Quantum physics

Quantum mechanics occupies a very unusual place among physical theories: it contains classical mechanics as a limiting case, yet at the same time it requires this limiting case for its own formulation

—Landau & Lifshitz, Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory.

Historical developments

One could name Planck as the grandfather of quantum theory, first because he looks like one, second because he indeed made the first postulate of quantization to explain blackbody radiation. The fundamental quantum constant $h$ is also named after him.

Although Einstein has been very critical of quantum mechanics—in particular disregarding it for his theory of everything which is how he got disconnected from mainstream physics—he has been involved very closely to its early developments.

The father of the Old Quantum Mechanics was Bohr with his breakthrough in accounting for the stability of atoms with his eponymous model.

Further topics

This is a list of pages on that topic that you can find on this website.

• Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics — understanding what it says (you should be shocked if you do).
• Liouvillian theory — an introduction to quantum physics with dissipation.
• Bose algebra — useful identities if you're into that business.