Beyond uncertainty : Heisenberg, quantum physics, and the bomb
/ David C. Cassidy
- New York : Bellevue Literary Press , 2009.
- 480 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [411]-456) and index.
The early years -- The world at war -- The gymnasium years -- The battle of Munich -- Finding his path -- Sommerfeld's Institute -- Confronting the quantum -- Modeling atoms -- Channeling rivers, questioning causality -- Entering the quantum matrix -- Awash in matrices, rescued by waves -- Determining uncertainty -- Reaching the top -- New frontiers -- Into the abyss -- Social atoms -- Of particles and politics -- Heir apparent -- The lonely years -- A Faustian bargain -- One who could not leave -- Warfare and its uses -- A Copenhagen visit -- Ordering reality -- Professor in Berlin -- Return to the matrix -- One last attempt -- Explaining the project: Farm Hall -- Explaining the project: the world -- The later years.
Cassidy (natural sciences, Hofstra U.) has expanded upon his previous biography on Werner Heisenberg in this new book that explores this noted scientist's involvement with the development of the atomic bomb. The author uses previously unreleased material to document Heisenberg's complex relationship with the military and to detail his guilt for having participated in the project. This volume can be enjoyed by general readers familiar with history and physics, although some of the more technical discussions of quantum physics are quite complex.