Table of contents

The current state of the foundations of quantum mechanics is discussed. The analysis takes as its starting point the theory of probability amplitudes, which is intimately related to the group-theoretic approach. A detailed examination is presented of the relationships of classical and quantum theories, the transition to the classical limit, the different forms of uncertainty relations, and the properties of quantum structures determined by the Clebsch–Gordan coefficients. Possible future generalizations are examined, including those involving quantum algebras.

The properties of systems consisting of classical atoms with a short-range interaction and the processes occurring in them are studied. An asymptotic theory is presented for the transport coefficients and other parameters of a gas, which exploits the steepness of the interaction potential of the atoms in the repulsive region. A comparison of the parameters of various condensed inert gases shows that these parameters can be expressed in terms of the interaction potential between two atoms. On the basis of a model of close-packing of the atoms analyses are made of the properties of large clusters, the surface energy of condensed and porous systems, the surface tension of liquids and liquid metals, and of the solid-liquid phase transition.

This article discusses the formation of an interference energy flux as a result of changing the phase shift between the oscillations of the reactive components of the vectors of the electric and magnetic field intensities of radiation when spatially superposed. On the basis of a model of the interference of the reactive components of the electromagnetic field from a common physical standpoint, the passage of light through a transparent plane-parallel plate at an angle of incidence exceeding the critical angle of total internal reflection, the formation of a refracted wave in the region of total internal reflection from a semiinfinite medium, and the radiationless transport of energy between excited and unexcited atoms are described.