Notes
NOTES TO CHAPTER 1
1. Apologies to Andrew Marvell, author of “To His Coy Mistress.”
2. Strictly, this is only a first approximation. The real distinction I want to uphold is between the mathematical and the non-mathematical. The latter might be a combination of material entities and abstract ones, such as an electron and the state of an electron. A quantum state is an abstract entity, not a physical one. But it is not a mathematical entity, though it is represented by one, namely, by a vector ψ in a Hilbert space.
3. Usually this body will be singled out with an eye to practical considerations. Thus, the standard metre in Paris is a convenient length and an easily obtained litre of water will serve as the standard kilogram. Modern units, ...
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