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Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications

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Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications provides a clear, balanced and modern introduction to the subject. Written with the student’s background and ability in mind the book takes an innovative approach to quantum mechanics by combining the essential elements of the theory with the practical applications: it is therefore both a textbook and a problem solving book in one self-contained volume. Carefully structured, the book starts with the experimental basis of quantum mechanics and then discusses its mathematical tools. Subsequent chapters cover the formal foundations of the subject, the exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation for one and three dimensional potentials, time-independent and time-dependent approximation methods, and finally, the theory of scattering.

The text is richly illustrated throughout with many worked examples and numerous problems with step-by-step solutions designed to help the reader master the machinery of quantum mechanics. The new edition has been completely updated and a solutions manual is available on request.

692 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2001

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Nouredine Zettili

3 books9 followers

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5 stars
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52 (30%)
3 stars
23 (13%)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Hina.
2 reviews16 followers
October 18, 2012
Possibly one of the best textbooks for Quantum Mechanics I came across. Not as famous as those by Liboff or Griffiths or Shankar but the way you are introduced to a topic and made to work through all the problems related to it, makes the experience all the more enjoyable. Definitely one book which could be added as a permanent to your personal library rather than being borrowed from somewhere.
Profile Image for Samuel L. Jacob.
62 reviews3 followers
November 23, 2016
There is a lot of controversy on how to start teaching Quantum Mechanics to Physics students. The standard book on Quantum Mechanics for an undergraduate physics course is Griffiths or Gasiorowicz. The first starts right away with the Schrodinger equation; the latter gives an historical context about how quantum physics arose, but fails to develop a strong physical intuition. That being said - I am in love with neither of them.

Zetilli comes to rescue as a perfect balance between intuition and formalism, context and oversimplification, mathematics and physics. The author does not lose any time. It summarizes quite well a very extense curriculum, without losing many of the important details and it provides a rich source of examples, which I would say is the most valuable thing in the entire book which others lack.

Since it encompasses scattering, time-dependent perturbation theory and many-particles systems, the dedicated student can also use it for a second course in Quantum Mechanics, while advancing in the wonderous journey of the subatomic world - a journey which will eventually end in Quantum Field Theory.
Profile Image for Erickson.
309 reviews131 followers
March 18, 2018
Very good book on quantum mechanics introduction with many worked examples. It has quite a few typos and also sometimes the motivations are not clear because the book focuses a lot on the mechanics of the equations. It is more properly like a "workbook" of sorts, preferably complementing more physically and mathematically motivated texts like Shankar or Sakurai.
Profile Image for Chris.
19 reviews16 followers
August 2, 2012
In the style of Shankar's Principles of Quantum Mechanics, but with more pictures and (many) more worked problems. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Mohammad Reza.
6 reviews2 followers
February 9, 2008
It is very useful book for specially physics student and specially before higher education to learning principle of quantum physics with a large number of solved examples and a lot of exercise.
Profile Image for Komail.
81 reviews
January 11, 2014
Great! A very good text book about Quantum Mechanics: 1) Technical(with a useful examples and solved exercises) 2) Conceptual
Profile Image for Adam Lantos.
48 reviews12 followers
August 22, 2018
Pros:
1) Many examples: The author goes through trivial examples first and then he gradually increases the difficulty.
2) Many problems: You will find many interesting and non-trivial problems here.
3) Some explanations are as clear as it gets. Also, some of them are more intuitive than any other explanation you might find in other books.
4) Tries to blend the structure of a traditional textbook with the structure of a problems book. This is done in a very successful way, although you can find better traditional textbooks on Quantum Mechanics that go into more detail on some of the material by offering more extensive intuitive explanations. But this is expected because those books are focused on only one approach.

Cons:
1) Some explanations are not so clear (although there are only very few of them) and some lack intuition (again, very few).
2) The aforementioned blending of two approaches means that a student will have an all-round better understanding of Quantum Mechanics but the reader will miss out of some details that could really deepen one's understanding. As I said, this is expected because a book cannot fully cover both approaches.
3) Although there is a huge selection of problems (and many are great), there are no answers on the back of the book. So, a reader who feels uncertain about his/her understanding of the material covered in a particular section, might not even know if he/she is doing something wrong in the exercises. That being said, there are many exercises that are proofs of something, so the above discussion is not applicable to these types of exercises.

In conclusion, even though I mentioned three negative points of the book, they are still not enough to overshadow the effect that the pros have. A great book.
Profile Image for Amy.
10 reviews2 followers
May 12, 2020
This was an excellent bridging book between Griffiths and Shankar. It introduced more of the mathematical tools used in quantum mechanics that was just touched upon from the intro Griffiths text.

I found it a really good supplement to get a clear and concise introduction of each topic before diving in the same section in a more detailed text like Shankar. The ample worked examples were also great for helping you understand ideas by getting your hands dirty quickly.

I also enjoyed the intro of the book, where some of the mathematical constructs used in QM were actually laid out alongside the experimental evidence that support it. I feel like many texts make the leap from explaining the qualitative observations of why classical mechanics doesn't work, to "here is the math that will describe QM phenomena", without elucidating why that math works to explain the experimental evidence.

Overall, this text should be supplemented, but is very useful as a "tl;dr".
Profile Image for Mobin Shakeri.
33 reviews4 followers
July 11, 2018
pretty standard.
it covers the standard quantum phenomena and nothing more.
I'd rather say it's more of a mathematical quantum mechanics book and covers less basics.
it mostly cover quantum problem solving and does it pretty good.
if you want to read for quantum basics and discussions and learn quantum phenomena and history, this book is not for you, but if you want to learn how to solve quantum problems, this is pretty good since it covers both examples and solved problems, and along many (and so many!) problems. it also has a good solution book along.
Profile Image for Michael Weaver.
93 reviews13 followers
December 15, 2011
Zettili displays the theories in an straightforward and practical way. This book is one of the better ones I have read on the subject. It contains lots of relevant worked out examples and problems.
Profile Image for Erickson.
309 reviews131 followers
March 3, 2016
Half done - the exercises and worked problems are really helpful. Will visit again for scattering, perturbation theory and rotation.
Profile Image for Amina Mouhamed.
23 reviews
July 3, 2020
Excellent explanation of the basic concepts and it goes through applications at each chapter. I would recommend it!
Some humor and and a better page arrangement, more colours would make it more enjoyable.
Profile Image for Rana Zaman ahmed.
1 review
February 26, 2024
whether you are a student or a teacher, and you want to make an impact with less effort then this book will help you with it. A nicely knitted book with background, examples and everything one needs to grasp an idea by roots.
1 review
May 15, 2019
This book is so good but In few last explanation are very complicated
Profile Image for Ce Sar.
3 reviews
April 27, 2021
Muy buen libro, con muchos ejemplos resueltos que aclaran la teoría.
Profile Image for Mahmoud.
6 reviews
March 11, 2025
سلام
کتاب برای دانشجویان کارشناسی فیزیک بسیار مناسبه برای درک مباحث کوانتوم مکانیک.
مسائل خوبی هم داره هم حل شده و هم حل نشده.
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