David Lindley Bücher

Seit über einem Jahrhundert hoffen Physiker, dem Heiligen Gral der modernen Wissenschaft näher zu kommen: einer einheitlichen Theorie, die die gesamte physikalische Welt erklärt, vom subnuklearen Bereich der Quarks und Gluonen bis hin zum Moment der Schöpfung des Universums. Dies ist eine Geschichte der Versuche, eine solche "Theorie von allem" zu finden.

Anschaulich und klar erzählt der Physiker und Journalist David Lindley, wie die Entdeckung der Unbestimmtheitsrelation durch Werner Heisenberg in den 1920er Jahren die bis dahin gültigen physikalischen Annahmen zum Einsturz brachte und unsere Sicht der Welt veränderte. Heisenbergs Entdeckung der Unschärferelation stellte jahrhundertelange physikalische Gewissheiten in Frage. Unbestimmtheit wurde Teil der physikalischen Realität, die zuvor von Präzision und Kausalitäten dominiert war. Diese Erkenntnis hatte weitreichende Folgen, die über die Physik hinausgingen und in Philosophie sowie Alltagskultur Einzug hielten. Während Albert Einstein vehement gegen Heisenbergs revolutionäre Einsicht opponierte, erkannte der dänische Physiker Niels Bohr deren Bedeutung. Lindley lässt die Irritation und Faszination lebendig werden, die von dieser bedeutenden naturwissenschaftlichen Entdeckung des letzten Jahrhunderts bis heute ausgeht. Die Darstellung behandelt einen Meilenstein der physikalischen Erkenntnis im 20. Jahrhundert, der unsere Sicht auf die Welt und das wissenschaftliche Denken grundlegend veränderte, und bietet eine für Laien verständliche Erklärung der Heisenberg’schen Ideen sowie spannende Einsichten in die Wechselbeziehung zwischen Naturwissenschaften und populärer Kultur.

For over a century physicists have hoped that they were closing in on the Holy Grail of modern science: a unifying theory that would make sense of the entire physical world, from the subnuclear realm of quarks and gluons to the very moment of creation of the universe. This is a history of the attempts to find such a "theory of everything". Illustrated.

The Tempest is a strange and elusive play; which critics have interpreted in very different ways: as a drama of forgiveness and reconciliation, as an exploration of the limits of theatrical art, or as a play complicit with colonial exploitation. Prospero's island is a fearful yet enchanting place; a place suffused with music, and its storm, disappearing banquet and elaborate betrothal masque demand imaginative stagecraft. Stratford productions have steered their way through the play's complex, even contradictory potential, in fascinatingly varied fashion, and Daivd Lindley explores that variety both as evidence of the evolution of theatrical styles, and as a response to the changing critical fortunes of the play.

The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.—Werner HeisenbergThat God would choose to play dice with the world is something I cannot believe.—Albert EinsteinNothing exists until it is measured.—Neils BohrThe remarkable story of a startling scientific idea that ignited a battle among the greatest minds of the twentieth century and profoundly influenced intellectual inquiry in fields ranging from physics to literary criticism, anthropology and journalismIn 1927, the young German physicist Werner Heisenberg challenged centuries of scientific understanding when he introduced what came to be known as “the uncertainty principle.” Building on his own radical innovations in quantum theory, Heisenberg proved that in many physical measurements, you can obtain one bit of information only at the price of losing another. Heisenberg’s principle implied that scientific quantities/concepts do not have absolute, independent meaning, but acquire meaning only in terms of the experiments used to measure them. This proposition, undermining the cherished belief that science could reveal the physical world with limitless detail and precision, placed Heisenberg in direct opposition to the revered Albert Einstein. The eminent scientist Niels Bohr, Heisenberg’s mentor and Einstein’s long-time friend, found himself caught between the two.Uncertainty chronicles the birth and evolution of one of the most significant findings in the history of science, and portrays the clash of ideas and personalities it provoked. Einstein was emotionally as well as intellectually determined to prove the uncertainty principle false. Heisenberg represented a new generation of physicists who believed that quantum theory overthrew the old certainties; confident of his reasoning, Heisenberg dismissed Einstein’s objections. Bohr understood that Heisenberg was correct, but he also recognized the vital necessity of gaining Einstein’s support as the world faced the shocking implications of Heisenberg’s principle.

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A portrait of the Austrian physicist goes back to the turn of the century, when the existence of the atom was still largely theoretical and two men, Ludwig Boltzmann and Ernst Mach, competed for accolades amid a growing field of scientists.