Investigations into quantum theory and relativity theory

This thesis falls into two parts. The first is concerned with damping theory as a particular approach to the description of the dynamical evolution of non-closed systems. Appealing ultimately to the Liouville/Von-Neuman equation in the weak coupling regime, the current-voltage characteristics of both the normal and Josephson tunnelling junctions, treated as open systems are obtained. It is then shown that the same results may be obtained via the combined scattering and density matrix formalism (which does not appeal to the Liouville/Von-Neuman equation), and that this method has certain advantages over the conventional formalism. In the second part an extended (non-quantum) theory of relativity in a five dimensional space is developed and a number of interesting consequences thereof obtained. In particular a generalised set of Maxwell equations for electro-dynamics is derived, and some of the implications of the new set of equations are described. Furthermore a treatment of the five-dimensional analogue of the Schwarzschild problem in general relativity is given, together with the resulting implications for planetary motion. (author)