Abstract
It is an unusual pleasure to present Professor Heisenberg’s Chicago lectures on “The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory” to a wider audience than could attend them when they were originally delivered. Professor Heisenberg’s leading place in the development of the new quantum mechanics is well recognized by those who have been following its growth. It was in fact he who first saw clearly that in the older forms of quantum theory we were describing our spectra in terms of atomic mechanisms regarding which we could gain no definite knowledge, and who first found a way to interpret (or at least describe) spectroscopic phenomena without assuming the existence of such atomic mechanisms. Likewise, “the uncertainty principle” has become a household phrase throughout our universities, and it is especially fortunate to have this opportunity of learning its significance from one who is responsible for its formulation.
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Compton, A.H., Heisenberg, W. (1984). The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory. In: Blum, W., Dürr, HP., Rechenberg, H. (eds) Scientific Review Papers, Talks, and Books Wissenschaftliche Übersichtsartikel, Vorträge und Bücher. Gesammelte Werke / Collected Works, vol B. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61742-3_10
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