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Werner Heisenberg / The Beginning
Born in Wurzburg, Germany on 5 December 1901. His father, August Heisenberg, who was a scholar of ancient Greek Philology and modern Greek literature, a lecturer at the University of Wurzburg, but was also a gymnasium teacher. His mother Nee Anna Wecklein was the daughter of the rector of the infamous Maximillian’s-Gymnasium in Munich. In 1911, Werner entered the Maximillians-Gymnasium and impressed his teachers with his precocity in mathematics. His high school days were cut short due to WW 1. -
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Werner Heisenberg / Back to School
From 1920 to 1923 he studied physics and mathematics at Munich and Gottingen, where he was joined by some well-known teachers such as Arnold Sommerfeld, Wilhelm Wein, James Frank, Max Born and David Hilbert. Sommerfeld who was intrigued with passion of Heisenberg interests in atomic physics, he introduced Werner to Niels Bohr’s work on quantum physics. After completing his education he lectured at the University of Gottingen and conducted research with Niels Bohr at the University of Copenhagen. -
Werner Heisenberg / The Matrix and the Nobel Prize
It was during this time young Heisenberg developed the “Matrix Mechanics” formula of quantum mechanics. His formula was the first complete and correct definition of quantum mechanics. For this theory and the applications in which it resulted he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932. Werner Heisenberg – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Tue. 10 Mar 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1932/heisenberg/biographical/ -
Werner Heisenberg / Time and Space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQKELOE9eY4
David Cassidy, Uncertainty: The Life and Science of Werner Heisenberg (New York: W.H. Freeman, 1992). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200802/physicshistory.cfm -
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Werner Heisenberg / To the End
As the war began the Germany recognized, suspect or not, the importance of Heisenberg's knowledge. He was made director of the German atom bomb project. He spent five years working on it. Heisenberg was captured by the Allies and was imprisoned in England for six months. He Returned to Germany where he reestablished the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, but renamed it the Max Planck Institute, in honor of his friend. He died in 1976 survived by his wife of 39 years and seven children.
