![]() ![]() The Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger developed a wave equation at about the same time that produced the same results, by more familiar means, and the Schrodinger equations was more rapidly embraced. ![]() Heisenberg’s quantum theory was expressed in terms of matrix algebra, a branch of mathematics that was not commonly used in physics at the time (in fact, Heisenberg laboriously re-invented a good deal of mathematics before his mentor Max Born recognized that he was working with matrices), and was initially very coolly received. Michael Frayn’s play “Copenhagen” draws on this history, exploring ideas of uncertainty through an imagined conversation between Heisenberg, Bohr, and Bohr’s wife, Margrethe about the famously mysterious falling-out between Heisenberg and Bohr during WWII. It includes some audio clips of Heisenberg reflecting on the development of the theory. The American Institute of Physics has a very good online exhibit about Heisenberg’s life and physics. Uncertainty relations show up between many pairs of quantities in quantum physics. The uncertainty principle of 1927 was a further elaboration of these ideas this became one of the pillars of the “Copenhagen Interpretation” of quantum physics, along with Niels Bohr’s Principle of Complementarity. Heisenberg had developed a quantum theory in 1926 built around the idea that only directly measurable quantities should be considered. The Uncertainty Principle was introduced by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, as part of a long-running project to develop a complete theory of quantum physics. Minute Physics offers a shorter version of the Uncertainty Principle argument with cartoon sheep! Check it out! ![]()
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