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An informed list of the most profound scientific developments of the 20th century is likely to include general relativity, quantum mechanics, big bang cosmology, the unraveling of the genetic code, evolutionary biology, and perhaps a few other topics of the reader's choice. Among these, quantum mechanics is unique because of its profoundly radical quality. Quantum mechanics forced physicists to reshape their ideas of reality, to rethink the nature of things at the deepest level, and to revise their concepts of position and speed, as well as their notions of cause and effect.
Although quantum mechanics was created to describe an abstract atomic world far removed from daily experience, its impact on our daily lives could hardly be greater. The spectacular advances in chemistry, biology, and medicine — and in essentially every other science — could not have occurred without the tools that quantum mechanics made possible. Without quantum mechanics there would be no global economy to speak of, because the electronics revolution that brought us the computer age is a child of quantum mechanics. So is the photonics revolution that brought us the Information Age. The creation of quantum physics has transformed our world, bringing with it all the benefits — and the risks — of a scientific revolution.
Unlike general relativity, which grew out of a brilliant insight into the connection between gravity and geometry, or the deciphering of DNA, which unveiled a new world of biology, quantum mechanics did not spring from a single step. Rather, it was created in one of those rare concentrations of genius that occur from time to time in history. For 20 years after their introduction, quantum ideas were so confused that there was little basis for progress; then a small group of physicists created quantum mechanics in three tumultuous years. These scientists were troubled by what they were doing, and in some cases distressed by what they had done. The unique situation of this crucial yet elusive theory is perhaps best summarized by the following observation: Quantum theory is the most precisely tested and most successful theory in the history of science. Nevertheless, not only was quantum mechanics deeply disturbing to its founders, today — 75 years after the theory was essentially cast in its current form — some of the luminaries of science remain dissatisfied with its foundations and its interpretation, even as they acknowledge its stunning power.
This year (2000) marks the 100th anniversary of Max Planck's creation of the quantum concept. In his seminal paper on thermal radiation, Planck hypothesized that the total energy of a vibrating system cannot be changed continuously. Instead, the energy must jump from one value to another in discrete steps, or quanta, of energy. The idea of energy quanta was so radical that Planck let it lay fallow. Then Albert Einstein, in his wonder year of 1905, recognized the implications of quantization for light. Even then the concept was so bizarre that there was little basis for progress. Twenty more years and a fresh generation of physicists were required to create modern quantum theory.
To understand the revolutionary impact of quantum physics one need only look at pre-quantum physics. From 1890 to 1900 physics journals were filled with papers on atomic spectra and essentially every other measurable property of matter, such as viscosity, elasticity, electrical and thermal conductivity, coefficients of expansion, indices of refraction, and thermo-elastic coefficients.
Although quantum mechanics was created to describe an abstract atomic world far removed from daily experience, its impact on our daily lives could hardly be greater. The spectacular advances in chemistry, biology, and medicine — and in essentially every other science — could not have occurred without the tools that quantum mechanics made possible. Without quantum mechanics there would be no global economy to speak of, because the electronics revolution that brought us the computer age is a child of quantum mechanics. So is the photonics revolution that brought us the Information Age. The creation of quantum physics has transformed our world, bringing with it all the benefits — and the risks — of a scientific revolution.
Unlike general relativity, which grew out of a brilliant insight into the connection between gravity and geometry, or the deciphering of DNA, which unveiled a new world of biology, quantum mechanics did not spring from a single step. Rather, it was created in one of those rare concentrations of genius that occur from time to time in history. For 20 years after their introduction, quantum ideas were so confused that there was little basis for progress; then a small group of physicists created quantum mechanics in three tumultuous years. These scientists were troubled by what they were doing, and in some cases distressed by what they had done. The unique situation of this crucial yet elusive theory is perhaps best summarized by the following observation: Quantum theory is the most precisely tested and most successful theory in the history of science. Nevertheless, not only was quantum mechanics deeply disturbing to its founders, today — 75 years after the theory was essentially cast in its current form — some of the luminaries of science remain dissatisfied with its foundations and its interpretation, even as they acknowledge its stunning power.
This year (2000) marks the 100th anniversary of Max Planck's creation of the quantum concept. In his seminal paper on thermal radiation, Planck hypothesized that the total energy of a vibrating system cannot be changed continuously. Instead, the energy must jump from one value to another in discrete steps, or quanta, of energy. The idea of energy quanta was so radical that Planck let it lay fallow. Then Albert Einstein, in his wonder year of 1905, recognized the implications of quantization for light. Even then the concept was so bizarre that there was little basis for progress. Twenty more years and a fresh generation of physicists were required to create modern quantum theory.
To understand the revolutionary impact of quantum physics one need only look at pre-quantum physics. From 1890 to 1900 physics journals were filled with papers on atomic spectra and essentially every other measurable property of matter, such as viscosity, elasticity, electrical and thermal conductivity, coefficients of expansion, indices of refraction, and thermo-elastic coefficients.
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