Quantum Mechanics and Zurich
The 1925 formulation of quantum mechanics changed our understanding of reality, and continues to produce revolutionary technical developments to this day. Quantum mechanics predicts phenomena that contradict our intuition. For instance, small objects can be connected in such a way that the state of one object instantly affects the state of another. We find it difficult to accept these quantum mechanical phenomena because we largely perceive things using our senses, which are not relevant to quantum mechanics and can be described using classical physics.
In the 1920s, Zurich became a key centre for pioneering advances in theoretical physics, with researchers such as Erwin Schrödinger, Walter Heitler, Wolfgang Pauli and Gregor Wentzel playing a pivotal role in the early development of quantum physics.
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- Physics students in front of the ETH Institute of Physics, around 1920. Picture archive of ETH Zurich
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- Large lecture hall (PH 6c) in the old physics building at ETH Zurich, Lecture by Paul Scherrer, 1928, ETH Zurich image archive
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Exhibition
- The 1920's in cosmopolitan Zurich
- Quantum Mechanics and Zurich
- Erwin Schrödinger and Walter Heitler
- Wolfgang Pauli and Gregor Wentzel
- Wave or particle?
- Interference with itself
- Entanglement
- Superposition
- How do quanta get into mechanics?
- Everything out of focus
- Tunneling
- Nobel Prizes
- Technical Applications
- Research at UZH: Particle Physics
- Research at UZH: Condensed Matter