Physics and Beyond: Encounters and Conversations

by Werner Heisenberg

Book Overview

Werner Heisenberg: Der Teil und das Ganze This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0006D5VMI
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The inspiration for contemporary pragmatism

Heisenberg's two philosophies: Physics and Beyond contains Heisenberg's most sophisticated statements of his philosophy of quantum theory, and is also a watershed inspiration for the contemporary pragmatist philosophy of science that prevails in academia today. The mutually contrary philosophies of Einstein and Bohr produced Heisenberg's two inconsistent philosophies of quantum theory. Bohr's influence resulted in Heisenberg's doctrine of closed-off theories in his "Notion of a 'Closed Theory' in Modern Science" in Heisenberg's book titled Across the Frontiers. Einstein's semantics of observation: The alternative, which is the contemporary pragmatist philosophy of science, is due to a conversation with Einstein as related in Heisenberg's "Quantum Mechanics and a Talk with Einstein (1925--1926)", the fifth chapter of this book. In this conversation Einstein told Heisenberg that it is the theory that decides what the physicist can observe. This view of the semantics of observation contradicts not only the views of Bohr and the positivists but also Heisenberg's own doctrine of closed-off theories. In the next chapter, "Fresh Fields (1926-1927)", Heisenberg described his implementation of Einstein's advice: Firstly he reconsidered the idea that what is observed in the cloud chamber is a trajectory, such that the theory that was deciding what is being observed is the Newtonian theory. Secondly using Einstein's thesis that the theory decides what can be observed, Heisenberg concluded that the processes involved in any experimental observation in microphysics must satisfy the laws of quantum theory. He then derived the mathematics of the uncertainty principle, in which the observations are governed by a limit that is a function of Plank's constant. Einstein's ontology for relativity: Heisenberg's re-interpretation is not only semantical but also ontological. He described as the "decisive" step in the development of special relativity, Einstein's rejection of Lorentz's distinction between "apparent time" and "actual time" in the interpretation of the Lorentz transformation equation, and Einstein's taking "apparent time" to be physically real time, while rejecting the Newtonian concept of absolute time as real time. Heisenberg's scientific realism: This is a realistic interpretation of relativity theory, and Heisenberg applied it to his quantum theory. Therefore instead of asking himself how he could express in the Newtonian mathematical scheme a given experimental situation, notably the Wilson cloud chamber experiment, Heisenberg asked whether only such experimental situations can arise in nature as can be described in the formalism of his matrix mechanics. The new question is a question about what can arise or exist in reality. Today academic pragmatist philosophers of science call this interpretative practice "scientific realism." And more... For more on Heisenberg Google my book titled History of Twentieth-Century Philosophy of S

Incredible Book. Mind in Motion of a Great Scientist.

Werner Heisenberg is the one great, if not provocative figures of the 20th. century Science. Famous for his Uncertainty Principle and formulation of Quantum Mechanics.Unfortunately, the two great great theories of the 20th. century science, quantum theory and relavity theory was formulated in Central Europe during the two World Wars. Heisenberg, born in 1901 was a witness to the World War I, World II and the Cold War.Heisenberg reflects this in detail. How does one deal with political chaos and diaster during the Hitler reign in Germany. He himself decided to stay in Germany. Bohr, Fermi, Einstein all fled Europe, he decided to stay. Enrico Fermi tells in 1939 "America is a bigger and freer country. Leave the ballast of the past, pettiness of the Old World, One can start anew in the New World."History will forever debate the Heisenberg of World War II.Part history, part science, but the most interesting is his encounters with the great scientist of the 20th century. Science you can learn from any textbook. Moreover, his emphasis on experiment, experiment data, experimental observation as basis for all science is important here.Written in "conversation" form, we meet and hear the great scientist of the 20th century. Sommerfeld was his teacher, Wolfgang Pauli his classmate. He fellow scientist Born, Neils Bohr, Enrico Fermi, Paul Dirac, Einstein and many other greats are here. This book makes them all human because they had to struggle to come "discover" science and the political diaster that engulfed Europe in the first half of 20th. century. Edward Teller "Mr. H-Bomb" was student of Heisenberg. All has to grapple with politics and history.This book should be back in Print. Book is the mind in motion of a great scientist. With discovery of atomic theory, the linking of science and politics is joined forever. Science can never just be science and politics just be politics. Unfornate but true. Knowledge renders power. No one is more "powerful" than scientist now and in the future. Once you know the "laws of nature", you then can be "master of nature".

An Introduction to Modern Physics

This is an absolutely fascinating book when read between thelines. Werner Heisenberg (best known for his uncertainty principle,but also remembered as one of the few truly great scientists who nevertheless swore allegiance to the Nazis) explains, in his own words, why his leadership of the German atom bomb project in WWII was morally defensible.Heisenberg was, in his moment of glory, in the unique position of being the intellectual better of both Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. He explains this at some length in his book, which consists of stilted, imaginary conversations he had or "would have had" with other scientists. According to Werner, he used his powerful intellect to deliberately mislead the Nazis and to thwart the German atom bomb project. If you believe this, you will also believe that he did it in order to "save German youth." It's a complex work in which Werner comes off as less than courageous.If you've ever felt intimidated by Heisenberg (and who wouldn't be?) you will appreciate Lindemann (the legendary mathematician) dismissing him as worthless. Also worth reading are Heisenberg's hopelessly antiquated views on biology, language, music and philosophy . . . you will feel better, because you know more than he ever did, even though he formalized quantum mechanics.This book is a good introduction to modern physics. It shows both the reasoning and the cultural context that led to this still-rather-dubious abstraction. Quantum mechanics is more comprehensible when you understand the characters who invented it.Heisenberg was a great thinker. His antiquated values serve as a reminder that one can be both brilliant and deluded at the same time.

The thought process of a physicist.

While it suffers from a somewhat "clunky" writing style, this book is extremely interesting. Heisenberg introduces the reader to his world. The reader learns of the thoughts that led to his discoveries, the process by which these discoveries were made, and, almost as a side-note, the reader is acquainted with Heisenberg as a person. A great deal of controversy has surrounded Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. For a long time many people did not accept it as true. Now that it has been largely accepted, there is still a great deal of difficulty in understanding it. This book will aid the non-scientist in getting a better idea of what it is all about and in understanding why it was necessary.