Abstract

It is shown that the wave equation of anN-body problem can be transformed into a system of “hydrodynamical equations” in a3N-dimensional space. The projections of the hydrodynamical variables in three-dimensional space do not obey strict equations of motion. This is shown to be connected with the fact that the mathematically possible solutions of the wave equations are much more numerous than the states of the system that are usually realized in nature. It is pointed out that the many-body wave equation has to be supplemented with thermodynamic principles, so as to obtain a satisfactory description of real phenomena