Experiment Index

This index is a routing table for landmark experiments and experimental families. It is designed for quick orientation: what was observed, what quantum concept it supports, where the narrative page lives, and where the modern formalism belongs.

Approximate dates mark landmark papers or experimental periods, not the full lifetime of an idea. The formal lessons are modern reconstructions; original authors often used different language.

Fast Lookup

Experiment or family	Approximate date	Physical phenomenon	Quantum concept supported	Canonical or current page	Modern formalism page	Typical level
Blackbody radiation	1900-1901	Thermal radiation spectrum	Quantized energy exchange; failure of classical equipartition	Blackbody Radiation	Energy Eigenstates	undergraduate
Photoelectric effect	1905-1916	Electron emission threshold and stopping potential	Light-quanta energy transfer; frequency threshold	Photoelectric Effect	Hamiltonians	undergraduate
Atomic spectra and Balmer/Rydberg regularities	1880s-1910s	Sharp emission and absorption lines	Discrete transition frequencies; spectral data needing energy levels	Atomic Spectra	Spectra	undergraduate
Rutherford scattering	1909-1911	Large-angle alpha scattering	Nuclear atom; failure of diffuse positive-charge models	Rutherford Scattering	Coulomb Potential	undergraduate
Franck–Hertz experiment	1914	Inelastic electron-atom collisions	Discrete atomic excitation energies	Franck–Hertz Experiment	Transition Probabilities	undergraduate
Stern–Gerlach experiment	1922	Neutral atomic beam splitting	Discrete angular-momentum-like outcomes; spin-component measurement	Stern–Gerlach Experiment	Spin-1/2 Hilbert Space	undergraduate
Compton scattering	1923	X-ray wavelength shift in scattering	Photon momentum and relativistic collision kinematics	Compton Scattering	Scattering Amplitude	advanced undergraduate
Davisson–Germer electron diffraction	1927	Electron diffraction from nickel crystal	Matter waves; wavelength-momentum relation	Davisson–Germer Experiment	Momentum Eigenstates	undergraduate
G. P. Thomson electron diffraction	1927-1928	Electron diffraction rings from thin films	Matter waves; transmission diffraction geometry	G. P. Thomson Experiment	Momentum Eigenstates	undergraduate
Double-slit and electron interference	1800s; 1961; 1989	Interference from coherent alternatives	Probability amplitudes; phase; which-way information	Double-Slit Experiment	Probability Amplitudes	undergraduate
Bell test experiments	1970s-1980s	Correlation measurements violating Bell inequalities	Entanglement; limits of local hidden-variable models	Bell Tests	Bell Theorem	advanced undergraduate
Quantum Hall discovery	1980	Quantized Hall conductance in two-dimensional electron systems	Topological and many-body quantization	Quantum Hall Discovery	Landau Levels	graduate
Bose–Einstein condensation in dilute gases	1995	Macroscopic occupation of a quantum state	Quantum statistics; many-body coherence	Bose–Einstein Condensation	Identical particles pages to be added	advanced undergraduate

Primary-Source Anchors

Use these sources as anchors, not as replacements for modern exposition. Original papers often use notation and interpretive language that predate the final formalism.

Topic	Primary or near-primary source	Why it matters
Blackbody radiation	M. Planck, 1901, DOI: 10.1002/andp.19013090310	Introduces the radiation formula and energy-element reasoning.
Light quanta	A. Einstein, 1905, DOI: 10.1002/andp.19053220607	Connects frequency to energy exchange in light phenomena.
Nuclear atom	E. Rutherford, 1911, DOI: 10.1080/14786440508637080	Interprets large-angle scattering as evidence for a concentrated nucleus.
Bohr atom	N. Bohr, 1913, DOI: 10.1080/14786441308634955	Uses old quantum postulates to explain hydrogen spectral regularities.
Sommerfeld model	A. Sommerfeld, 1916	Extends old quantum theory with action quantization, elliptical orbits, and fine-structure corrections.
Stern–Gerlach	W. Gerlach and O. Stern, 1922, DOI: 10.1007/BF01326983	Gives experimental evidence for directional quantization.
Compton scattering	A. H. Compton, 1923, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRev.21.483	Treats X-ray scattering with photon energy-momentum kinematics.
Matter waves	L. de Broglie, 1924-1925	Proposes wavelength-momentum relation for material particles.
Electron diffraction	C. Davisson and L. H. Germer, 1927, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRev.30.705; G. P. Thomson and A. Reid, 1927, DOI: 10.1038/119890a0	Confirms wave-like scattering and transmission diffraction of electrons.
Born probability rule	M. Born, 1926, DOI: 10.1007/BF01397477	Connects wave mechanics to scattering probabilities.
EPR correlations	A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen, 1935, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRev.47.777	Sharpens the completeness/locality problem.
Bell theorem	J. S. Bell, 1964, DOI: 10.1103/PhysicsPhysiqueFizika.1.195	Converts the EPR debate into experimentally testable inequalities.
Aspect-era Bell tests	A. Aspect, P. Grangier, and G. Roger, 1982, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.91	Establishes controlled polarization-correlation tests violating Bell inequalities.

How to Use the Index

Use the Canonical or current page column when you want the historical story. Use the Modern formalism page column when you want the mathematical rule. For example, Stern–Gerlach belongs historically to spin evidence, while its modern calculation belongs to spin Hilbert spaces and projective measurement.

When a full historical page is not yet written, this index routes to a compact Reference card. Those cards preserve lookup discipline while the narrative volume grows.

Common Mistakes

• Treating the date as the exact birthday of the modern concept.
• Treating a reference card as a substitute for the full apparatus history.
• Reading modern Hilbert-space language back into every original paper.
• Forgetting that several experiments often support the same formal structure from different sides.
• Treating “quantum concept supported” as “complete proof of the postulates.”

Cross-Links

• Evidence Map
• From Evidence to Postulates
• Experiment and Historical Index
• Named Experiments
• What the Formalism Is

References

• M. Jammer, The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics, 2nd ed., American Institute of Physics, 1989.
• J. Mehra and H. Rechenberg, The Historical Development of Quantum Theory, Springer, 1982-2001.
• G. Bacciagaluppi and A. Valentini, Quantum Theory at the Crossroads: Reconsidering the 1927 Solvay Conference, Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Exercises

1. A reader wants to understand why coherent alternatives require amplitudes. Which index row and formal page should they use?

Solution

Use the double-slit and electron interference row. The historical route is Double-Slit Experiment, and the formal route is Probability Amplitudes.

2. A reader wants evidence for discrete spin-component outcomes. Which row is most direct, and what caution should they keep in mind?

Solution

Use the Stern–Gerlach row. The caution is that the original experiment used neutral silver atoms and was historically interpreted before modern electron spin was fully established; the modern spin-$1/2$ account is a later, cleaner reconstruction.

3. Why should Bell tests be routed both to an experiment card and to a theorem page?

Solution

The experiment card describes the physical correlation measurements and historical context. The theorem page states the assumptions and mathematical inequality. Both are needed because Bell-test conclusions depend on the experimental setup and on the precise theoretical assumptions behind Bell’s theorem.