This biography of the theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951) is to a large extent based on primary source material. It chronicles the rise of atomic and quantum physics within the social and political context of the first half of the 20th century.

The subject of the book is a biography of the theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). Although Sommerfeld is famous as a quantum theorist for the elaboration of the semi-classical atomic theory (Bohr-Sommerfeld model, Sommerfeld's fine-structure constant), his role in the history of modern physics is not confined to atoms and quanta.
Sommerfeld left his mark in the history of mathematics, fluid mechanics, a number of physical subdisciplines and, in particular, as founder of a most productive "school" (Peter Debye, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Linus Pauling and Hans Bethe were his pupils, to name only the Nobel laureates among them). This biography is to a large extent based on primary source material (correspondence, diaries, unpublished manuscripts). It should be of particular interest to students who are keen to know more about the historical roots of modern science.
Sommerfeld lived through turbulent times of German history (Wilhelmian Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi period). His life, therefore, illustrates how science and scientists perform in changing social environments. From this perspective, the biography should also attract readers with a general interest in the history of science and technology.

First English-language biography of Arnold Sommerfeld Written by an expert on the life of Sommerfeld, who has directed the edition of Sommerfeld's considerable correspondence with other physicists Chronicles the rise of atomic and quantum physics within the social and political context of the first half of the 20th century Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Michael Eckert is a German physicist and science historian at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. He studied physics at the Technical University of Munich, graduating in 1976, and was awarded a doctorate in theoretical physics (models for the visual processes of invertebrates) at the University of Bayreuth in 1979. From 1981 to 1988, he worked at the Deutsches Museum, and from 1989 to 1995 was a lecturer at the Bayerischer Schulbuchverlag. From 1995 to 2000, he was a research associate at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and since 2001 has been working at the Research Institute for the History of Technology and Science at the Deutsches Museum. Eckert published a biography of Arnold Sommerfeld (and organized an exhibition about him at the Deutsches Museum), wrote a book about the Sommerfeld School of Atomic Physics and about the history of fluid mechanics, especially the school of Ludwig Prandtl, and dealt, among other things, with the history of solid-state physics and nuclear energy policy in Germany.

Klappentext

Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951) belongs with Max Planck (1858-1947), Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and Niels Bohr (1885-1962) among the founders of modern theoretical physics, a science that developed into a budding discipline during his lifetime. Sommerfeld witnessed many of the most dramatic scientific, cultural and political events of this era. His correspondence with his family offers a vivid testament to the challenges and joys of a life in science.

This biography attempts to reconstruct Sommerfeld's life and work not only from the perspective of his achievements in theoretical physics but also with the goal of portraying the career of a scientist within the social and political environment in which it evolved. It is based to a large extent on Sommerfeld's voluminous correspondence, which sheds light both on his private and scientific life. Furthermore, it provides an authentic view on the circumstances that shaped Sommerfeld's career in different places Königsberg, Göttingen, Clausthal, Aachen, Munich and in different institutional and disciplinary settings mineralogy, mathematics, engineering, physics. Although this biography is not a study of Sommerfeld's school, it also renders transparent what made this group of physicists so unique and gave its founder the aura of a charismatic teacher. This becomes particularly evident in the reverence with which he was received by his hosts during his travels all over the world travels that Sommerfeld perceived as cultural missions. International politics, personal zeal and scientific interests became closely entangled at such occasions. Such an entanglement is by no means uncommon in the history of science but it is rarely observed so persistently as in Sommerfeld's case.

Inhalt
Prologue.- Königsberg Roots.- Setting the Course.- Klein's Assistant.- Clausthal.- Aachen.- Munich.- Physics in War and Peace.- The Quantum Pope.- Wave Mechanics.- Cultural Ambassador.- Descent.- The Bitter Years.- Carrying On.- Legacy.- Epilogue.- Backmatter.