James Rainwater
American physicist
Werner Heisenberg
German theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
Werner Heisenberg was a pioneering German physicist who made major contributions to the development of quantum mechanics. He is best known for the uncertainty principle, which he published in 1927, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932 for his work. Heisenberg was also involved in the Nazi nuclear weapons program during World War II and went on to become an influential figure in post-war German science.
Table of Contents
Occupation
Family Info
Siblings
Erwin Heisenberg
Spouses
Elisabeth Heisenberg
Children
Jochen Heisenberg
Martin Heisenberg
Anna Maria Hirsch-Heisenberg
Wolfgang Heisenberg
Christine Mann
Barbara Heisenberg
Verena Heisenberg
About the Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenbergwas a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics, and a principal scientist in the Nazi nuclear weapons program during World War II. He published his Umdeutung paper in 1925, a major reinterpretation of old quantum theory. In the subsequent series of papers with Max Born and Pascual Jordan, during the same year, his matrix formulation of quantum mechanics was substantially elaborated. He is known for the uncertainty principle, which he published in 1927. Heisenberg was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the creation of quantum mechanics”.
Heisenberg also made contributions to the theories of the hydrodynamics of turbulent flows, the atomic nucleus, ferromagnetism, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles. He was also instrumental in planning the first West German nuclear reactor at Karlsruhe, together with a research reactor in Munich, in 1957.
Following World War II, he was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, which soon thereafter was renamed the Max Planck Institute for Physics. He was director of the institute until it was moved to Munich in 1958. He then became director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics from 1960 to 1970.
Heisenberg was also president of the German Research Council, chairman of the Commission for Atomic Physics, chairman of the Nuclear Physics Working Group, and president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Werner Heisenberg is best known for his work on the theory of quantum mechanics, including the development of the uncertainty principle, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932.
Werner Heisenberg was born on December 5, 1901 and died on February 1, 1976.
Heisenberg was a principal scientist in the Nazi nuclear weapons program during World War II, though the extent of his involvement and whether he actively worked to develop nuclear weapons is still debated by historians.
In addition to his work on quantum mechanics, Heisenberg also made contributions to the theories of hydrodynamics, atomic nuclei, ferromagnetism, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles.
After World War II, Heisenberg was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, which was later renamed the Max Planck Institute for Physics. He held this position until 1958, when he became director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, a role he held until 1970.
6 Quotes by Werner Heisenberg
- 1.
The violent reaction on the recent development of modern physics can only be understood when one realises that here the foundations of physics have started moving; and that this motion has caused the feeling that the ground would be cut from science.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
- 2.
Every word or concept, clear as it may seem to be, has only a limited range of applicability.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
- 3.
The solution of the difficulty is that the two mental pictures which experiment lead us to form – the one of the particles, the other of the waves – are both incomplete and have only the validity of analogies which are accurate only in limiting cases.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
- 4.
The problems of language here are really serious. We wish to speak in some way about the structure of the atoms. But we cannot speak about atoms in ordinary language.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
- 5.
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner
- 6.
Natural science, does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves.
Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner