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

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.