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			{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Wolfgang Pauli		\| name = Wolfgang Pauli
	\| image = Wolfgang_Pauli.jpg		\| image = Wolfgang_Pauli.jpg

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{{Infobox scientist
| name = Wolfgang Pauli
| image = Wolfgang_Pauli.jpg
| caption = Pauli in the 1940s
| birth_date = 25 April 1900
| birth_place = Vienna, Austria-Hungary
| death_date = 15 December 1958
| death_place = Zurich, Switzerland
| fields = Theoretical physics
| workplaces = University of Hamburg; ETH Zurich; Institute for Advanced Study
| alma_mater = Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
| doctoral_advisor = Arnold Sommerfeld
| known_for = Pauli exclusion principle; spin-statistics theorem; neutrino hypothesis; Pauli matrices
| awards = Nobel Prize in Physics (1945)
}}

'''Wolfgang Pauli''' (25 April 1900 - 15 December 1958) was an Austrian-born theoretical physicist and one of the central builders of modern [[Physics:Quantum mechanics|quantum mechanics]]. He is best known for the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two identical fermions in a quantum system can occupy the same quantum state. The principle became essential for understanding atomic structure, chemical periodicity, electron shells, and the stability of matter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1945/pauli/biographical/ |title=Wolfgang Pauli - Biographical |publisher=Nobel Prize Outreach |access-date=20 May 2026}}</ref>

Pauli studied under Arnold Sommerfeld in Munich and quickly became known for his sharp criticism and command of the new quantum theory. His early review article on relativity was admired by [[Biography:Albert Einstein|Albert Einstein]], while his later work helped clarify angular momentum, electron spin, and the algebraic language used in quantum theory. In 1930 he proposed the neutrino as a way to preserve energy conservation in beta decay, an idea later confirmed experimentally.

== Quantum physics ==
Pauli's exclusion principle links the abstract structure of [[Physics:Quantum state|quantum states]] with observable matter. It explains why electrons fill atomic orbitals in ordered shells and why fermionic matter resists collapse. His work is therefore closely connected with [[Physics:Quantum Atomic structure and spectroscopy|atomic structure]], [[Physics:Quantum Multi-electron atoms|multi-electron atoms]], and [[Physics:Quantum Matter Elements and Particles|particles and matter]].

Pauli also contributed to the spin-statistics connection, which relates half-integer spin to fermionic antisymmetry. This connection is one of the conceptual bridges between nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and [[Physics:Quantum field theory (QFT) basics|quantum field theory]].

== See also ==
* [[Physics:Quantum mechanics]]
* [[Physics:Quantum Atomic structure and spectroscopy]]
* [[Physics:Quantum Matter Elements and Particles]]
* [[Biography:Werner Heisenberg]]

== References ==
{{reflist|3}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauli, Wolfgang}}
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]
[[Category:Quantum physicists]]
[[Category:Theoretical physicists]]

{{Sourceattribution|Biography:Wolfgang Pauli|1}}

Biography:Wolfgang Pauli - Revision history

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