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Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976: Early Years
Werner Karl Heisenberg was born on December 5, 1901 in Wurzburg, Germany (Cassidy, 11). His parents were August Heisenberg and Annie Wecklein who also gave birth to Erwin Heisenberg (Cassidy,11). August promoted intense rivalry early provoking Heisenberg’s lifelong drive to excel in everything he did (Cassidy, 21). His need to excel and intense rivalry caused conflict between Werner and Erwin. (Cassidy, 21). In 1910 The Heisenberg family moved to a apartment in the Munich district of Schwabing. -
Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976: Early Education
Nine-year- old Werner entered the Max-Gymnasium in September 1911 for a nine year course of study the prepared its students for entering into advanced study at a university (Cassidy, 26) Early and intense rivalry, deliberately stoked by August, provoked Werner’s lifelong drive to excel in everything he did. His teacher at the Max-Gymnasium often observed in his grade reports “The pupil is also extraordinarily self-confident and always wants to excel”. -
Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976: Research on Quantum Mechanics
In the early 1920's Heisenberg worked with the three leading quantum theorist(Cassidy,77). In Munich, Heisenberg worked with Sommerfeld on the puzzles of atomic spectroscopy (Cassidy,93). In Gottingen, he worked with Max Born in an effort to push detailed planetary models of the atom to their limits and comparing the results with the observed stabilities and properties of simple atoms(Cassidy, 93). Then moved to Copenhagen to work with Bohr on the interaction of light with atoms, (Cassidy, 93) -
Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
March 22 1927, Werner submitted another fundamental break through paper titled “On the Perceptual Content of Quantum-Theoretical Kinematics and Mechanics.”(Cassidy,162) The paper outlined his formulation of the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics. This principle was an explication of the uses and limitations of the mathematical apparatus of a now-unified quantum mechanics that fundamentally altered our understanding of nature and of our relation to it (Cassidy,162) -
Werner Heisenberg 1901-1976: Involvement in Warfare
In September 1939, Werner joined the German nuclear research team by military order. This team had been assembled by Kurt Diebner on behalf of the HWA following suggestions by the physical chemist and explosives expert Paul Harteck and others that Germany should investigate the possible relevance of nuclear energy to the war effort. The possibility of technical energy production from Uranium fission laid the theoretical foundations for all subsequent research in Germany.(Landsman, 4) -
Werner Hesienberg 1901-1976: Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1932 was awarded to Werner Karl Heisenberg "for the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen." (The Nobel Prize in Physics 1932) During the selection process in 1932, the Nobel Committee for Physics decided that none of the year’s nominations met the criteria. Werner therefore received his Nobel Prize for 1932 one year later, in 1933(The Nobel Prize in Physics 1932). -
