Werner Heisenberg

Physicist — Werner Heisenberg (Würzburg, 1901 – Munich, 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, among the founders of quantum mechanics. In 1925, at just twenty-four, he developed matrix mechanics, the first coherent and complete formulation of quantum theory, which describes the atomic world in terms of observable quantities. In 1927 he announced the famous uncertainty principle, according to which it is not possible to know the position and momentum of a particle simultaneously with arbitrary precision, redefining the very concept of measurement in physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932. During the Second World War he led the German nuclear programme, a role that remains historically controversial.

Trivia

Heisenberg had the decisive insight for quantum mechanics in 1925 while on the island of Helgoland, where he had gone to recover from a severe attack of hay fever.

Theories and contributions

• Uncertainty principle — Position and momentum cannot both be determined with arbitrary precision: $\Delta x\,\Delta p \geq \dfrac{\hbar}{2}$.
• Matrix mechanics — First formulation of quantum mechanics, in which physical quantities are represented by non-commuting matrices.

Appears in chapters

21

Linked atoms

3 linked atoms.

21 Introduzione alla meccanica quantistica

• The four great themes of quantum mechanics
• Uncertainty principle
• Waves, particles and the problem of the observer