The Part and The Whole
Encyclopedia
The book The Part and the Whole, written by Werner Heisenberg
, the German physicist who discovered the uncertainty principle
, tells, from his point of view, the history of exploring atomic science and quantum mechanics in the first half of the 20th century.
As the subtitle "Talks about atomic physics" suggests, the core part of this book takes the form of a discussion between himself and other scientists. Heisenberg says: "I wanted to show that science is done by people, and the most wonderful ideas come from dialog".
With chapters like "The first encounter with the science about atoms", "Quantum mechanics and talks with Einstein", "Talk about the relation between biology, physics and chemistry" or "Talks about language" and "The behavior of an individual
during a political disaster", dated 1937-1941, a reader can hear speaking such persons as Erwin Schrödinger
, Niels Bohr
, Albert Einstein
or Max Planck
, not only about physics, but also about many other
questions related to biology, humans, philosophy, and of course politics. Like Richard Feynman
used to say: "How many natures do you think
there are? There is only one, our division of sciences is artificial."
Not only that, these talks are often situated in detailed description of the historical atmosphere and a beautiful scenery, as many of them were led in nature during the many journeys they made, backpacking or sailing. "'Do you see whales,
Heisenberg?', 'Yes, I see only whales, but I hope they are only big waves.'", is one of humorous scenes when the author, Bohr and
other friends were sailing in a dark night.
Reading through, one can get much better feeling about how science is done, and how quantum physics, especially the Copenhagen interpretation
, emerged. It's even tempting not to call these people Bohr or Pauli
any longer, but only Niels and Wolfgang.
"Nobody can reproduce these talks verbatim, but I believe that the spirit of what the people said, and how they did, is conserved," the author tries to explain in the preface.
Many believe that the golden years of physics around 1925, when "even small people could do big things" are gone. But the people who had been there continue to speak to us through this book.
The book was published first in German 1969, and in French in 1972 (La partie et le tout).
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
, the German physicist who discovered the uncertainty principle
Uncertainty principle
In quantum mechanics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states a fundamental limit on the accuracy with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, such as position and momentum, can be simultaneously known...
, tells, from his point of view, the history of exploring atomic science and quantum mechanics in the first half of the 20th century.
As the subtitle "Talks about atomic physics" suggests, the core part of this book takes the form of a discussion between himself and other scientists. Heisenberg says: "I wanted to show that science is done by people, and the most wonderful ideas come from dialog".
With chapters like "The first encounter with the science about atoms", "Quantum mechanics and talks with Einstein", "Talk about the relation between biology, physics and chemistry" or "Talks about language" and "The behavior of an individual
during a political disaster", dated 1937-1941, a reader can hear speaking such persons as Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
, Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
, Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
or Max Planck
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
, not only about physics, but also about many other
questions related to biology, humans, philosophy, and of course politics. Like Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
used to say: "How many natures do you think
there are? There is only one, our division of sciences is artificial."
Not only that, these talks are often situated in detailed description of the historical atmosphere and a beautiful scenery, as many of them were led in nature during the many journeys they made, backpacking or sailing. "'Do you see whales,
Heisenberg?', 'Yes, I see only whales, but I hope they are only big waves.'", is one of humorous scenes when the author, Bohr and
other friends were sailing in a dark night.
Reading through, one can get much better feeling about how science is done, and how quantum physics, especially the Copenhagen interpretation
Copenhagen interpretation
The Copenhagen interpretation is one of the earliest and most commonly taught interpretations of quantum mechanics. It holds that quantum mechanics does not yield a description of an objective reality but deals only with probabilities of observing, or measuring, various aspects of energy quanta,...
, emerged. It's even tempting not to call these people Bohr or Pauli
Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Ernst Pauli was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after being nominated by Albert Einstein, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature, the exclusion principle or...
any longer, but only Niels and Wolfgang.
"Nobody can reproduce these talks verbatim, but I believe that the spirit of what the people said, and how they did, is conserved," the author tries to explain in the preface.
Many believe that the golden years of physics around 1925, when "even small people could do big things" are gone. But the people who had been there continue to speak to us through this book.
The book was published first in German 1969, and in French in 1972 (La partie et le tout).