P.J.E. Peebles teaches the often counterintuitive physics of quantum
mechanics by working through detailed applications of general ideas. A
principal example used in the book is the hyperfine structure of atomic
hydrogen (the 21 cm line): the computation of the energy splitting and
the induced and spontaneous transition rates. Peebles makes room for
such calculations by omitting unneeded elements that can be readily
found in the standard treatises after one fully understands the
principles of quantum mechanics. To give a flavor of the discovery of
the remarkable world picture of quantum mechanics, the author presents a
set of examples of physics that are well worth knowing even aside from
their historical interest. Then the general principles of quantum
mechanics are stated first in terms of wave mechanics and then in the
standard abstract linear space formalism. Measurement theory, an
essential part of quantum mechanics, is discussed in some detail. The
book also emphasizes the art of numerical estimates. And, lastly, a
large number of problems are presented, some easy, some challenging, but
all selected because they are physically interesting. The book is
designed for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in
physics.
