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Person: Schrödinger, Erwin

Erwin Schrödinger made important contributions to the development of Quantum Mechanics and received a Nobel prize in 1933.

Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):

• Schrödinger learnt English and German almost at the same time due to the fact that both were spoken in the household.
• Schrödinger graduated from the Akademisches Gymnasium in 1906 and, in that year, entered the University of Vienna.
• It was Fritz Hasenöhrl's lectures on theoretical physics which had the greatest influence on Schrödinger.
• On 20 May 1910, Schrödinger was awarded his doctorate for the dissertation On the conduction of electricity on the surface of insulators in moist air.
• In 1914 Schrödinger's first important paper was published developing ideas of Boltzmann.
• After being sent back to the Italian front, Schrödinger received a citation for outstanding service commanding a battery during a battle.
• In the spring of 1917 Schrödinger was sent back to Vienna and assigned to teach a course in meteorology.
• Schrödinger had worked at Vienna on radioactivity, proving the statistical nature of radioactive decay.
• They had become engaged in 1919 and Anny had come to work as a secretary in Vienna on a monthly salary which was more than Schrödinger's annual income.
• Schrödinger accepted instead an assistantship in Jena and this allowed him to marry Anny on 24 March 1920.
• During these years of changing from one place to another, Schrödinger studied physiological optics, in particular he continued his work on the theory of colour vision.
• Weyl was Schrödinger's closest colleague in his first years in Zürich and he was to provide the deep mathematical knowledge which would prove so helpful to Schrödinger in his work.
• The intellectual atmosphere in Zürich suited Schrödinger and Zürich was to be the place where he made his most important contributions.
• One week later Schrödinger gave a seminar on de Broglie's work and a member of the audience, a student of Sommerfeld's, suggested that there should be a wave equation.
• Within a few weeks Schrödinger had found his wave equation.
• Schrödinger published his revolutionary work relating to wave mechanics and the general theory of relativity in a series of six papers in 1926.
• Wave mechanics, as proposed by Schrödinger in these papers, was the second formulation of quantum theory, the first being matrix mechanics due to Heisenberg.
• as Schrödinger's monument and a worthy one.
• Schrödinger accepted an invitation to lecture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, leaving in December 1926 to give his lectures in January and February 1927.
• Sommerfeld was ranked in first place, followed by Schrödinger, with Born as the third choice.
• When Sommerfeld decided not to leave Munich, the offer was made to Schrödinger.
• Although he was a Catholic, Schrödinger decided in 1933 that he could not live in a country in which persecution of Jews had become a national policy.
• He spoke to Schrödinger about posts for one of his assistants and was surprised to discover that Schrödinger himself was interested in leaving Germany.
• Schrödinger asked for a colleague, Arthur March, to be offered a post as his assistant.
• To understand Schrödinger's request for March we must digress a little and comment on Schrödinger's liking for women.
• Anny had her own lover for many years, Schrödinger's friend Weyl.
• Schrödinger had been elected a fellow of Magdalen College.
• Soon after they arrived in Oxford, Schrödinger heard that, for his work on wave mechanics, he had been awarded the Nobel prize.
• In the spring of 1934 Schrödinger was invited to lecture at Princeton and while there he was made an offer of a permanent position.
• In 1935 Schrödinger published a three-part essay on The present situation in quantum mechanics in which his famous Schrödinger's cat paradox appears.
• In 1936 Schrödinger was offered the chair of physics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
• However the advancing Nazi threat caught up with Schrödinger again in Austria.
• From Rome, Schrödinger went back to Oxford, and there he received an offer of a one year visiting professorship at the University of Gent.
• After his time in Gent, Schrödinger went to Dublin in the autumn of 1939.
• During his last few years Schrödinger remained interested in mathematical physics and continued to work on general relativity, unified field theory and meson physics.

Born as the third choice. * When Sommerfeld decided not to leave Munich, the offer was made to Schrödinger. * Although he was a Catholic, Schrödinger decided in 1933 that he could not live in a country in which persecution of Jews had become a national policy. * He spoke to Schrödinger about posts for one of his assistants and was surprised to discover that Schrödinger himself was interested in leaving Germany. * Schrödinger asked for a colleague, Arthur March, to be offered a post as his assistant. * To understand Schrödinger's request for March we must digress a little and comment on Schrödinger's liking for women. * Anny had her own lover for many years, Schrödinger's friend Weyl. * Schrödinger's request for March to be his assistant was because, at that time, he was in love with Arthur March's wife Hilde. * Here Hilde became pregnant with Schrödinger's child. * On 4 November 1933 Schrödinger, his wife and Hilde March arrived in Oxford. * Schrödinger had been elected a fellow of Magdalen College. * Soon after they arrived in Oxford, Schrödinger heard that, for his work on wave mechanics, he had been awarded the Nobel prize. * In the spring of 1934 Schrödinger was invited to lecture at Princeton and while there he was made an offer of a permanent position. * The fact that Schrödinger openly had two wives, even if one of them was married to another man, did not go down too well in Oxford either, but his daughter Ruth Georgie Erica was born there on 30 May 1934. * In 1935 Schrödinger published a three-part essay on The present situation in quantum mechanics in which his famous Schrödinger's cat paradox appears. * In 1936 Schrödinger was offered the chair of physics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. * However the advancing Nazi threat caught up with Schrödinger again in Austria. * From Rome, Schrödinger went back to Oxford, and there he received an offer of a one year visiting professorship at the University of Gent. * After his time in Gent, Schrödinger went to Dublin in the autumn of 1939. * On the personal side Schrödinger had two further daughters while in Dublin, to two different Irish women. * During his last few years Schrödinger remained interested in mathematical physics and continued to work on general relativity, unified field theory and meson physics.

Born as the third choice. * When Sommerfeld decided not to leave Munich, the offer was made to Schrödinger. * Although he was a Catholic, Schrödinger decided in 1933 that he could not live in a country in which persecution of Jews had become a national policy. * He spoke to Schrödinger about posts for one of his assistants and was surprised to discover that Schrödinger himself was interested in leaving Germany. * Schrödinger asked for a colleague, Arthur March, to be offered a post as his assistant. * To understand Schrödinger's request for March we must digress a little and comment on Schrödinger's liking for women. * Anny had her own lover for many years, Schrödinger's friend Weyl. * Schrödinger's request for March to be his assistant was because, at that time, he was in love with Arthur March's wife Hilde. * Here Hilde became pregnant with Schrödinger's child. * On 4 November 1933 Schrödinger, his wife and Hilde March arrived in Oxford. * Schrödinger had been elected a fellow of Magdalen College. * Soon after they arrived in Oxford, Schrödinger heard that, for his work on wave mechanics, he had been awarded the Nobel prize. * In the spring of 1934 Schrödinger was invited to lecture at Princeton and while there he was made an offer of a permanent position. * The fact that Schrödinger openly had two wives, even if one of them was married to another man, did not go down too well in Oxford either, but his daughter Ruth Georgie Erica was born there on 30 May 1934. * In 1935 Schrödinger published a three-part essay on The present situation in quantum mechanics in which his famous Schrödinger's cat paradox appears. * In 1936 Schrödinger was offered the chair of physics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. * However the advancing Nazi threat caught up with Schrödinger again in Austria. * From Rome, Schrödinger went back to Oxford, and there he received an offer of a one year visiting professorship at the University of Gent. * After his time in Gent, Schrödinger went to Dublin in the autumn of 1939. * On the personal side Schrödinger had two further daughters while in Dublin, to two different Irish women. * During his last few years Schrödinger remained interested in mathematical physics and continued to work on general relativity, unified field theory and meson physics.

Born 12 August 1887, Erdberg, Vienna, Austria. Died 4 January 1961, Vienna, Austria.

View full biography at MacTutor

Tags relevant for this person:

Origin Austria, Prize Nobel, Physics

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@J-J-O'Connor

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References

Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:

1. O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive