Index

Adams, Henry, 30–31, 37, 215 Alpha decay, 165–67 Alpha particles, 40, 46–49 Anti-Semitism, 65–66, 70, 88–89, 172–75 “Appeal to the Cultured Peoples of the World” (manifesto), 63–64 Atomic bomb, 220–22 Atomic physics alpha particles, 40, 46–49

Brownian motion, 10–13, 15–19, 20, 26–29 decay of radioactive elements, 42–43, 46 determinism and, 29 early history of, 13–15 entropy, 23–26 evidence for existence of atoms, 27–29 kinetic theory of heat, 15, 19, 21–22, 25–26 motion, laws of, 22 nuclear physics, 46–47, 165

“plum pudding” atom, 40 positivist philosophy of science and, 25, 26, 29 probability and, 25–27, 42–43 radioactivity, 32–43, 46 statistics and, 21, 29 transformation theory of atoms, 41–42

See also Quantum physics Atomic Structure and Spectral

Lines (Sommerfeld), 73, 75

Balmer, Johann, 51 Balmer series of spectral lines for hydrogen, 50, 51–52, 58, 125 Banks, Sir Joseph, 9 Becquerel, Henri, 32, 33–35, 37

Bell, John, 197, 216 BKS proposal, 100–103 Bohm, David, 208 Bohr, Harald, 55–56 Bohr, Margrethe, 49, 57, 138, 153, 221 Bohr, Niels, 56–57, 92, 104, 108, 175, 178, 183, 186, 188,

background of, 44 BKS proposal, 100–103 Bohr atom, 51–54, 55–56, 58 complementarity principle, 148, 152–55, 185–86, 194, 201, 202–3 correspondence principle, 86–87, 153 criticism of critics of quantum mechanics, 196 death of, 222 Dirac and, 140–41 Einstein and, 84 Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics, 160–62, 168, 169–70, 191, 192–94 ellipticity of electron orbits, 58–59, 60 Gamow and, 164 Göttingen lectures on quantum theory, 83–85 half-quantum system, 88 Heisenberg and, 85–86, 88, 141–44, 150–51, 155, 221, 222 Heisenberg’s formulation of foundation for quantum mechanics, 115 Kramers and, 97 light quanta, 95–96, 97, 98–99, 100 measurement’s effect on system being measured, 154, 155 metaphysical and interpretational questions arising from quantum mechanics, 196–97 mystique of, 59, 87–88 Nobel Prize for, 95 personal qualities of, 44–45, 97, 98–99 philosophy of quantum world, 200–203 probability in quantum mechanics, 137–38 quantum theory, formulation of, 48–49, 50

Rutherford and, 45–46, 61–62

Schrödinger and, 137–38, 140

Schrödinger’s cat conundrum regarding quantum mechanics, 195–96, 199

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158, 159–62 spectroscopy, 50–52 strategy for theorizing, 58–59, 86

Thomson and, 44, 45 uncertainty principle, 1, 147–49, 150–51, 170, 192

U.S. lectures on quantum theory, 94–95 vague descriptions by, 101–2, 140–41 wave mechanics, 153–54 working method of, 57

World War II, 221 Bohr atom, 51–54, 55–56, 58 Bohr-Sommerfeld atom, 60–61, 67, 75 Boltzmann, Ludwig, 24, 25, 26–27, 62–63, 70–71, 86 Born, Max, 56, 84, 88, 92, 102, 106, 131, 146, 152, 155, 172, 174, 178, 182, 208

Heisenberg and, 90–91

Heisenberg’s formulation of foundation for quantum mechanics, 115 matrix mechanics, 123–24

Nobel Prize for, 171

Pauli and, 89–90 personal qualities of, 90 probability in quantum mechanics, 135–37 quantum mechanics, naming of, 107

219

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 159 strategy for theorizing, 90–91 wave mechanics, 134–35 Branes, 217 British Museum, 10 Brown, Robert, 9–13 Brownian motion, 10–13, 15–19, 20, 26–29 Bywater, Mr., 12

Calculus of differences, 107 “Can Quantum-Mechanical

Description of Physical

Reality Be Considered

Complete?” (Einstein et al.), 189 Carbonelle, Fr., 17 Cathode rays, 39 “Causality in Contemporary

Physics” (Schlick), 207–8 Chaplin, Charlie, 108 Clark, William, 10 Clausius, Rudolf, 23 Complementarity principle, 148, 152–57, 162, 185–86, 194, 201, 202–3, 213–14 Compton, Arthur, 96, 99, 103 Compton effect, 97, 99, 135 Condon, Edward, 166, 191–92 Copenhagen (Frayn), 150, 221 Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, 156, 162–63, 209 Correspondence principle, 86–87, 134, 153, 201 Curie, Marie, 35–39, 41 Curie, Pierre, 35, 36, 37, 38

Dalton, John, 14 Darwin, Charles, 10, 13 Darwin, Charles Galton, 47–48 De Broglie, Louis, 177, 183 background of, 117–18 probability in quantum mechanics, 137

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158

wave mechanics, 118–19 De Broglie, Maurice, 117, 118 Decay of radioactive elements, 42–43, 46 Decline of the West, The (Spengler), 180–82 Deconstructionism, 211–12 Delsaulx, Fr. Joseph, 17, 18 Democritus, 13–14 “Destiny-idea” concept, 181–82, 184 Determinism atomic physics and, 29 quantum physics and, 136–37 Diffraction patterns, 160, 161 Dirac, Paul, 125–26, 144, 150, 152, 183, 184, 200, 221 background of, 141

Bohr and, 140–41 complementarity principle, 162 formulation of quantum mechanics, 125–26

Nobel Prize for, 171

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158, 162 Doctor Faustus (Mann), 78 Dresden, Max, 98

Eckart, Carl, 130 Eddington, Arthur, 65 Education of Henry Adams, The (Adams), 30, 215 Ehrenfest, Paul, 159, 162 Einstein, Albert, 72, 76, 82, 88, 89, 90, 98, 101, 129, 136, 174, 178, 183, 219 atomic hypothesis, test of, 27–29 background of, 65

BKS proposal, 102

Bohr and, 84

Bohr atom, 53–54

Bohr’s criticism of critics of quantum mechanics, 196 complementarity principle, 157, 194

Heisenberg and, 130–33, 220

Heisenberg’s formulation of foundation for quantum mechanics, 115, 116 light quanta, 66–67, 95–96,

matrix mechanics, 132

Nobel Prize for, 95 philosophy of quantum world, 201, 202, 203, 207, 208 physical reality, definition of, 189–90, 192 politics of, 65–66, 173 probability in quantum mechanics, 137, 138–39 quantum mechanics, objections to, 130–33, 160–63, 168–71, 188–94, 197, 218 relativity, 111, 131–33

Schrödinger and, 133

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158, 159–62 on Spengler, 182 strategy for theorizing, 187–88 uncertainty principle, 5–6, 168–69, 170–71, 191, 192

United States, move to, 172 wave mechanics, 119, 122, 133–34

World War II, 220 Eisner, Kurt, 71 Ellipticity of electron orbits, 58–60 Engels, Friedrich, 215 Entropy, 23–26 EPR argument against quantum mechanics, 188–94, 197, 218

Fermat, Pierre de, 21 Feynman, Richard, 82 Fluorescence, 33–34 Forman, Paul, 178–79, 182, 206 Fourier series, 110 Fourth quantum number, 75–76, 80, 81 Fraunhofer, Joseph von, 50 Frayn, Michael, 150, 221 Fresnel, Augustin, 160 Gamow, George, 164–66, 167 Gauss, Carl Friedrich, 55 Gay, Peter, 180 Geiger, Hans, 46 Germany atomic bomb program, 221–22

Nazi regime, 171–75, 182, 221–22 political volatility’s impact on quantum physics and uncertainty principle, 177–84, 206 rise to leadership in theoretical physics, 61–65 Goethe, J. W. von, 181 Gouy, Louis-Georges, 18–19, 20, 26 Gravity, 217–18 Guillaume, Charles, 95 Gurney, Ronald, 166

Half-quantum system, 80–82, 88, 91–92 Hasenöhrl, Fritz, 120 Heat. See Entropy; Kinetic theory of heat Heisenberg, August, 76–77, 79 Heisenberg, Erwin, 77 Heisenberg, Werner, 59, 68, 75, 93, 96, 138, 178, 183, 184, 207 anti-Semitism and, 88–89 background of, 69, 71–72, 76–79

Bohr and, 85–86, 88, 141–44, 150–51, 155, 221, 222

Bohr’s Göttingen lectures on quantum theory, 83–84, 85

Born and, 90–91 complementarity principle, 156–57, 201 correspondence principle, 201 death of, 222 doctorate in physics, 105–6

Einstein and, 130–33, 220

Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics, 130–33, 171, 191, 192 fourth quantum number, 80

99

half-quantum system, 80–82, 88, 91–92

Kramers and, 109 matrix mechanics, 124, 125 metaphysical and interpretational questions arising from quantum mechanics, 197

Nazi regime and, 174–75, 221–22

Nobel Prize for, 171 oscillator picture of atoms, 104, 106–8, 110

Pauli and, 70, 125 personal qualities of, 76, 77–78, 133, 221 philosophy of quantum world, 200, 201 probability in quantum mechanics, 136 quantum mechanics, formulation of foundation for, 110–16 quantum physics, attraction to, 79–80 scientific character of, 109–10

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158, 159, 162

Sommerfeld and, 79, 81–82 strategy for theorizing, 81–82 transitions between atomic states, 107–8, 110 uncertainty principle, 1–2, 145–51 wave mechanics, 127, 128, 134

World War II, 221–22 youth organizations, involvement in, 78–79, 180 Hempel, Carl, 205 Hidden variables, 208 Hilbert, David, 91 Hitler, Adolf, 171, 173, 174–75

Ionized hydrogen molecule, 72–73, 74

Jordan, Pascual, 124, 130 Journalism, 210–11 Kekulé, August, 14 Kinetic theory of heat, 15, 19, 21–22, 25–26 Klein, Oskar, 153 Kramers, Hendrik, 115, 183

BKS proposal, 100–101, 103

Bohr and, 97

Heisenberg and, 109 light quanta, 98–99, 100 oscillator picture of atoms, 103–4 personal qualities of, 109 Kramers, Storm, 98

Landé, Alfred, 56, 81, 92, 108 Langley, Samuel, 37 Laplace, Marquis de, 22, 214, 218 Lawrence, D. H., 184–85, 214, 215 Leeuwenhoek, Antony van, 11 Lewis, Gilbert, 146 Lewis, Meriwether, 10 Light quanta, 66–67, 95–100 Lindemann, Ferdinand, 79 Literary deconstructionism, 211–12 Logical positivism, 204–5, 211–12 Logic of Scientific Discovery, The (Popper), 206–7

Mach, Ernst, 63, 70, 71, 204 Mann, Thomas, 78 Marsden, Ernest, 46 Marx, Karl, 215 Matrix mechanics, 123–26, 129–30, 132, 135 Maxwell, James Clerk, 20–21, 27 Measurement’s effect on system being measured, 154, 155, 213 Mendeleyev, Dmitri, 37 Metaphysical and interpretational questions arising from quantum mechanics, 196–97 Michelson, Albert, 58 Microscopes, 11 Middlemarch (Eliot), 16

Millikan, Robert A., 67, 95 Motion, laws of, 22 M-theory, 217

Nauenberg, Michael, 216 Nazi regime, 171–75, 182, 221–22 New York Times, 94, 191 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 177 Nobel Prize, 37, 95, 126, 171 Nuclear physics, 46–47, 165

Oscillator picture of atoms, 101, 103–4, 106–8, 110

Pais, Abraham, 87 Pascal, Blaise, 21 Pauli, Wolfgang, 68, 97, 108, 109, 120, 127, 134, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150–51, 152, 155, 156, 172–73, 178, 183, 184, 221 background of, 69–72

BKS proposal, 102

Bohr’s Göttingen lectures on quantum theory, 84

Born and, 89–90 death of, 222

Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics, 191 fourth quantum number, 76 half-quantum system, 80, 81, 92

Heisenberg and, 70, 125

Heisenberg’s formulation of foundation for quantum mechanics, 114, 116 on Heisenberg’s scientific character, 109–10 ionized hydrogen molecule, 72–73, 74

Mach as godfather of, 70 matrix mechanics, 123, 125, 130 oscillator picture of atoms, 104 personal qualities of, 74 relativity, 72 skepticism of, 70

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 158, 159, 162

Sommerfeld and, 74 wave mechanics, 130 Periodic table of the elements, 37 Perrin, Jean, 29 Philosophy of quantum world, 200–209 Physical reality, Einstein’s definition of, 189–90, 192 Physical Review, 96 Physics

Germany’s rise to leadership in theoretical physics, 61–65 theory in, 29–30

See also Atomic physics;

Quantum physics; Relativity Planck, Max, 64–65, 67, 72, 84, 122, 129, 130, 157, 179–80, 183, 207

“Appeal to the Cultured Peoples of the World,” 63–64

Nazi regime and, 173–74, 175 quantum hypothesis of, 49–50, 54 “Plum pudding” atom, 40 Podolsky, Boris, 188–89 Poincaré, Henri, 24–25 Polonium, 36 Popper, Karl, 206–7 Positivist philosophy of science, 25, 26, 29, 204–5, 211–12 Probability atomic physics and, 25–27, 42–43 quantum physics and, 54, 135–39, 167, 199

See also Uncertainty principle Psychology, 202–3 Purpose, 202

Quantum physics alpha decay, 165–67

BKS proposal, 100–103

Bohr atom, 51–54, 55–56, 58

Bohr’s criticism of critics of quantum mechanics, 196

Bohr’s formulation of quantum theory, 48–49, 50

Bohr’s Göttingen lectures on quantum theory, 83–85

Bohr-Sommerfeld atom, 60–61, 67, 75 Bohr’s U.S. lectures on quantum theory, 94–95 Born’s system of quantum mechanics, 107 complementarity principle, 148, 152–57, 162, 185–86, 194, 201, 202–3, 213–14 Compton effect, 97, 99, 135 Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, 156, 162–63, 209 correspondence principle, 86–87, 134, 153, 201 determinism and, 136–37 diffraction patterns and, 160, 161 Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics, 130–33, 160–63, 168–71, 188–94, 197, 218 ellipticity of electron orbits, 58–60 EPR argument against quantum mechanics, 188–94, 197, 218 fourth quantum number, 75–76, 80, 81 Germany’s volatility in Weimar period and, 177–84, 206 gravity and, 217–18 half-quantum system, 80–82, 88, 91–92 Heisenberg’s attraction to, 79–80 Heisenberg’s formulation of foundation for quantum mechanics, 110–16 hidden variables, 208 ionized hydrogen molecule, 72–73, 74 light quanta, 66–67, 95–100 matrix mechanics, 123–26, 129–30, 132, 135 measurement’s effect on system being measured, 154, 155, 213 metaphysical and interpretational questions

arising from quantum mechanics, 196–97 oscillator picture of atoms, 101, 103–4, 106–8, 110 philosophy of quantum world, 200–209

Planck’s quantum hypothesis, 49–50, 54 probability and, 54, 135–39, 167, 199

Schrödinger’s cat conundrum regarding quantum mechanics, 194–96, 197–99

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 157–62

Sommerfeld’s strategy for studying, 73 spectroscopy and, 50–52 transitions between atomic states, 107–8, 110 universe’s origin and, 217–19 wave mechanics, 118–19, 120–22, 126–28, 129–30, 133–35, 153–54

Zeeman effect, 59, 75

See also Uncertainty principle Quetelet, Adolphe, 21

Radioactivity, 32–43, 46 Radium, 36–37 Randomness. See Probability Rathenau, Walther, 89 Rayleigh, Lord, 52 Relativism, 213 Relativity, 5–6, 72, 95, 111, 213, 218 quantum mechanics and, 131–33, 217–19 Renard, Fr., 17 Röntgen, Wilhelm, 33 Rosen, Nathan, 189 Rosenfeld, Léon, 169, 191, 192, 203 Rutherford, Ernest, 57, 108 alpha particles, 46–47

Bohr and, 45–46, 61–62

Bohr atom, 52–53 radioactivity, 39–42

Saturn’s rings, 21 Schlick, Moritz, 207–8 Schrödinger, Erwin, 157, 163, 173, 183 background of, 119–20

Bohr and, 137–38, 140

Bohr’s criticism of critics of quantum mechanics, 196

Einstein and, 133

Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics, 191, 194 matrix mechanics, 126,129–30

Nobel Prize for, 126, 171 probability in quantum mechanics, 137–38

Schrödinger’s cat conundrum regarding quantum mechanics, 194–96,197–99

Solvay conference debates of 1927, 159 wave mechanics, 120–22, 126–28, 129–30, 133–34, 153–54 Schrödinger’s cat conundrum regarding quantum mechanics, 194–96, 197–99 Segrè, Emilio, 87 Simplicity in scientific theorizing, 187–88 Slater, John C., 99–100, 103 Sociology of science, 205–6 Soddy, Frederick, 41, 42 Solvay, Ernest, 158 Solvay conference of 1927, 157–62 Solvay conference of 1930, 168–71 Sommerfeld, Arnold, 59, 68, 71, 72, 88, 90, 96, 105, 106, 133, 138, 174, 175, 184

Bohr atom, 56, 58

Bohr’s Göttingen lectures on quantum theory, 83

Bohr-Sommerfeld atom, 75 ellipticity of electron orbits, 59–60 fourth quantum number, 75–76, 80, 81 half-quantum system, 80, 81, 88

Heisenberg and, 79, 81–82

Pauli and, 74 personal qualities of, 74–75 strategy for studying quantum physics, 73 wave mechanics, 127–28 Spectroscopy, 50–52 Spengler, Oswald, 180–82, 185, 215 Stark, Johannes, 65–66, 183 Stark effect, 59 Statistics atomic physics and, 21, 29 scientific synthesis and, 30–31

Theory in physics, 29–30 Thermodynamics, second law of, 19, 23 Thirion, Fr. J., 17 Thomson, J. J., 39, 40, 44, 45, 47, 62 Transformation theory of atoms, 41–42 Truth, 213 Tunneling, 165–67

Uncertainty principle anti-science attitudes and, 184–85, 214–15 cultural impact, 7, 210–14 definition of, 6

Einstein’s objections to, 5–6, 168–69, 170–71, 191, 192 formulation of, 1–2, 145–51

Germany’s volatility in Weimar period and, 177–84, 206 metaphorical appeal, 215–16 philosophy and, 204–9 quantum theory of gravity and, 218 science, impact on, 2–5 truth and, 213 Universe’s origin, 217–19

Valera, Eamon de, 173 Vidal, Gore, 211–12

Wave mechanics, 118–19, 120–22, 126–28, 129–30, 133–35, 153–54 West Wing, The (TV series), 212–13 Wien, Wilhelm, 105–6, 127, 183 Wiener, Ludwig Christian, 15–16 Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 196 World War I, 56–57, 63–64 World War II, 220–22

X-rays, 33–34

Zeeman effect, 59, 75

About the Author

David Lindley was a theoretical astrophysicist at Cambridge University and at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Chicago, before turning to writing. He has been an editor at Nature, Science, and Science News, and acted as quizmaster for a long-running segment of Sounds Like Science, a radio show hosted by Ira Flatow. His book reviews and other journalism have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wilson Quarterly, New Scientist, and the London Review of Books. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.