1 1905, ANNUS MIRABILIS: THE ROOTS OF THE 20th CENTURY REVOLUTION IN PHYSICS AND THE TAKE-OFF OF THE QUANTUM THEORY Angelo Baracca Department of Physics, University of Florence e-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT What were the real nature and role of the annus mirabilis, 1905, in Physics? In this paper we discuss in a historical perspective Planck’s and Einstein’s contributions as the fundamental steps in the scientific transformations (the latter with a sharper sense of methodological awareness) that led from the mechanistic and reductionist approach of 19 th century physics to the fulfillment of the formal revolution of quantum mechanics. This process underwent with further scientific breaks, in the context of the social and economic situation and the corresponding role of science. The mechanistic approach adopted in physics at the end of the 19th century not only produced difficulties and contradictions, but resulted in the limitation of further scientific development. Chemists were the first, at that time, to perceive such limits, and introduce a thermodynamic approach, whose role in the revolution in physics must be underlined. Planck was the first physicist to introduce a procedure that broke with mechanism, although he can hardly be attributed with the concept of the quantum as a physical quantity. It was Einstein’s ability that stands out for his role in overcoming reductionism and introducing a new physical methodology. RESUMEN ¿Cual fueron la naturaleza y el verdadero papel del annus mirabilis de la física 1905? En este trabajo se discuten y se colocan historicamente las contribuciones de Planck, y con una conciencia metodológica mucho más clara las de Einstein, como el paso fundamental en las transformaciones científicas que llevaron, con sucesivas rupturas, y en el contexto de la situación social y económica y del correspondiente papel de la ciencia y la técnica, del enfoque mecanicista y reduccionista de la física del siglo XIX hasta el cumplimiento de la revolución formal de la Mecánica Cuántica.