Year: 1951
Type: article
Abstract: In classical dynamics one has usually supposed that when one has solved the equations of motion one has done everything worth doing. However, with the further insight into general dynamical theory which has been provided by the discovery of quantum mechanics, one is lead to believe that this is not the case. It seems that there is some further work to be done, namely to group the solutions into families (each family corresponding to one principal function satisfying the Hamilton-Jacobi equation). The family does not have any importance from the point of view of Newtonian mechanics; but it is a family which corresponds to one state of motion in the quantum theory, so presumably the family has some deep significance in nature, not yet properly understood.
Source: Canadian Journal of Mathematics
Author: P. A. M. Dirac
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2314212607