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Early History and Education
December 5th 1901 Werner Heisenberg was born in Wurzburg. Heisenberg attended school at Maximillian at Munich until 1920 to then study physics at the University of Munich where he received his Ph.D. in 1923. 1926 he was appointed Lecturer in Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen under Niels Bohr and in 1927 he was appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Leipzig. In 1941 he was appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Berlin. -
Theory of quantum mechanics
Heisenberg will forever be associated with his theory of quantum mechanics which was published in 1925 at the age of 23 years old. He discovered a way to formulate quantum mechanics in terms of matrices. In 1927 he published his uncertainty principle in which built his philosophy on and is best known for. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1932 for his work. See link for a brief explanation on the Uncertainty Principle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQKELOE9eY4 -
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Contributions and Life
In addition Heisenberg contributed to the theories of the hydrodynamics of turbulent flows, the atomic nucleus, ferromagnetism, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles. He also contributed heavily in planning the first West German nuclear reactor at Karlsruche. In his private life Heisenberg married Elisabeth Schumacher and was a distinguished pianist. The video below also explains additional contributions and key parts in his life.
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Postwar and Death
Werner Heisenberg took on many positions after being released by British authorities in January 1946. He resumed directorship of the reconstituted Kaiser Wilhelm. 1945, Heisenberg became the first president of German Research Council. 1953, Heisenberg also became the founding president of the third iteration of the Humboldt Foundation. He also achieved an academic position as Max Plank Institute for Physics then retired in 1970. He died on February 1, 1976 leaving behind seven children.
