Max Planck, Kiel, and the beginning of the quantum era 
 

With Professor Dr. Michael Bonitz, Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel.

 The seminar will be held in English.

Abstract: 
The year 2025 has been designated „International year of Quantum Science and Technology" by UNESCO to inform the public about the revolution brought to science and everyday life by quantum theory. In fact, the year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Schrödinger equation - the mathematical foundation of quantum mechanics. At the same time, quantum physics was born 25 years earlier when Max Planck put forward his hypothesis about quantization of the energy of electromagnetic radiation. 

In this talk I will recall the status of physics at the end of the 19^th century when almost everybody thought that theoretical physics would be complete. This view was shattered by Planck in 1900, and I sketch his unusual path to his discovery that completely revolutionized science and technology - a revolution that is still ongoing. 

As a footnote, Planck was born in Kiel, held his first professorship at Kiel university, and throughout his life he maintained close ties to his hometown. I will close in describing our activities in Kiel towards creation of a science center for Planck and quantum physics.

Michael Bonitz's personal website. (external website).

Hybrid meeting

You can attend the Rydberg lecture hall at 15:15. Coffee and cake will be served from 15.00.
You can also join Mötesplats Rydberg online via the meeting tool Zoom:

Zoom-link to Mötesplats Rydberg.

This seminar is part of a series organised by Quantum in Lund in recognition of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). All seminars in the series are presented on the Quantum in Lund website.