuffed a bit (see picture) to imply aging. One red morocco label; one black morocco label; both gilt-lettered. Tightly and very solidly bound. Clean and bright throughout. Near fine condition.

Price: $875.00