Biography:Werner Heisenberg
| Werner Heisenberg | |
|---|---|
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| Heisenberg in 1933 | |
| Born | 5 December 1901 Würzburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Died | 1 February 1976 Munich, West Germany
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| Known for | Matrix mechanics; uncertainty principle; Heisenberg picture |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1932) |
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He created matrix mechanics and formulated the uncertainty principle.
Quantum mechanics
Heisenberg's 1925 formulation of matrix mechanics described atomic observables using non-commuting quantities rather than classical electron orbits. This became one of the first complete forms of quantum mechanics.
The uncertainty principle states that certain pairs of quantities, such as position and momentum, cannot both be assigned arbitrarily precise values in a quantum state. It is a structural feature of quantum theory, not merely a limitation of instruments.
Copenhagen physics
Heisenberg worked closely with Niels Bohr and contributed to the Copenhagen interpretation. His work is also connected with the Heisenberg picture, exchange interactions, nuclear models, and quantum field theory.
Quantum Collection links
- Physics:Quantum mechanics
- Physics:Quantum Uncertainty principle
- Physics:Quantum Matrix mechanics
- Physics:Quantum Measurement problem
- Physics:Quantum Commutator
References
- "Werner Heisenberg - Biographical". Nobel Prize Outreach. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1932/heisenberg/biographical/.
- "Werner Heisenberg". https://www.britannica.com/biography/Werner-Heisenberg.
- Heisenberg, W. (1927). "Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik". Zeitschrift für Physik 43: 172-198. doi:10.1007/BF01397280.
