The statistical interpretation according to Born and Heisenberg

Guido Bacciagaluppi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPublished conference contribution

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Abstract

At the 1927 Solvay conference Born and Heisenberg presented a joint report on quantum mechanics. I suggest that the significance of this report lies in that it contains a ‘final’ formulation of the statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics that goes beyond Born’s original proposal. In particular, this formulation imports elements from Heisenberg’s work as well as from the transformation theory of Dirac
and Jordan. I suggest further a reading of Born and Heisenberg’s position in which the wave function is an effective notion. This can make sense of a remarkable aspect of their presentation, namely the fact that the ‘quantum mechanics’ of Born and Heisenberg apparently lacks wave function collapse.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHQ-1
Subtitle of host publicationConference on the History of Quantum Physics
EditorsChristian Joas, Christoph Lehner, Juergen Renn
Place of PublicationBerlin, Germany
PublisherMax-Planck-Institut fuer Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Pages269-288
Number of pages20
Publication statusPublished - 2008
EventHQ-1 Conference on the History of Quantum Physics - Berlin, Germany
Duration: 2 Jul 20076 Jul 2007

Publication series

NameMPIWG Preprint Series
PublisherMax-Planck-Institut fuer Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Number350

Conference

ConferenceHQ-1 Conference on the History of Quantum Physics
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBerlin
Period2/07/076/07/07

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