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Currently Playing: Quantum Field Theory 4a - Second Quantization I

Previously we've seen how to quantize the electromagnetic field. This led us to define operators that create and destroy photons. We want to develop similar operators for electrons. The way we do this is the technique of "second quantization." Photons are bosons, which are not governed by the Pauli exclusion principle. Electrons, however, are fermions, which must satisfy the exclusion principle. Therefore, electron creation and destruction operators cannot be the same operators we used for photons. This video borrows from Chapter 4 of A Pedestrian Approach to Quantum Field Theory by Edward G. Harris (ISBN-13: 978-0486780221).