Principles of Quantum Mechanics

Rating:
Summary: Good intro to subject, but lacks examples and applications
Review: A well written and concise introduction to the subject emphasizing the mathematical principles. This book concentrates on differential operators instead of series solutions of Schroedinger's equation making it a unique and valuable text. Ohanian shows the reader how to reduce a differential equation to a simple algebraic one using the factorization method. The text includes a very good bibliography with useful descriptions of other books. There are intra-chapter exercises designed to prepare you for the end of chapter problems, although not all of them are quite as straightforward as the author claims. The problem sets are longer and more varied than those in most other Q.M. texts and the answers to selected problems are in the back of the book. I have two major complaints about this text, each of which cost the book one star. First, there are no worked examples. Although Ohanian's explanations of the basic principles are very good, the lack of examples make some of the exercises unnecessarily difficult to solve and it forces the less mathematically gifted reader to seek another text to figure out how to complete the "straightforward exercises." Second, the book is lacking in applications. While I realize that no book could possibly adequately cover the many applications of Q.M., a few carefully written sections on specific applications would be helpful. If you need a good reference on differential operator techniques in Q.M., or a 2nd book to supplement your required text, this book could fill the bill. However, I would not recommend it as a primary text for the reasons discussed above.