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Birth Of Quantum Mechanics
While conducting research at the University of Copenhagen with colleagues Max Born and Pascual Jordan, Heisenberg discovered that if they expressed Niel Bohr's work on quantum physics using matrix algebra, results in a whole new field of study. -
Uncertainty Principle
Heisenberg's second greatest contribution to science, The Uncertainty Principle, says that an object's position and velocity can not be measured, exactly, at the same time. The principle deals with subatomic particles that are too small to accurately measure at a given point, at any time, and know the exact energy of a particle. -
Nobel Prize
Seven years after his discovery of quantum mechanics, Heisenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the creation of quantum mechanics in 1932 but did not receive it until 1933 due to stipulations outlined in Alfred Nobel's will.
The Youtube video below summarizes the Uncertainty Principle.
https://youtu.be/TQKELOE9eY4 -
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Interesting Facts
Heisenberg was one of the few leading scientists to stay in Germany during WW2. While studying uranium for nuclear energy use, the Nazi party wanted to weaponize uranium. When Heisenberg refused, the Nazi's changed the regulations so Heisenberg could no longer study uranium. -
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Years after the War
After WW2, Heisenberg was imprisoned for being a Nazi sympathizer. After his release in 1946, he became a Director or Department Head at the Max Planck Institute until 1970. During this time he continued research, wrote papers and books, and provided lectures. Nothing was ever as quite monumental as his initial discoveries of Quantum Mechanics or The Uncertainty Principle.