Max Planck

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (* 23. April 1858 in Kiel; † 4. October 1947 in and that becomes as a founder Quantum theory (s. a central role in its work took.

In April 1885 those appointed Christian Albrechts university to Kiel Planck as an extra full professor for theoretical physics. Its annual salary was first at 2000 RM. Further work for the entropy and their application, mainly to questions of physical chemistry, followed. It supplied a thermodynamic reason for the electrolytic dissociation theory of Svante Arrhenius, which behaved however rejecting. Already in these Kieler time its work in critical argument with the atomic hypothesis took place.

In April 1889 Planck became the successor Kirchhoffs to Berlin appoint, probably through Helmholtzs Switching; starting from 1892 he was full professor. Its annual salary was now with 6200 RM (plus approximately 1000 RM of fees and percentages of profits).

1907 became Planck up Boltzmanns Chair in Vienna appoint; it rejected however and remained in Berlin, for which the citizens of Berlin studentses thanked it particularly with a torch/flare course. At the 1. October 1926 it was emeritiert, its successor was Erwin Schroedinger.

Family

In March 1887 Planck married the sister residents of Munich of a schoolmate, Marie Merck (1861-1909). The recent family lived in Kiel in the Wilhelminenstrasse 43 to the subtenancy in the house of a Carpenter. Four children came out from the marriage: Karl (1888-1916), the twins Emma (1889-1919) and Grete (1889-1917) and Erwin (1893-1945).

After the appointment to Berlin the family Planck lived in a mansion in the cheek home route 21, Berlin Grunewald. In the direct neighbourhood still numerous further professors of the citizens of Berlin university lived. The Planck messuage developed to a social and musical center; to the regular guests also further well-known scientists belonged how , and Lise Meitner. The tradition of common making music went already on that Helmholtz one House back.

After a number of lucky years the family life of Planck was met however by heavy strokes of fate: To 17. October 1909 died Marie Planck, possibly on Tuberkulose. In March 1911 Max Planck married his second Mrs. Marga von Hoesslin (1882-1948), in December his third son, gentleman man, was born.

During of the The First World War Planck's son Karl fell with Verdun, Erwin already turned out 1914 into French war shank. 1917 died Grete with the birth of its first child; the widower married on it its sister Emma, which however two years later in the same way died. Planck bore all this Ungluecke with stoischer fate devotion. The grandchild daughters survived and carried for their part again the names Grete and Emma.

In January 1945 finally became Erwin Planck because of participation in the failed Assassination attempt on Hitler from the Nazis murders.

University teacher in Berlin

In Berlin Planck of the citizens of Berlin joined physical society; over this time it wrote later: „I was the only theoretician actually at that time and had it therefore not so completely easily, because I came out with my entropy, and those was at that time not much likes, because it was a mathematical ghost“. On its initiative the society changed itself 1898 into those German physical society (DPG) over.

Planck read a sechssemestrige lecture to theoretical physics, "soberly, somewhat impersonally"after Lise Meitner, "using NO notes, more never making mistakes, never folding ring; the best lecturer I more ever heard"after an English listener (James R. Partington). Its listener number grew from 18 (1890) on 143 (1909). "There were always many standing around the room. As the lecture room which wave heated and CLOSE, some OF the listeners would from time ton of time drop ton the floor, but this did emergency disturb the lecture"(Partington). It did not justify an actual "school", altogether had it only about 20 graduate students, under it

Max Abraham 1897 (1875-1922)

Moritz mud 1904 (1882-1936)

Walther Meissner 1906 (1882-1974)

Max one of Laue 1906 (1879-1960)

Fritz realms 1907 (1883-1960)

Walter Schottky 1912 (1886-1976)

Walther Bothe 1914 (1891-1957)

The radiation law

Around 1894 Planck turned to the problem, that to the black body radiation Kirchhoff had already formulated 1859: As the achievement of the electromagnetic radiation hangs up, Black body (thus an ideally absorbing body, also cavity emitter mentioned) in the thermodynamic equilibrium radiates, from the frequency of the radiation (for example the color of the light) and from the temperature of the body off? The question was experimentally examined at the physical-technical institute for realm, but from classical physics the following Rayleigh Jeans law failed to explain the results of measurement for high frequencies. William Vienna a law had set up, which showed the results correctly with high frequencies (that Wien radiation law) failed, but with low frequencies.

Planck interpolated both laws using an entropy beginning and found thereby that Planck radiation law, which describes the results of measurement very well; it became for the first time in a meeting of the DPG to 19. October 1900 presented.

Already to 14. It could give a theoretical derivation of the radiation law to December 1900; in addition it had however the statistic mechanics of the Austrian physicist rejected from it Ludwig Boltzmann use. Each purely statistic view of the (the entropy in the course of the time never to therefore decrease can) was it contrary, since he regarded it axiomatically: „... an act of the despair... I was to each victim on mean past physical convictions ready...“. In the comparison to the fact was the acceptance that energy only in form of indivisible energy elements (quanta)

it was emitted (where <math>h</math> that Planck quantum of action and <math>\nu</math> the frequency of the radiation designates) nearly unimportant, "... a purely formal acceptance, I imagined actually not much thereby...“. Today this acceptance, which contradicts classical physics, becomes as birth that Quantum physics and as the largest scientific achievement of Planck regarded (it must be mentioned however that Ludwig Boltzmann in theoretical work already around 1877 completely naturally assumed that, the energy levels of a physical system could be discrete).

In the future Planck tried in vain to seize the sense of the energiequanten. „My futile attempts to integrate the quantum of action somehow the classical theory extended to a set of years and cost me to much work."other physicists, how Rayleigh, Jeans and Lorentz still year did not set later the quantum of action to zero, in order in contradiction to classical physics too turned out, but Planck knew exactly that the quantum of action has a very precise value differently from zero. „Jeans ' obstinacy is incomprehensible to me - it is the example of a theoretician, like it being is not, the same that Hegel was in philosophy. The more badly for the facts, if they are not correct."

wrote over Planck: „It was from nature and averse from revolutionary innovations after the tradition of its family conservatively, and sceptical against speculations. But its faith in the compelling strength of logical supported by facts thinking was so large that it did not zauderte, a statement, which all tradition contradicted, to express because it had convinced itself that no other way out was possible."

Relativity theory

Max Planck and

In the year 1905 the three innovative work up to then completely of the unknown appeared into that Annals of physics; Planck was one of the few, those immediately the meaning that recognized. Owing to its influence relativity theory in Germany became generally accepted soon. Planck made even also substantial contributions for the elaboration of special relativity theory.

The Einstein hypothesis of the light quanta, prepares by the 1902 of Philipp Lenard discovered photoelectric effect, Planck rejected against it; it was not ready, also still those Maxwell one To give up electrodynamics. „The theory of the light was back-thrown not around decades, but around centuries, into the time, there Christian Huygens its fight against the over-powerful emissionstheorie dared..."

1910 pointed Einstein to the abnormal behavior to that specific warmth at low temperatures as a further classically incomprehensible phenomenon. For clarifying the accumulated contradictions organized Planck and Nernst first Solvay congress (Brussels 1911), on which Einstein Planck finally could convince.

In the meantime Planck rector of the University of Berlin was to be gotten become, whereby it was possible for him, to Einstein to Berlin and to be furnished for him a new Professur (1914). They became soon good friends and made music together.

World war and Weimar Republic

At the beginning of the First World War Planck was not free from the general enthusiasm at that time: "... beside vielem terrible one nevertheless also much undreamt-of large and beautiful: The smooth solution of the most difficult questions relating to domestic affairs by the agreement of all parties... the higher valuation of all efficient one and genuine ones..."it contained of each exaggerated nationalism; thus the Prussian Academy of Sciences (Planck was one of their four constant chairmen) praemierte on his working 1915 an Italian work, although Italy followed straight the enemy. The notorious "communist manifesto of the 93 intellectual ones" nevertheless carries, a lampoon of war propaganda, also Planck's signature, while Einstein's strictly pazifistische attitude brought it nearly in the prison (before it only its Swiss nationality retained). Already 1915 recalled Planck however after several meetings also Lorentz Parts of the communist manifesto, 1916 he signed an explanation against German Annexionismus.

In confusions Planck, in the meantime highest authority of German physics, gave the slogan to the post-war period "Hold out and continue working"at its colleagues out. In October 1920 based Fritz Haber and it the "emergency community of the German science", which took care of aimed the promotion of the distressed research; the means originated to a substantial part from the foreign country. He dressed also prominent positions in the citizens of Berlin University of, the Prussian academy of the sciences, the German physical society as well as the emperor William company (KWG; the later Max-Planck company); under these circumstances hardly more was to be thought of own research.

Planck became member of the DVP, the party Stresemanns, the liberal goals relating to domestic affairs and rather revisionistic in the foreign policy pursued. It rejected and led the general right to vote later the Nazi dictatorship on "Come up the rule of the mass"back.

Quantum mechanics

The end of the 20's of Bore, Heisenberg and Pauli compiled Kopenhagener interpretation quantum mechanics rejected Planck, together with Schroedinger and Laue; also Einstein the conservative one now had become. Those Heisenberg one Stencil mechanics found Planck "horribly", those Schroedinger equation welcomed he like a release. It expected, which becomes wave mechanics the quantum theory, its own child, soon makes redundant. The science passed over its doubts. Also to it applied, which it had determined in recent years in the fight with the old person: „New scientific truth does not tend itself to intersperse in the way that its opponents are convinced and as didactically to explain itself, but thus that the opponents become extinct gradually and that the growing up generation is familiarly made with the truth from the beginning."

Nazi dictatorship and the Second World War

When 1933 the Nazis arrived at power, Planck was 74 years old. He had to experience, how Jewish friends and colleague from their offices were pushed and humiliated and how hundreds of scientists left Germany. Again he tried it with "Hold out and continue working"and emigrierwillige physicists asked not to go with which it partly successfully (as for example in the case Heisenberg) was.

fragte Planck, ob man nicht eine Anzahl anerkannter deutscher Professoren für einen gemeinsamen Appell gegen die Behandlung jüdischer Professoren zusammenbringen könne, worauf Planck antwortete: „If you bring today 30 together of such gentlemen, then comes tomorrow 150, who speak against it because they want to have the places of the others."in the case Fritz Habers tried Planck, even directly Hitler to intervene - naturally completely in vain. Haber died 1934 in the exile. One year after organized Planck in its function as a president of the KWG (since 1930) stubbornly a memory celebration for Haber. He made possible it also for a set of Jewish scientists to work for some time of far on institutes of the emperor William company. 1936 ended Planck's KWG presidency, on urge of the Nazis did it without it, to the re-election to place itself.

Gradually the political climate was intensified. Johannes strong, representatives "Ari physics"and president of the physical-technical institute for realm, insulted Planck in a SS magazine, Sommerfeld and Heisenberg as "white Jews" and polemisierte against entire theoretical physics. The "principal office science" examined Planck's origin, obtained however only the miserable result, it is Jewish to a Sechzehntel.

1938 celebrated Planck its achtzigsten birthday: During the official ceremony of the DPG that French physicists became Louis de Broglie the Max-Planck medal lent, in the middle in the apron of a new war. Planck received about 900 congratulations, which he answered all personally and individually.

At the end of of 1938 became the academy coordinated, Planck withdrew from protest. It undertook still numerous lecture journeys despite its high age, thus 1937 in the Baltic with the famous lecture "Religion and natural science", and still he mounted 1943 in the vacation in the alps several Dreitausender.

During of the The Second World War Planck had Berlin due to the air war to leave and on a property at the Elbe to resettle. it wrote 1942: „The burning desire grew me to through-be entitled and so for a long time live the crisis, until I will be able to see the turning point, the beginning to an ascent“. In February 1944 its house in Berlin was completely destroyed by air raid. In the last war weeks turned out it and its wife also at the Elbe between the fronts of the advancing allied ones. Finally it was brought after end of war to a niece to Goettingen.

Late years

Following the end of war from Goettingen the emperor William company was again developed; British crew power insisted on another name, and so (starting from February 1948) those finally developed Max-Planck company. Planck took over formally again the presidency.

Despite increasing health problems Planck undertook again lecture journeys. it took 1946 as only invited Germans at the celebrations of the Royal Society to 300. Birthday part. To 4. October 1947 died Planck at the consequences of a fall and several impact accumulations.

Medal and honors

"Pour le Mérite" for sciences and arts 1915 (starting from 1930 was Planck chancellor of this medal)
Nobelpreis for physics for 1918 (1919 lent)
Eagle sign of the German Reich (1928)
Max-Planck medal (1928, together with Einstein; this price was donated 1928 of the DPG)
Planck was an honour doctor of the Universities of Frankfurt, Munich (TH), Rostock, Berlin(TH), Graz, Athens, Cambridge, London and Glasgow
The Asteroid NR. 1069 were called Planck in honours "Stella Planckia" (1938)
From 1957 to 1971 the official 2-DM-Muenzen of the Federal Republic showed counter-protects from Max Planck

Web on the left of

- quotations

Writings and lectures

Of the nature of the free will and other lectures, Fischer paperback publishing house, Frankfurt Main, 1990, introduction and appreciation of Armin Hermann, lektorat: J. Light courage friend, ISBN 3-596-10472-6, contents: Memories, for the history of the location of the physical quantum of action, Principle that small effect, natures of the light, Causal law and Free will, speech in that Prussian Academy of Sciences, of the nature of the free will, religion and natural science, Determinismus or indeterminism, illusory problems of the science, the sense and borders that accurate science, Bibliografie, proofs of the Erstdrucke.

Max Planck hear

Max Planck: Science and life, Original clay/tone photographs, 2-CD-Set, 105 minutes, 14 TRACKS, Booklet, 24 sides, ISBN 3-932513-45-2, supposé [ 1 ]

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Person data
NAME	Planck, Max Karl Ernst Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAME
SHORT DESCRIPTION	and that becomes as a founder Quantum theory
DATE OF BIRTH	23. April 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kiel
DYING DATE	4. October 1947
DYING PLACE