Biography
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist born on December 5th 1901 in Würzburg, Germany. He proposed the Principle of Indeterminacy (Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) stating that we will never know the exact location of both the velocity and position of a particle. Heisenberg founded this principle while writing a paper called “On the Perceptual Content of Quantum Theoretical Kinematics and Mechanics” in 1925. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for 1932.
Importance.
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that it is not possible to know precisely both the velocity and position of a particle at the same time. This Principle proved that electrons do not move around the nucleus in neat orbits.
Interesting Facts
- -His later work included study of plasma physics and the process of nuclear fusion.
- -Werner was a master at piano and had a great interest in music.
- -Werner had 7 kids, two that were twins.
Timeline
400 b.c. - Democritus -"by convention bitter, by convention sweet, but in reality atoms and void"
1704 - Isaac Newton - Proposed a mechanical universe with small solid masses in motion.
1803 - John Dalton - Proposed an "atomic theory" with spherical solid atoms based upon measurable properties of mass.
1832 - Michael Faraday - Studied the effect of electricity on solutions, coined term "electrolysis" as a splitting of molecules with electricity, developed laws of electrolysis. Faraday himself was not a proponent of atomism.
1859 - J. Plucker - Built one of the first gas discharge tubes ("cathode ray tube").
1869 - Dmitri Mendeleev - Arranged elements into 7 groups with similar properties. He discovered that the properties of elements "were periodic functions of the their atomic weights". This became known as the Periodic Law.
1873 - James Clerk Maxwell - Proposed electric and magnetic fields filled the void.
1879 - Sir William Crookes - Discovered cathode rays had the following properties: travel in straight lines from the cathode; cause glass to fluoresce; impart a negative charge to objects they strike; are deflected by electric fields and magnets to suggest a negative charge; cause pinwheels in their path to spin indicating they have mass.
1886 - E. Goldstein - Used a CRT to study "canal rays" which had electrical and magnetic properties opposite of an electron.
1894 - G.J. Stoney - Proposed that electricity was made of discrete negative particles he called electrons".
1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen - Using a CRT he observed that nearby chemicals glowed. Further experiments found very penetrating rays coming from the CRT that were not deflected by a magnetic field. He named them "X-rays".
1896 - Henri Becquerel - While studying the effect of x-rays on photographic film, he discovered some chemicals spontaneously decompose and give off very penetrating rays.
1897 - J.J. Thomson - Used a CRT to experimentally determine the charge to mass ratio (e/m) of an electron =1.759 x 10 8 coulombs/gram.
1897 - J.J. Thomson - Studied "canal rays" and found they were associated with the proton H + .
1898 - Rutherford - Studied radiations emitted from uranium and thorium and named them alpha and beta.
1898 - Marie Sklodowska Curie - Studied uranium and thorium and called their spontaneous decay process "radioactivity". She and her husband Pierre also discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium.
1900 - Soddy - Observed spontaneous disintegration of radioactive elements into variants he called "isotopes" or totally new elements, discovered "half-life", made initial calculations on energy released during decay.
1900 - Max Planck - used the idea of quanta (discrete units of energy) to explain hot glowing matter.
1903 - Nagaoka - Postulated a "Saturnian" model of the atom with flat rings of electrons revolving around a positively charged particle.
1904 - Abegg - Discovered that inert gases had a stable electron configuration which lead to their chemical inactivity.
1905 - Albert Einstein - Published the famous equation E=mc 2
1906 - Hans Geiger - Developed an electrical device to "click" when hit with alpha particles.
1909 - R.A. Millikan - Oil drop experiment determined the charge (e=1.602 x10 -19 coulomb) and the mass (m = 9.11 x 10 -28 gram) of an electron.
1911 - Ernest Rutherford - Using alpha particles as atomic bullets, probed the atoms in a piece of thin (0.00006 cm) gold foil . He established that the nucleus was: very dense,very small and positively charged. He also assumed that the electrons were located outside the nucleus.
1914 - H.G.J. Moseley - Using x-ray tubes, determined the charges on the nuclei of most atoms. He wrote"The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus". This work was used to reorganize the periodic table based upon atomic number instead of atomic mass.
1919 - Aston - Discovered the existence of isotopes through the use of a mass spectrograph.
1922 - Niels Bohr - Developed an explanation of atomic structure that underlies regularities of the periodic table of elements. His atomic model had atoms built up of successive orbital shells of electrons.
1923 - de Broglie - Discovered that electrons had a dual nature-similar to both particles and waves. Particle/wave duality. Supported Einstein.
1927 - Heisenberg - Described atoms by means of formula connected to the frequencies of spectral lines. Proposed Principle of Indeterminacy - you can not know both the position and velocity of a particle.
1929 - Cockcroft / Walton - Built an early linear accelerator and bombarded lithium with protons to produce alpha particles
1930 - Schrodinger - Viewed electrons as continuous clouds and introduced "wave mechanics" as a mathematical model of the atom.
1930 - Paul Dirac - Proposed anti-particles . Anderson discovered the anti-electron (positron) in 1932 and Segre/Chamberlain detected the anti-proton in 1955..
1932 - James Chadwick - Using alpha particles discovered a neutral atomic particle with a mass close to a proton. Thus was discovered the neutron.
1938 - Lise Meitner, Hahn , Strassman - Conducted experiments verifying that heavy elements capture neutrons and form unstable products which undergo fission. This process ejects more neutrons continuing the fission chain reaction.
1941 - 51 - Glenn Seaborg - Synthesized 6 transuranium elements and suggested a change in the layout of the periodic table.
1942 - Enrico Fermi - Conducted the first controlled chain reaction releasing energy from the atom's nucleus.
1704 - Isaac Newton - Proposed a mechanical universe with small solid masses in motion.
1803 - John Dalton - Proposed an "atomic theory" with spherical solid atoms based upon measurable properties of mass.
1832 - Michael Faraday - Studied the effect of electricity on solutions, coined term "electrolysis" as a splitting of molecules with electricity, developed laws of electrolysis. Faraday himself was not a proponent of atomism.
1859 - J. Plucker - Built one of the first gas discharge tubes ("cathode ray tube").
1869 - Dmitri Mendeleev - Arranged elements into 7 groups with similar properties. He discovered that the properties of elements "were periodic functions of the their atomic weights". This became known as the Periodic Law.
1873 - James Clerk Maxwell - Proposed electric and magnetic fields filled the void.
1879 - Sir William Crookes - Discovered cathode rays had the following properties: travel in straight lines from the cathode; cause glass to fluoresce; impart a negative charge to objects they strike; are deflected by electric fields and magnets to suggest a negative charge; cause pinwheels in their path to spin indicating they have mass.
1886 - E. Goldstein - Used a CRT to study "canal rays" which had electrical and magnetic properties opposite of an electron.
1894 - G.J. Stoney - Proposed that electricity was made of discrete negative particles he called electrons".
1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen - Using a CRT he observed that nearby chemicals glowed. Further experiments found very penetrating rays coming from the CRT that were not deflected by a magnetic field. He named them "X-rays".
1896 - Henri Becquerel - While studying the effect of x-rays on photographic film, he discovered some chemicals spontaneously decompose and give off very penetrating rays.
1897 - J.J. Thomson - Used a CRT to experimentally determine the charge to mass ratio (e/m) of an electron =1.759 x 10 8 coulombs/gram.
1897 - J.J. Thomson - Studied "canal rays" and found they were associated with the proton H + .
1898 - Rutherford - Studied radiations emitted from uranium and thorium and named them alpha and beta.
1898 - Marie Sklodowska Curie - Studied uranium and thorium and called their spontaneous decay process "radioactivity". She and her husband Pierre also discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium.
1900 - Soddy - Observed spontaneous disintegration of radioactive elements into variants he called "isotopes" or totally new elements, discovered "half-life", made initial calculations on energy released during decay.
1900 - Max Planck - used the idea of quanta (discrete units of energy) to explain hot glowing matter.
1903 - Nagaoka - Postulated a "Saturnian" model of the atom with flat rings of electrons revolving around a positively charged particle.
1904 - Abegg - Discovered that inert gases had a stable electron configuration which lead to their chemical inactivity.
1905 - Albert Einstein - Published the famous equation E=mc 2
1906 - Hans Geiger - Developed an electrical device to "click" when hit with alpha particles.
1909 - R.A. Millikan - Oil drop experiment determined the charge (e=1.602 x10 -19 coulomb) and the mass (m = 9.11 x 10 -28 gram) of an electron.
1911 - Ernest Rutherford - Using alpha particles as atomic bullets, probed the atoms in a piece of thin (0.00006 cm) gold foil . He established that the nucleus was: very dense,very small and positively charged. He also assumed that the electrons were located outside the nucleus.
1914 - H.G.J. Moseley - Using x-ray tubes, determined the charges on the nuclei of most atoms. He wrote"The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus". This work was used to reorganize the periodic table based upon atomic number instead of atomic mass.
1919 - Aston - Discovered the existence of isotopes through the use of a mass spectrograph.
1922 - Niels Bohr - Developed an explanation of atomic structure that underlies regularities of the periodic table of elements. His atomic model had atoms built up of successive orbital shells of electrons.
1923 - de Broglie - Discovered that electrons had a dual nature-similar to both particles and waves. Particle/wave duality. Supported Einstein.
1927 - Heisenberg - Described atoms by means of formula connected to the frequencies of spectral lines. Proposed Principle of Indeterminacy - you can not know both the position and velocity of a particle.
1929 - Cockcroft / Walton - Built an early linear accelerator and bombarded lithium with protons to produce alpha particles
1930 - Schrodinger - Viewed electrons as continuous clouds and introduced "wave mechanics" as a mathematical model of the atom.
1930 - Paul Dirac - Proposed anti-particles . Anderson discovered the anti-electron (positron) in 1932 and Segre/Chamberlain detected the anti-proton in 1955..
1932 - James Chadwick - Using alpha particles discovered a neutral atomic particle with a mass close to a proton. Thus was discovered the neutron.
1938 - Lise Meitner, Hahn , Strassman - Conducted experiments verifying that heavy elements capture neutrons and form unstable products which undergo fission. This process ejects more neutrons continuing the fission chain reaction.
1941 - 51 - Glenn Seaborg - Synthesized 6 transuranium elements and suggested a change in the layout of the periodic table.
1942 - Enrico Fermi - Conducted the first controlled chain reaction releasing energy from the atom's nucleus.
Sources:
Timeline: http://atomictimeline.net/index.php
Biography Information: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Werner-Heisenberg
Facts: http://www.10-facts-about.com/Werner-Heisenberg/id/338
Importance: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Werner-Heisenberg
Biography Information: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Werner-Heisenberg
Facts: http://www.10-facts-about.com/Werner-Heisenberg/id/338
Importance: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Werner-Heisenberg