Overview
- First English-language biography of Arnold Sommerfeld
- Written by an expert on the life of Sommerfeld, who has directed the edition of Sommerfeld's considerable correspondence with other physicists
- Chronicles the rise of atomic and quantum physics within the social and political context of the first half of the 20th century
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (15 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Sommerfeld left his mark in the history of mathematics, fluid mechanics, a number of physical subdisciplines and, in particular, as founder of a most productive "school" (Peter Debye, Wolfgang Pauli, Werner Heisenberg, Linus Pauling and Hans Bethe were his pupils, to name only the Nobel laureates among them). This biography is to a large extent based on primary source material (correspondence, diaries, unpublished manuscripts). It should be of particular interest to students who are keen to know more about the historical roots of modern science.
Sommerfeld lived through turbulent times of German history (Wilhelmian Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi period). His life, therefore, illustrates how science and scientists perform in changing social environments. From this perspective, the biography should also attract readers with a general interest in the history of science and technology.
Reviews
“Michael Eckert has written a remarkable biography of Arnold Sommerfeld (1868–1951) … . There is much that is new in Eckert’s extremely informative and readable biography of Sommerfeld. I recommend it highly.” (S. S. Schweber, Metascience, Vol. 24, 2015)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Michael Eckert studied physics at the Technical University of Munich and received his Ph.D in theoretical physics from the University of Bayreuth in 1979. He has dedicated his career to the history of physics.
Since 1981, Dr. Eckert has been engaged in several projects on the history of modern physics at the Deutsches Museum, Munich. He has authored and co-authored books and articles on such diverse specialties as the history of solid state physics, plasma physics, and fluid dynamics. This biography is the culmination of a long historical research endeavor on Arnold Sommerfeld at the Deutsches Museum that has included the editing of Sommerfeld's scientific correspondence in two volumes (2000 and 2004).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Arnold Sommerfeld
Book Subtitle: Science, Life and Turbulent Times 1868-1951
Authors: Michael Eckert
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7461-6
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-7460-9
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4614-7461-6
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 471
Number of Illustrations: 26 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour
Topics: Quantum Physics, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Mathematical Physics, Fluid- and Aerodynamics, Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory