Max Born is known primarily for his fundamental work in the field of quantum mechanics. However, the scientist himself admitted that he never aspired to be a narrow specialist. Most of all, the physicist was interested not in specific theories, but in the philosophical basis of science.
From the biography of Max Born
The future physicist and one of the founders of quantum mechanics was born on December 11, 1882 in the Prussian city of Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland). Born's grandfather was one of the first in the country to receive the position of a district doctor, and his father was an embryologist, he headed a department at a local university. Max's mom died when the boy was only four years old. But from her, the son inherited a love of music.
Born began to receive education in an ordinary state educational institution - Kaiser Wilhelm's gymnasium. Here a lot of time was devoted to the study of the Greek language and Latin. Physics and mathematics were also taught. One day, Max and his comrades reproduced the famous Marconi's experiment in wireless communication.
Comprehending science
After graduating from the gymnasium course, Born, on the advice of his father, attended lectures on natural science. As a result, he opted for astronomy and mathematics. At the University of Göttingen, Born carefully recorded Gilbert's lectures and even got an assistant position from this famous scientist. Max was greatly interested in the seminar on elasticity, conducted by Klein.
After receiving his doctorate, Bourne had to serve in the army for a year. He tried to do science here too. Max was released from further service due to illness.
By that time, Born had already become familiar with Einstein's works on the theory of relativity. In 1912, the young scientist became assistant professor at the University of Göttingen. Literally a year later, he created a family: Hedwig Ehrenberg became his chosen one.
In 1914, Born moved to Berlin, where a suitable vacancy appeared for him. However, many of his plans were canceled by the outbreak of the world war.
Quantum Theory Developer
In the spring of 1919, Born took over as professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Two years later, he became the head of the Physics Institute of Göttingen. At first, Born focused on the study of solid state physics. But soon Max switched to another topic, which made physics famous. The stellar period in Born's life was the development of quantum theory.
Over the years, various formulations of the new theory were simultaneously in use. One of the directions was developed by Erwin Schrödinger. Another branch of research interested Born and his closest associates, among whom were Werner Heisenberg, Pascual Jordan, Wolfgang Pauli. It was Born who offered an original interpretation of the dual nature of light. He showed that the laws of physics at the level of the microworld are statistical and obey a probability distribution.
After the fascists came to power, Born was removed from scientific activity. He was forced to leave Germany and move to Cambridge. In subsequent years, Born traveled abroad more than once to give lectures and participate in scientific conferences. He did a great deal of pedagogical work, was engaged in scientific and literary creativity, and published many works on theoretical physics. Bourne is a Nobel Prize winner.
At all times, Born actively fought for peace, opposed militarism. Bourne is known as an outstanding public figure.
In 1953, the scientist returned to Germany with his family and settled near Göttingen. Here one of the greatest physicists of our time lived until his last days. Max Born passed away on January 5, 1970.
