dents perceive it correctly as
only one aspect of quantum mechanics and not the core of the
subject. Praised for its pedagogical brilliance, clear writing,
and careful explanations, this book is destined to become a
landmark text."Townsend is the best book I
know for advanced undergraduate quantum mechanics. It is clear, contemporary, and compact. My students
used it as a wonderful springboard to graduate school."
--Ralph D. Amado, University of Pennsylvania
"This is an excellent book for a course on advanced
undergraduate quantum mechanics. It is refreshing in its approach for
both the student and teacher, and it leaves the student well-positioned to
continue their training in advanced physics."
--Randy Hulet, Rice University
Inspired by Richard Feynman and J.J. Sakurai, A
Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics lets professors
expose their undergraduates to the excitement and insight of
Feynman's approach to quantum mechanics while simultaneously
giving them a textbook that is well-ordered, logical, and pedagogically sound. This book covers all the topics that are
typically presented in a standard upper-level course in quantum
mechanics, but its teaching approach is new: Rather than
organizing his book according to the historical development of
the field and jumping into a mathematical discussion of wave
mechanics, Townsend begins his book with the quantum mechanics of
spin. Thus, the first five chapters of the book succeed in
laying out the fundamentals of quantum mechanics with little or
no wave mechanics, so the physics is not obscured by mathematics.
Starting with spin systems gives students something new and
interesting while providing elegant but straightforward examples
of the essential structure of quantum mechanics. When wave
mechanics is introduced later, students perceive it correctly as
only one aspect of quantum mechanics and not the core of the
subject. Praised for its pedagogical brilliance, clear writing,
and careful explanations, this book is destined to become a
landmark text.
An Instructor's Solutions Manual for adopting professors is available from the publisher.
John S. Townsend is the Susan and Bruce Worster Professor of Physics at Harvey Mudd College, the science and engineering college of the Claremont Colleges. He has served as the chair of the physics department for two decades. He loves teaching physics, especially quantum physics. He has been a visiting professor at Caltech, the University of Southampton in England, Duke University and Swarthmore College. In addition, he was a Science Fellow at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University.
