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Correspondence Principle |
The Correspondence Principle was first formalized by Niels Bohr
during his development of the Bohr
Model of the Hydrogen Atom back in 1913. Later it was incorporated into
quantum mechanics as one of its guiding
principles. And today it is recognized to be applicable to every aspect of
modern physics, including special relativity,
and general
relativity
In essence, the Correspondence Principle asserts that every concept,
principle, equation, and prediction of modern physics must revert back to its
corresponding classical equivalent in the classical limit. In other words,
every aspect of a valid "new" physics must reduce to the
"old" physics whenever the "old" physics is applicable.
This means that special relativity must revert to classical physics when
velocities are small, general relativity when gravity is weak, and quantum
mechanics when quantum numbers are large.
The Correspondence Principle is important in modern physics because it
guarantees that the fundamental laws of nature are completely self-consistent
-- that there is no chasm between the world of the mundane and the world of
extremes.
Questions:
Q1. Which of the following are
true? (A) Albert Einstein was the first person to formalize the Correspondence
Principle. (B) The Correspondence Principle asserts that experiments performed
in a gravitational field must render the same result as experiments performed
in an accelerating frame of reference. (C) The Correspondence Principle
requires quantum mechanics to predict the same results as general relativity
when small particles approach the speed of light. (D) More than one of these.
(E) None of these.
Q2. The Correspondence Principle
is important in modern physics because: (A) It guides us in extending the laws
of physics into extreme environments. (B) It guarantees that every concept in
an extreme environment is a simple extension of those that pertain to our
everyday experiences. (C) It guarantees that the fundamental laws of nature are
completely self-consistent for both the extreme and the mundane environments.
(D) More than one of these. (E) None of these.
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