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Early Development
Werner Karl Heisenburg was born in Würzburg, Germany. His parents were Dr. August Heisenberg and Annie Wecklein. Werner from a young age was encouraged to study the math and sciences, which may have resulted in him graduating top of his class. -
A New Quantum Mechanic
Werner Heisenberg discovered a new way to formulate quantum mechanics by using matrices from mathematics. This new method of quantum mechanics created a way "for calculating the quantum behavior (Cassidy, 1992)" without needing to actually observe the atom. He published his paper "Uber quantentheoretische umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen" and an english version is available.
Heisenberg Speaks -
Uncertainty?
The Uncertainty Principle or Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle was the idea that you cannot know for certain the position and the momentum of an object at the same time. Because if you know the exact location of the object you can longer be certain of its momentum. He states that this is not the error of the experimenter but is inevitable everywhere. This is actually the philosophical theory that led to Schrodinger's Cat.
TEDed Uncertainty Principle -
The Top Prize
Werner Heisenberg won the Nobel Prize "for the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen." It was awarded to him in 1933 because the Nobel Committee for Physics decided that none of the nominees met the requirements set by Alfred Nobel. However, the Nobel Prize can be given a year after, which is what occured for Heisnberg. (Nobel Prize, 2019) -
Death
Heisenberg died of kidney cancer in his own home in Munich. His contributions to physics and philosophy are well known today and will probably be so for a long time.
