Today we are going to talk about one of the scientists who marked a before and after in the world of physics. Is about Werner Heisenberg. He was a thinker and physicist of German origin who developed certain works with considerable importance within the world of quantum physics. They are best known for the uncertainty or indeterminacy principle that has brought numerous advances to physics.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Heisenberg's biography and feats.
Heisenberg biography
This scientist was born in Würzburg on December 5, 1901. Since he was little he was involved in the academic world since his father was a history professor. Having a teacher in the family made Heisenberg become interested in the world of science. He studied at the University of Munich and became a doctor in 1923. His training was accompanied by significant personalities from the world of physics such as Niels Bohr.
With this scientist to work as an assistant thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. It was already in 1927 that he finally began to work as a professor at the University of Leipzig. Here at this university he began to teach the chair of theoretical physics. As he was a teacher at the university, he also increased his studies and research in order to make certain contributions to the world of science.
I knew Albert Einstein in person when he worked at the Copenhagen Institute for Theoretical Physics. At this time he was prolific in his research and created matrix mechanics. After various investigations, this matrix mechanics led him to the formulation of quantum mechanics.
Years later, in 1935 he wanted to enter the University of Munich to replace Sommerfield. This man was retiring at the time, but his appointment was prevented by the Nazis. And they pointed out that Heisenberg worked with postulates that came Jewish researchers such as Einstein and Niels Bohr. However, several years later he accepted the Nazi proposal to direct the construction of an atomic bomb for which he was in charge as director at the Kaiser Wilhem institute. Perhaps a few attempts to erect a nuclear reactor that could quickly produce an explosion, but his knowledge was not advanced enough for that. Therefore, he could not achieve it.
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
This man is known for this uncertainty principle that was as a result of multiple investigations. Throughout your career as a researcher, many of your investigations could have led to the manufacture of nuclear weapons, although he did not do it for ethical reasons. His most important research was the formulation of the uncertainty principle. This principle has been used by other physicists until today.
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle indicates that it is impossible to know exactly the moment and position of an atom. By establishing these postulates, he gave rise to other formulations related to magnitudes, time and energy. In addition, he was able to reform some postulates of classical theory that were based on the certainty of physics. Taking into account that the atoms that make up the structures are in constant motion, it is impossible to determine their exact position.
On the other hand, Heisenberg, based on quantum physics, was able to explain the spectral duality of the hydrogen atom and the helium atom. Thanks to these studies, he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1932. His work was a great contribution to astronautics since he predicted the existence of hydrogen in two states. One of them was orthohydrogen and the other was parahydrogen. Both have to do with the direction of movement that the nuclei of atoms take.
Operation Epsilon
After the end of the war, Heisenberg was imprisoned along with other German scientists for the farm called Farm Hall in England. The main recruiting goal was to find out how advanced the atomic weapons construction jobs were. After the Hiroshima bomb exploded, Heisenberg gave a lecture to the rest of the prisoners to explain the exact amount of uranium that was required to make such a bomb.
Since they had placed a multitude of hidden microphones throughout the house, it was confirmed that Heisenberg knew the amount of uranium he needed to make a nuclear weapon but had not wanted to do it for ethical reasons.
Postulates of the uncertainty principle
The formulation of the uncertainty principle implies that the greater the precision with which we know the position of a particle or the less precision we will know what its velocity is and vice versa. This quantum consequence is confused many times by the observer effect. This effect can be applied to many physical systems but they are impossible to observe without altering them. An example of this is that You can't measure the pressure in a tire without letting some air escape. We will never know the exact tire pressure before inserting the cleaner nozzle.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle made it clear that it has nothing to do with the observation process. He claimed that being determined is a fundamental loss of all quantum systems whether they are being observed or not. And it is a consequence of the duality that exists between the wave and the particle. If it must be said that this uncertainty principle is one of the most misinterpreted formulas in all of history since it has supposed philosophical implications. It has been used as a test of free will and as a test of the chance of fate. It has been used for telepathy or parapsychology purposes.
The article in which he made known the indeterminist philosophical path of its beginning in 1927, stated the following:
"In the strong formulation of the causal law" If we know exactly the present, we can predict the future, "it is not the conclusion, but rather the premise that is false. We cannot know, for reasons of principle, the present in all its details.
Finally, Heisenberg passed away in February 1976.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about this Heisenberg and his exploits.