Atticus Rare Books

Significance of Electromagnetic Potentials in the Quantum Theory in Physical Review Volume 115 (3) Aug. 1, 1959, pp. 485-491 [FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF THE 1st PAPER ON THE AHARANOV-BOHM EFFECT]

Aharonov, Y. and Bohm, D

FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF THE FIRST PAPER ON THE AHARANOV-BOHM EFFECT, the assertion that a that a magnetic field affects the quantum properties of an electron in a way that is forbidden by classical physics. Aharonov and Bohm wrote, “…contrary to the conclusions of classical mechanics, there exist effects of potentials on charged particles, even in the region where all the fields (and therefore the forces on the particles) vanish” (PR 115, 1959).


The American physicist David Bohm, and his Israeli graduate student Yakir Aharonov discovered “a quantum phenomenon in which a particle is effected by electromagnetic fields even when traveling through a region of space in which both electric and magnetic field are zero” (Kregar, Aharonov-Bohm, 1). More specifically, their work demonstrated that “an electrically charged particle is affected by an electromagnetic field, despite being confined to a region in which both the magnetic field and electric field are zero. The underlying mechanism is the coupling of the electromagnetic potential with the complex phase of a charged particle’s wavefunction” (Wikipedia). Item #1602

CONDITION & DETAILS: First edition in original wraps. Lancaster: American Physical Society. Very slight wear and light creasing at the edges of the wraps. Very good condition.

Price: $450.00