Great 20th century scientists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland brought incredible advances to physics, why there and not in other parts of the world?
When you study physics in high school or college, certain names start to feel familiar, sometimes difficult to pronounce, others not so much. Planck constant. Gaussian bell. Bernoulli’s theorem. Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Einstein’s special theory of relativity. Schrödinger’s wave equation (and his famous cat).
Many of these principles, constants and equations are named after their discoverer, and many of these great scientists who lived and worked in the early 20th century came from Germany, Austria and eastern Switzerland, so they were united by more than just language. , but a great cultural heritage.
In the 18th century, Prussia, a German state occupying present-day northern Germany and parts of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia, led the way in sponsoring Enlightenment thinking, an idea they had borrowed from France’s cultural and scientific leadership. . There were also large movements in the smaller states of Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and the Palatinate. The princes of these states carried out fiscal, administrative, judicial, educational, cultural and economic reforms in general.
These reforms bore fruit in the centuries that followed. Wagner’s music, Schiller’s poetry and Goethe’s works are some of the many lights that emerged in art and the humanities. Science in German soon followed this path of expansion, especially in physics, mathematics, chemistry and engineering. Before World War II, Germany was the country with the most Nobel Prize winners in scientific areas and the most prominent in the natural sciences.
The German language was an important scientific language from the late 19th century until the end of World War II. After the war, the careers of many scientific researchers and teachers, which had ended because of Nazism, led to the diaspora of these great minds. The American Operation Paperclip and the Soviet Operation Osoaviakhim captured many of the brilliant scientists who fled the horrors of war and Jewish persecution, and continued their careers in exile.
Here are some of the famous universities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria that have made important contributions to physics, along with some notable physicists who have worked in them:
Technical University of Munich
This university, very focused on engineering and technology, has already awarded several Nobel Prizes in Physics, such as Rudolf Mössbauer and Ernst Ruska.
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
It has a long history of excellence in physics and was the birthplace of many famous physicists, including Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg and Arnold Sommerfeld.
University of Heidelberg
With a great tradition in natural sciences, especially in physics, it gave the world physicists the stature of Philipp Lenard, discoverer of cathode rays, Walther Bothe and Wolfgang Ketterle, all awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
ETH Zurich
This Swiss university is one of the best in Europe for engineering and technology, with a strong focus on research. Among the most prominent physicists who worked on it are Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli.
Photograph: shepard4711
University of Zurich
It is known for its strong research programs in physics, especially in the areas of astrophysics and quantum optics. Notable physicists who worked there include Albert Einstein, who earned his doctorate there and worked at the university for several years in the early 20th century.
University of Vienna
This Austrian university has a long history of excellence in physics and was the birthplace of many famous physicists including Erwin Schrödinger, Lise Meitner and Wolfgang Pauli.
Polytechnic University of Vienna
It has a strong physics department focused on research in the areas of experimental physics, theoretical physics and biophysics. Among the most prominent physicists who worked there is Viktor Franz Hess, discoverer of cosmic rays and Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936.
We owe the work of these scientists countless advances that today save and improve lives, from the microelectronics that make computers possible to the magnetic resonance diagnostic machines in hospitals. they also receive constant homage every time a physics student, in any country in the world, mispronounces their surnames.
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