Erwin Schrödinger (12.08.1887-4.01.1961) — an Austrian theoretical physicist, one of the creators of quantum mechanics. Born in Vienna. Graduated from the University of Vienna (1910). He worked at the universities of Vienna and Jena; in 1920 — 21 he was professor at the Higher Technical School in Stuttgart and at the University of Breslau, in 1921—27 — professor at the University of Zurich, in 1927 —33 at the University of Berlin, in 1933-36 at the University of Oxford, and in 1936 — 38 at the University of Graz. In 1941—55 — director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin, and from 1956 professor at the University of Vienna.
His main work was in statistical physics, quantum theory, quantum mechanics, general relativity and biophysics. Proceeding from de Broglie's ideas on matter waves and from Hamilton's principle, he developed (1926) a theory of the motion of microparticles — wave mechanics — on the basis of an equation (the Schrödinger equation) that plays the same fundamental role in atomic processes as Newton's laws in classical mechanics, and introduced for describing the state of a microscopic object the wave function, or ψ-function.
In 1926 he proved the equivalence of his wave mechanics and the matrix mechanics developed by W. Heisenberg, M. Born and P. Jordan. In 1926 he constructed quantum perturbation theory — an approximate method in quantum mechanics. He tried (1926) to represent a particle as a group of waves occupying a certain part of space and moving as a whole (the wave packet). For the creation of wave mechanics he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1933 (with P. Dirac). However, brought up in the traditions of classical physics, which rests on complete determinism, Schrödinger could not think in other categories and did not accept quantum mechanics as a completed theory. He was not satisfied by the dual description of microscopic objects in terms of waves and particles with a statistical interpretation of the waves, and he tried to construct a theory exclusively in terms of waves. This led him into a discussion with other leading physicists, in particular with N. Bohr. “If we are going to keep these damned quantum jumps, — Schrödinger once said in despair,— then I regret that I ever had anything to do with atomic theory!” Schrödinger's later research concerned the theory of mesons, thermodynamics, the nonlinear electrodynamics of Born — Infeld, and general relativity. In particular, he made several attempts to develop a unified field theory.
Schrödinger's interests were extremely varied: he did modelling in clay, wrote a book on Greek philosophy, investigated problems of genetics, and so on. A member of a number of academies of sciences and scientific institutions, a foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1934).
His main work was in statistical physics, quantum theory, quantum mechanics, general relativity and biophysics. Proceeding from de Broglie's ideas on matter waves and from Hamilton's principle, he developed (1926) a theory of the motion of microparticles — wave mechanics — on the basis of an equation (the Schrödinger equation) that plays the same fundamental role in atomic processes as Newton's laws in classical mechanics, and introduced for describing the state of a microscopic object the wave function, or ψ-function.
In 1926 he proved the equivalence of his wave mechanics and the matrix mechanics developed by W. Heisenberg, M. Born and P. Jordan. In 1926 he constructed quantum perturbation theory — an approximate method in quantum mechanics. He tried (1926) to represent a particle as a group of waves occupying a certain part of space and moving as a whole (the wave packet). For the creation of wave mechanics he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1933 (with P. Dirac). However, brought up in the traditions of classical physics, which rests on complete determinism, Schrödinger could not think in other categories and did not accept quantum mechanics as a completed theory. He was not satisfied by the dual description of microscopic objects in terms of waves and particles with a statistical interpretation of the waves, and he tried to construct a theory exclusively in terms of waves. This led him into a discussion with other leading physicists, in particular with N. Bohr. “If we are going to keep these damned quantum jumps, — Schrödinger once said in despair,— then I regret that I ever had anything to do with atomic theory!” Schrödinger's later research concerned the theory of mesons, thermodynamics, the nonlinear electrodynamics of Born — Infeld, and general relativity. In particular, he made several attempts to develop a unified field theory.
Schrödinger's interests were extremely varied: he did modelling in clay, wrote a book on Greek philosophy, investigated problems of genetics, and so on. A member of a number of academies of sciences and scientific institutions, a foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1934).