ABSTRACT

Synopsis: ƒe failure of classical mechanics to describe the microscopic world is made clear and a possible electron model is shown to be unacceptable. Spin 1/2 measurements are analyzed and new quantities called wave functions are identified. Measurement symbols (or operators) are introduced and hypothetical quantum devices called Process Diagrams are used to orient and guide the reader through the emerging formalism. Spin operators are defined, the bra-ket formalism is set up, and the wave functions are shown to correspond to quantum transition amplitudes. ƒe formalism is demonstrated to be equivalent to matrix algebra. Expectation values, corresponding to appropriately averaged experimental outcomes, are defined within the formalism.