Perseus Academic: Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Mechanics by Bernard D'espagnat

Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Mechanics provides a detailed view of the conceptual foundations and problems of quantum physics, and a clear and comprehensive account of the fundamental physical implications of the quantum formalism. This book deals with nonseparability, hidden variable theories, measurement theories and several related problems. Mathematical arguments are presented with an emphasis on simple but adequately representative cases. The conclusion incorporates a description of a set of relationships and concepts that could compose a legitimate view of the world.

Bernard d'Espagnat, Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris, Orsay, was born in Fourmagnac, France, on August 22, 1921. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the Sorbonne in 1950. He was a research physicist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Chicago, at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, and at CERN in Geneva. In 1959, d'Espagnat joined the University of Paris, where he was professor at both the Paris and Orsay campuses. Professor d'Espagnat was director of the Laboratoire de Physique Theorique et Particules Elementaires, Orsay, from 1970 to 1987. In 1996 he was elected into the Institut de France (Académie des Sciences morales et politiques) as a philosopher of science.