Hencame up with the “uncertainty principle.”
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nHenwon a Nobel Prize for his part in the creation of quantum mechanics.
nHenwon a Nobel Prize for his part in the creation of quantum mechanics.
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nAndnthese accomplishments created a physics that baffles most of us, andnyet paved the way for amazing things: transistors, microprocessors,ncomputers, cell phones, random number generators, and lasers. Allnthose things may seem very commonplace to you—but I urge you toncontemplate how different your life would be without any of thisnstuff, and I point out that most of the people who have ever livednhad none of it.
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nWendo live in amazing times, truly!
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nUncertainnabout uncertainty?
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Younprobably know that physicists use a lot of math to explore reality.nThe uncertainty principle is a variety of mathematical inequalitiesnthat show that we cannot measure exactly all the physical propertiesnof a subatomic particle. In other words, we can never know both thenposition AND the momentum of a particle.
Younprobably know that physicists use a lot of math to explore reality.nThe uncertainty principle is a variety of mathematical inequalitiesnthat show that we cannot measure exactly all the physical propertiesnof a subatomic particle. In other words, we can never know both thenposition AND the momentum of a particle.n
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It’sna bit like saying that we cannot know where a car is AND whatndirection it is traveling, at what speed. That seems silly—I betnyou want to say “of course we can!”
It’sna bit like saying that we cannot know where a car is AND whatndirection it is traveling, at what speed. That seems silly—I betnyou want to say “of course we can!”n
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nButnquantum physics is the physics of the very, very small—and when younare looking at things that are the size of an atom or electron, theyndon’t always behave as we in the larger world expect. n
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nHere‘snone kid-friendly explanation of the uncertainty principle. (I amnuncertain whether or not this explanation is exactly accurate…butnwhat could be more appropriate for an explanation of this principlenthan a little uncertainty and lack of precision!) n
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nHeisenbergnand World War II
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WernernHeisenberg, born on this date in 1902, was a German physicist duringnthe rise of Adolph Hitler in Germany. Some anti-Semitic (anti-Jew)nphysicists in Germany accused Heisenberg of being a “White Jew”n(which was in their eyes an insult), and some said he should be “madento disappear.” Why did they hate this brilliant, prize-winning,nAryan (“white” German) scientist?
WernernHeisenberg, born on this date in 1902, was a German physicist duringnthe rise of Adolph Hitler in Germany. Some anti-Semitic (anti-Jew)nphysicists in Germany accused Heisenberg of being a “White Jew”n(which was in their eyes an insult), and some said he should be “madento disappear.” Why did they hate this brilliant, prize-winning,nAryan (“white” German) scientist?n
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nTwonreasons: First, Heisenberg admired Einstein’s contributions tonphysics, and he said so to his students. At the time, Nazis hatednEinstein because he was Jewish but also because Einstein was anpacifist and humanist who believed in equality.
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nSecond,nsome of the second-rate German physicists who hated Heisenberg didn’tnunderstand his discoveries and theories. They wanted to stick tonclassical physics and ignore what they called “Jewish physics.”
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nHeisenbergnand his work in physics were viciously attacked in German newspapers,nyet Heisenberg refused to emigrate to the U.S. as Einstein and somenother other German scientists (mostly Jewish) did. n
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nHeisenbergnwas saved from possible punishment from the Nazis by the fact thatnhis mother and the mother of the head of the Gestapo (Nazi secretnpolice) were friends. n
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nIndon’t want to make Heisenberg sound like a hero. He compromisednhimself by staying in Germany and working with the Nazis. He stillntaught students about Einstein’s theories, but without mentioningnEinstein at all. Although Heisenberg wasn’t political, he thought ofnhimself as very practical—and it seemed to him that the Nazis werengoing to win World War II. As the chief theorist of the Nazi’snUranium Project, he wondered about the morality of inventing annatomic bomb to help his country win the war. He angered his formernmentor, Niels Bohr, who thought Heisenberg was eagerly helping Hitlernto gain an atomic weapon.
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nInnactual fact, Heisenberg and other German scientists may havendeliberately sabotaged the German efforts to invent a bomb. Theynseemed to have concentrated, instead, on inventing a nuclear reactor,na way of creating nuclear energy.
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nThenwhole subject about what Heisenberg did or did not do during WorldnWar II is pretty controversial and to even shrouded in mystery. Ifnyou want to read more, check out the National WWII Museum’s blog.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Sinterklaas in the Netherlands
Sinterklaas in the Netherlands n
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nDay of the Ninja (aka Creep like a Ninja Day)
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nAnniversary of Mozart’s Death
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nAnniversary of Mozart’s Death
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nEducator Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz’s birthday
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nEducator Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz’s birthday