Hendrik Antoon Lorentz's Struggle with Quantum Theory A. J
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Philosophical Rhetoric in Early Quantum Mechanics, 1925-1927
b1043_Chapter-2.4.qxd 1/27/2011 7:30 PM Page 319 b1043 Quantum Mechanics and Weimar Culture FA 319 Philosophical Rhetoric in Early Quantum Mechanics 1925–27: High Principles, Cultural Values and Professional Anxieties Alexei Kojevnikov* ‘I look on most general reasoning in science as [an] opportunistic (success- or unsuccessful) relationship between conceptions more or less defined by other conception[s] and helping us to overlook [danicism for “survey”] things.’ Niels Bohr (1919)1 This paper considers the role played by philosophical conceptions in the process of the development of quantum mechanics, 1925–1927, and analyses stances taken by key participants on four main issues of the controversy (Anschaulichkeit, quantum discontinuity, the wave-particle dilemma and causality). Social and cultural values and anxieties at the time of general crisis, as identified by Paul Forman, strongly affected the language of the debate. At the same time, individual philosophical positions presented as strongly-held principles were in fact flexible and sometimes reversible to almost their opposites. One can understand the dynamics of rhetorical shifts and changing strategies, if one considers interpretational debates as a way * Department of History, University of British Columbia, 1873 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1; [email protected]. The following abbreviations are used: AHQP, Archive for History of Quantum Physics, NBA, Copenhagen; AP, Annalen der Physik; HSPS, Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences; NBA, Niels Bohr Archive, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen; NW, Die Naturwissenschaften; PWB, Wolfgang Pauli, Wissenschaftlicher Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg a.o., Band I: 1919–1929, ed. A. Hermann, K.V. -
Unification of the Maxwell- Einstein-Dirac Correspondence
Unification of the Maxwell- Einstein-Dirac Correspondence The Origin of Mass, Electric Charge and Magnetic Spin Author: Wim Vegt Country: The Netherlands Website: http://wimvegt.topworld.center Email: [email protected] Calculations: All Calculations in Mathematica 11.0 have been printed in a PDF File Index 1 “Unified 4-Dimensional Hyperspace 5 Equilibrium” beyond Einstein 4-Dimensional, Kaluza-Klein 5-Dimensional and Superstring 10- and 11 Dimensional Curved Hyperspaces 1.2 The 4th term in the Unified 4-Dimensional 12 Hyperspace Equilibrium Equation 1.3 The Impact of Gravity on Light 15 2.1 EM Radiation within a Cartesian Coordinate 23 System in the absence of Gravity 2.1.1 Laser Beam with a Gaussian division in the x-y 25 plane within a Cartesian Coordinate System in the absence of Gravity 2.2 EM Radiation within a Cartesian Coordinate 27 System under the influence of a Longitudinal Gravitational Field g 2.3 The Real Light Intensity of the Sun, measured in 31 our Solar System, including Electromagnetic Gravitational Conversion (EMGC) 2.4 The Boundaries of our Universe 35 2.5 The Origin of Dark Matter 37 3 Electromagnetic Radiation within a Spherical 40 Coordinate System 4 Confined Electromagnetic Radiation within a 42 Spherical Coordinate System through Electromagnetic-Gravitational Interaction 5 The fundamental conflict between Causality and 48 Probability 6 Confined Electromagnetic Radiation within a 51 Toroidal Coordinate System 7 Confined Electromagnetic Radiation within a 54 Toroidal Coordinate System through Electromagnetic-Gravitational -
Einstein's Mistakes
Einstein’s Mistakes Einstein was the greatest genius of the Twentieth Century, but his discoveries were blighted with mistakes. The Human Failing of Genius. 1 PART 1 An evaluation of the man Here, Einstein grows up, his thinking evolves, and many quotations from him are listed. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein at 14 Einstein at 26 Einstein at 42 3 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Einstein at age 61 (1940) 4 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Born in Ulm, Swabian region of Southern Germany. From a Jewish merchant family. Had a sister Maja. Family rejected Jewish customs. Did not inherit any mathematical talent. Inherited stubbornness, Inherited a roguish sense of humor, An inclination to mysticism, And a habit of grüblen or protracted, agonizing “brooding” over whatever was on its mind. Leading to the thought experiment. 5 Portrait in 1947 – age 68, and his habit of agonizing brooding over whatever was on its mind. He was in Princeton, NJ, USA. 6 Einstein the mystic •“Everyone who is seriously involved in pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man..” •“When I assess a theory, I ask myself, if I was God, would I have arranged the universe that way?” •His roguish sense of humor was always there. •When asked what will be his reactions to observational evidence against the bending of light predicted by his general theory of relativity, he said: •”Then I would feel sorry for the Good Lord. The theory is correct anyway.” 7 Einstein: Mathematics •More quotations from Einstein: •“How it is possible that mathematics, a product of human thought that is independent of experience, fits so excellently the objects of physical reality?” •Questions asked by many people and Einstein: •“Is God a mathematician?” •His conclusion: •“ The Lord is cunning, but not malicious.” 8 Einstein the Stubborn Mystic “What interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world” Some broadcasters expunged the comment from the soundtrack because they thought it was blasphemous. -
Von Richthofen, Einstein and the AGA Estimating Achievement from Fame
Von Richthofen, Einstein and the AGA Estimating achievement from fame Every schoolboy has heard of Einstein; fewer have heard of Antoine Becquerel; almost nobody has heard of Nils Dalén. Yet they all won Nobel Prizes for Physics. Can we gauge a scientist’s achievements by his or her fame? If so, how? And how do fighter pilots help? Mikhail Simkin and Vwani Roychowdhury look for the linkages. “It was a famous victory.” We instinctively rank the had published. However, in 2001–2002 popular French achievements of great men and women by how famous TV presenters Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff published they are. But is instinct enough? And how exactly does a great man’s fame relate to the greatness of his achieve- ment? Some achievements are easy to quantify. Such is the case with fighter pilots of the First World War. Their achievements can be easily measured and ranked, in terms of their victories – the number of enemy planes they shot down. These aces achieved varying degrees of fame, which have lasted down to the internet age. A few years ago we compared1 the fame of First World War fighter pilot aces (measured in Google hits) with their achievement (measured in victories); and we found that We can estimate fame grows exponentially with achievement. fame from Google; Is the same true in other areas of excellence? Bagrow et al. have studied the relationship between can this tell us 2 achievement and fame for physicists . The relationship Manfred von Richthofen (in cockpit) with members of his so- about actual they found was linear. -
Ripples in Spacetime
editorial Ripples in spacetime The 2017 Nobel prize in Physics has been awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”. It is, frankly, difficult to find something original to say about the detection of gravitational waves that hasn’t been said already. The technological feat of measuring fluctuations in the fabric of spacetime less than one-thousandth the width of an atomic nucleus is quite simply astonishing. The scientific achievement represented by the confirmation of a century-old prediction by Albert Einstein is unique. And the collaborative effort that made the discovery possible — the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) — is inspiring. Adapted from Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016), under Creative Commons Licence. Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne were, along with the late Ronald Drever, founders of the project that eventually became known Barry Barish, who was the director Last month we received a spectacular as LIGO. In the 1960s, Thorne, a black hole of LIGO from 1997 to 2005, is widely demonstration that talk of a new era expert, had come to believe that his objects of credited with transforming it into a ‘big of gravitational astronomy was no interest should be detectable as gravitational physics’ collaboration, and providing the exaggeration. Cued by detections at LIGO waves. Separately, and inspired by previous organizational structure required to ensure and Virgo, an interferometer based in Pisa, proposals, Weiss came up with the first it worked. Of course, the passion, skill and Italy, more than 70 teams of researchers calculations detailing how an interferometer dedication of the thousand or so scientists working at different telescopes around could be used to detect them in 1972. -
Wolfgang Pauli Niels Bohr Paul Dirac Max Planck Richard Feynman
Wolfgang Pauli Niels Bohr Paul Dirac Max Planck Richard Feynman Louis de Broglie Norman Ramsey Willis Lamb Otto Stern Werner Heisenberg Walther Gerlach Ernest Rutherford Satyendranath Bose Max Born Erwin Schrödinger Eugene Wigner Arnold Sommerfeld Julian Schwinger David Bohm Enrico Fermi Albert Einstein Where discovery meets practice Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology IQ ST in Baden-Württemberg . Introduction “But I do not wish to be forced into abandoning strict These two quotes by Albert Einstein not only express his well more securely, develop new types of computer or construct highly causality without having defended it quite differently known aversion to quantum theory, they also come from two quite accurate measuring equipment. than I have so far. The idea that an electron exposed to a different periods of his life. The first is from a letter dated 19 April Thus quantum theory extends beyond the field of physics into other 1924 to Max Born regarding the latter’s statistical interpretation of areas, e.g. mathematics, engineering, chemistry, and even biology. beam freely chooses the moment and direction in which quantum mechanics. The second is from Einstein’s last lecture as Let us look at a few examples which illustrate this. The field of crypt it wants to move is unbearable to me. If that is the case, part of a series of classes by the American physicist John Archibald ography uses number theory, which constitutes a subdiscipline of then I would rather be a cobbler or a casino employee Wheeler in 1954 at Princeton. pure mathematics. Producing a quantum computer with new types than a physicist.” The realization that, in the quantum world, objects only exist when of gates on the basis of the superposition principle from quantum they are measured – and this is what is behind the moon/mouse mechanics requires the involvement of engineering. -
25 Years of Quantum Hall Effect
S´eminaire Poincar´e2 (2004) 1 – 16 S´eminaire Poincar´e 25 Years of Quantum Hall Effect (QHE) A Personal View on the Discovery, Physics and Applications of this Quantum Effect Klaus von Klitzing Max-Planck-Institut f¨ur Festk¨orperforschung Heisenbergstr. 1 D-70569 Stuttgart Germany 1 Historical Aspects The birthday of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) can be fixed very accurately. It was the night of the 4th to the 5th of February 1980 at around 2 a.m. during an experiment at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Grenoble. The research topic included the characterization of the electronic transport of silicon field effect transistors. How can one improve the mobility of these devices? Which scattering processes (surface roughness, interface charges, impurities etc.) dominate the motion of the electrons in the very thin layer of only a few nanometers at the interface between silicon and silicon dioxide? For this research, Dr. Dorda (Siemens AG) and Dr. Pepper (Plessey Company) provided specially designed devices (Hall devices) as shown in Fig.1, which allow direct measurements of the resistivity tensor. Figure 1: Typical silicon MOSFET device used for measurements of the xx- and xy-components of the resistivity tensor. For a fixed source-drain current between the contacts S and D, the potential drops between the probes P − P and H − H are directly proportional to the resistivities ρxx and ρxy. A positive gate voltage increases the carrier density below the gate. For the experiments, low temperatures (typically 4.2 K) were used in order to suppress dis- turbing scattering processes originating from electron-phonon interactions. -
CV Klaus Von Klitzing
Curriculum Vitae Professor Dr. Klaus von Klitzing Name: Klaus von Klitzing Born: 28 June 1943 Major Scientific Interests: Solid State Research, Experimental Solid Physics, Low Dimensional Electron Systems, Quantum Hall Effect Nobel Prize in Physics 1985 Academic and Professional Career since 1985 Director at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and Honorary Professor at Stuttgart University, Germany 1980 - 1984 Professor at the Technical University Munich, Germany 1978 Habilitation 1972 Ph.D. in Physics 1969 - 1980 University of Würzburg, Germany 1962 - 1969 Diploma in Physics Technical University Braunschweig, Germany Functions in Scientific Societies and Committees (Selection) 2011 Scientific Advisory Board Graphene Flagship 2008 Scientific Committee Bayer Climate Award Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 1 2007 EURAMET Research Council 2006 Board of Trustees “Institute of Advanced Studies” of TUM 2005 Jury Member START-Wittgenstein Program Austria 2005 Scientific Committee International Solvay Institutes 2000 NTT - Basic Research Laboratory Advisory Board 1992 Bord of Trustees of the German Museum Munich, Germany 1989 Bord of Trustees of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig Honours and Awarded Memberships (Selection) 2019 Member of Orden Pour le Mérite 2012 TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor 2011 Honorary Degree of the National University of Mongolia 2011 Honorary Degree of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 2010 Honorary Member of the Deutsche Hochschulverband -
On the Linkage Between Planck's Quantum and Maxwell's Equations
The Finnish Society for Natural Philosophy 25 years, K.V. Laurikainen Honorary Symposium, Helsinki 11.-12.11.2013 On the Linkage between Planck's Quantum and Maxwell's Equations Tuomo Suntola Physics Foundations Society, www.physicsfoundations.org Abstract The concept of quantum is one of the key elements of the foundations in modern physics. The term quantum is primarily identified as a discrete amount of something. In the early 20th century, the concept of quantum was needed to explain Max Planck’s blackbody radiation law which suggested that the elec- tromagnetic radiation emitted by atomic oscillators at the surfaces of a blackbody cavity appears as dis- crete packets with the energy proportional to the frequency of the radiation in the packet. The derivation of Planck’s equation from Maxwell’s equations shows quantizing as a property of the emission/absorption process rather than an intrinsic property of radiation; the Planck constant becomes linked to primary electrical constants allowing a unified expression of the energies of mass objects and electromagnetic radiation thereby offering a novel insight into the wave nature of matter. From discrete atoms to a quantum of radiation Continuity or discontinuity of matter has been seen as a fundamental question since antiquity. Aristotle saw perfection in continuity and opposed Democritus’s ideas of indivisible atoms. First evidences of atoms and molecules were obtained in chemistry as multiple proportions of elements in chemical reac- tions by the end of the 18th and in the early 19th centuries. For physicist, the idea of atoms emerged for more than half a century later, most concretely in statistical thermodynamics and kinetic gas theory that converted the mole-based considerations of chemists into molecule-based considerations based on con- servation laws and probabilities. -
I. I. Rabi Papers [Finding Aid]. Library of Congress. [PDF Rendered Tue Apr
I. I. Rabi Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 1992 Revised 2010 March Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms998009 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm89076467 Prepared by Joseph Sullivan with the assistance of Kathleen A. Kelly and John R. Monagle Collection Summary Title: I. I. Rabi Papers Span Dates: 1899-1989 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1945-1968) ID No.: MSS76467 Creator: Rabi, I. I. (Isador Isaac), 1898- Extent: 41,500 items ; 105 cartons plus 1 oversize plus 4 classified ; 42 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Physicist and educator. The collection documents Rabi's research in physics, particularly in the fields of radar and nuclear energy, leading to the development of lasers, atomic clocks, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to his 1944 Nobel Prize in physics; his work as a consultant to the atomic bomb project at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and as an advisor on science policy to the United States government, the United Nations, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during and after World War II; and his studies, research, and professorships in physics chiefly at Columbia University and also at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. -
The Splendors (And No Miseries) of Mass Spectrometry
Image: David Monniaux, Wikipedia Image: Wired Center for Industrial Mathematics Image: Wikipedia Image: ION-TOF.com The Splendors (and no Miseries) of Mass Spectrometry Theodore Alexandrov Center for Industrial Mathematics, University of Bremen Winterseminar, Alghero, Sardinia, Italy 23 Sep 2009 Image: ION-TOF GmbH Image: www.electrotherapymuseum.com Center for Industrial Did you know that? Mathematics Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique of analytical chemistry that identifies the elemental composition of sample based on mass-to- charge ratio of charged particles. Did you know that MS is used to – Detect and identify the use of drugs of abuse (dopings) in athletes – Identification of explosives and analysis of explosives in postblast residues – Analyse suspicious powders following the post 9/11 anthrax scare – Monitor the breath of patients by anesthesiologists during surgery – and … 2of 14 Center for Industrial T. Rex: just a big chicken? Mathematics A sample of a bone of Tyrannosaurus rex was discovered in 2000 (sample MOR 1125) 68 million years old Soft tissues were inside the bone A sample was demineralized and studied in a mass-spectrometer Several fragments were found which are very similar to collagen—the most common protein found in bones—from birds, specifically chickens! Wired, 22.06.09 (http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/magazine/17-07/ff_originofspecies) 3of 14 Center for Industrial T. Rex: just a big chicken? Mathematics 4of 14 Center for Industrial Early history of MS Mathematics Eugen Goldstein (Potsdam) 1886: invented Kanalstrahlen (anode/channel/positive rays) (-) Image: Michael Hedenus, Der Komet in der Entladungsröhre (+) Image: www.electrotherapymuseum.com Wilhelm Wien (RWTH Aachen,Würzburg,Munich) experimented with anode rays in a magnetic field separated canal rays (ions) according to their mass-to-charge ratio It might be expedient to “abandon the terms cathod rays, canal rays and positive light and to speak only of positive and negative particles". -
A Brief History of Gravitational Waves
universe Review A Brief History of Gravitational Waves Jorge L. Cervantes-Cota 1, Salvador Galindo-Uribarri 1 and George F. Smoot 2,3,4,* 1 Department of Physics, National Institute for Nuclear Research, Km 36.5 Carretera Mexico-Toluca, Ocoyoacac, C.P. 52750 Mexico, Mexico; [email protected] (J.L.C.-C.); [email protected] (S.G.-U.) 2 Helmut and Ana Pao Sohmen Professor at Large, Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, 999077 Hong Kong, China 3 Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire APC-PCCP, Université Paris Diderot, 10 rue Alice Domon et Leonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France 4 Department of Physics and LBNL, University of California; MS Bldg 50-5505 LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road Berkeley, 94720 CA, USA * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.:+1-510-486-5505 Academic Editors: Lorenzo Iorio and Elias C. Vagenas Received: 21 July 2016; Accepted: 2 September 2016; Published: 13 September 2016 Abstract: This review describes the discovery of gravitational waves. We recount the journey of predicting and finding those waves, since its beginning in the early twentieth century, their prediction by Einstein in 1916, theoretical and experimental blunders, efforts towards their detection, and finally the subsequent successful discovery. Keywords: gravitational waves; General Relativity; LIGO; Einstein; strong-field gravity; binary black holes 1. Introduction Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, published in November 1915, led to the prediction of the existence of gravitational waves that would be so faint and their interaction with matter so weak that Einstein himself wondered if they could ever be discovered.