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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Copenhagen Network: The Birth of Quantum Mechanics from a Postdoctoral Perspective

The Copenhagen Network: The Birth of Quantum Mechanics from a Postdoctoral Perspective

Kojevnikov, Alexei

Paperback

Series: Springerbriefs in History of Science and Technology

Sports GeneralHistory & Philosophy of SciencePhysics

ISBN10: 3030591875
ISBN13: 9783030591878
Publisher: Springer
Published: Dec 3 2020
Pages: 126
Weight: 0.45
Height: 0.30 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
This book is a historical analysis of the quantum mechanical revolution and the emergence of a new discipline from the perspective, not of a professor, but of a recent or actual Ph.D. student just embarking on an uncertain academic career in economically hard times. Quantum mechanics exploded on to the intellectual scene between 1925 and 1927, with more than 200 publications across the world, the majority of them authored by young scientists under the age of 30, graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. The resulting theory was a collective product that no single authority could claim, but it had a major geographical nod - the Copenhagen Institute of Theoretical Physics - where most of the informal, pre-published exchange of ideas occurred and where every participant of the new community aspired to visit. A rare combination of circumstances and resources - political, diplomatic, financial, and intellectual - allowed Niels Bohr to establish this Mecca of quantum theory outside of traditional and more powerful centres of science. Transitory international postdoctoral fellows, rather than established professors, developed a culture of research that became the source of major innovations in the field. Temporary assistantships, postdoctoral positions, and their equivalents were the chief mode of existence for young academics during the period of economic crisis and post-WWI international tensions. Insecure career trajectories and unpredictable moves through non-stable temporary positions contributed to their general outlook and interpretations of the emerging theory of quantum mechanics.

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