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Jürg Fröhlich - ETH Zürich: Institute for Theoretical Physics
Wednesday, July 16th , 2025
Zoom opens: 10:30AM DST
Seminar begins: 10:45AM DST
The Discovery of Quantum Mechanics in 1925 - a historical perspective
The epochal discoveries in Quantum Theory of the year 1925 are recalled. Some key ideas that led to the discovery of Matrix Mechanics by Heisenberg and Dirac are sketched. In particular, the main ideas underlying Heisenberg’s fundamental discovery of July 1925 are outlined. Some of the key technical/mathematical insights and advances in the evolution of Matrix Mechanics to Quantum Mechanics are mentioned; and it is argued that there is a need for a completion of the theory.