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Philosophical Implications in Heisenberg's Work
Heisenberg made some fascinating discoveries in his lifetime, and the Uncertainty Principle is some of his best work. Even though quantum mechanics works primarily along probabilities, Heisenberg showed that science does have its limits/restrictions. James Hudson stated, "only through a torturous process of mathematical calculation compared with the empirical data that could have falsified it did he succeed in demonstrating a logically consistent formalism for quantum theory." -
Early Life
Werner Heisenberg was born on December 5, 1901, in Wurzburg, Germany. Beginning in 1920 he received his education at Maximilians Gymnasium in Munich, as a student of Arnold Sommerfeld. In 1922, he met Niels Bohr, who heavily influenced Heisenberg's work. From 1922-23 he studied with Max Born and completed his doctorate on the anomalous Zeeman Effect, on hydrodynamics. After being met with opposition on his work from Bohr, Heisenberg reworked his approach in Gottingen, in 1924. -
Post-Doctorate Life
In 1925, Heisenberg published a 15-page paper: "On the Quantum-Theoretical Reinterpretation of Kinematic and Mechanical Relations," here he would "establish a basis for quantum mechanics that was founded exclusively on relationships between quantities that are in principle observable, such as the observed frequencies and intensities of the emitted and absorbed radiation." (Lustig, 2010) -
Matrix Mechanics
In 1925, Heisenberg developed Matrix Mechanics, which "serves as a tool for extending the quantum selection rule to arbitrary quantum systems, independently of the periodicity of trajectories of the corresponding classical models." (Komech, 2013) Matric Mechanics serves as a baseline for quantum field theory to this day. -
The Uncertainty Principle Cont.
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The Uncertainty Principle
In 1927, Heisenberg accepted the Ordinarius appointment at the University of Leipzig. In March of 1927, Heisenberg announced this famous "Uncertainty Principle," which shows that "experimentally one cannot simultaneously measure with absolute precision both the position and the momentum of an electron." The Uncertainty Principle was revolutionary and monumental for not only quantum mechanics, but also for philosophy. This principle shows mathematically that there are restrictions to science. -
Nobel Prize
In 1932, Heisenberg received the Nobel Prize for the creation of quantum mechanics. After announcing the Uncertainty Principle, Heisenberg stated, "The above-mentioned boundary of precision, as determined by nature, has the important consequence that in a certain sense the law of causality becomes invalid." -
Late Life
In 1939, in Germany, shortly after the discovery of nuclear fission, Heisenberg became one of the principal scientists leading research and development in the German nuclear energy project, known as the “Uranium Club." -
Late Life Cont.
In 1943, Heisenberg was appointed to the Chair for Theoretical Physics at Humboldt University in Berlin, and was elected to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1946, he settled in Göttingen where he worked as director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics until 1958, and then of the expanded Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Berlin until 1970. -
Death
Heisenberg died of cancer on February 1, 1976.