I am quite sorry about my mispronunciations of words in this video. I have an audio processing issue that makes it very difficult to pronounce words that are unfamiliar to me and even listening to it Multiple times does not help. I meant no disrespect.
@@Supergravity He did what the vast majority of humans do when faced with self-preservation and the promotion of oneself. I see it every day. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. - Senator Robert Francis Kennedy
I just got home from the Oppenheimer film and i was curious about life and decisions of Heisenberg in the events of WW2. Thank you for this video!! It is only just now that i have discovered this channel and as a student of physics and a history geek myself, this channel is perfect❤❤
Same here but I didn't see the movie and I'm not really interested in it to be honest. I feel they're just going to holywoodize the events. Was it an accurate movie? Anyway, I love history and physics so I also subscribed. I'm a bit saddened to learn that men who were like heroes to me were either indifferent or sympathetic to Nazis.
I decided not to see the movie Oppenheimer! Baby Boomer here! I feel like I know all too much about the threat of Nuclear War! I remember jumping under my school desk , wearing Dog Tags in October 1962 / Cuban Missile Crisis! My father was a former US Naval officer and scientist. Dad help build the very first Atomic Reactors for Submarines/Admiral Rickover's program! Dad wore a RADIATION BADGE to work every single day! Even as a little child , I knew how DANGEROUS Nuclear war would be if it ever happened! I vowed to NEVER have any children because "Nobody will ever FRY my children "! No regrets! Absolutely no regrets! Instead I worked to help educate people on the dangers of Nuclear War/ Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign 1980's! I also read the excellent book Killing Our Own by Harvey Wasserman! I remember Three Mile Island , Chernobyl and Fukushima! 🤔🤔🤯🤯🤯🤯🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊
@@GizmoMaltese I'm not an expert about Oppenheimer's life, but from what I've read, the only inaccurate thing about the movie is that it portrayed Oppenheimer as more regretful of having contributed to the creation of the nuclear bomb than he actually was
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics It's a rather simple answer. He wasn't a rabid antisemite, most Germans weren't, but he was a German nationalist and anticommunist who had even helped the Freikorps put down the opportunistic Bolshevik uprisings in the aftermath of WW1. He viewed Stalin's regime is an evil which necessitated a strong Germany. It doesn't make him insane or racist by default.
Ahh the whole everybody is racist so no one is racist defense. I never said he was an antiSemite. I said that the slaughter of most of his friends and their families wasn’t a deal breaker as long as he got to be a 1st class citizen. And he wasn’t worried about the Russians getting a bomb, in fact he debated with Weisacker after the war whether the Russians would be better for him or English/Americans. So he was no brave fighter against Stalin.
I just discovered this channel and it's my favourite history channel because the narrator really knows how to put together a gripping story. AND, she's offering some of her own insight instead of just regurgitating facts. She's trying to explain what's going on through the heads of each individual during these pivotal moment sin history. What a great channel!!!
It's hard to believe this is my first time hearing about this side of Heisenberg. Previously when I heard his name, I always thought of QM in the 1920s. I never bothered to research what his life was like in the following decades. That letter from Schrodinger is also very disappointing. I thought he was opposed to the nazi regime.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics : Of course Schrodinger wrote that note to the Senate of the University. It was supposed to be private. The Nazis installed a new Rector (Reichelt) at his University who warned him of the fate ('cleansing') that awaited politically unreliable academics and advised him to put his excuses in writing. Bear in mind Schrodinger faced a more general threat. Von Laue was protected by senior Generals in the Heer, and Heisenberg by his family connections with Himmler; Schrodinger had no such insurance; at that time he was surveilled by the Gestapo. Also his house in Graz was searched. Little did poor little Erwin know that his 'confession' would be leaked to the papers! The Graz Tagespost in particular made a meal of it. But as Schrodinger's American biographer observed, Schrodinger did NOT - as was normal - end with 'Heil Hitler'.
The 'Confession" shown eight minutes into the clip shows (at 8:00) only that the man was under threat of life and livelihood. Now, one could justly accuse Schrodinger - and Heisenberg - of cowardice. Schrodinger even admitted it in a letter to Einstein dated July 19th, 1939; hoping Einstein would not judge him too harshly. He also remarked, "I wanted to remain free - and could not do so without great duplicity', so can legitimately be accused of lying. That said, I don't know that my moral courage would have been up to the test either.
To be fair to Schrödinger he was in a very difficult position and was in danger of getting killed by the regime. He did later privately apologise to his friend Einstein for what he said.
I know that Heisenberg always wanted to live and work in his homeland Munich, and he achieved it after WWII. There is people that just can't abandon their land.
@@Joseph-fw6xxThe video itself sites sources where it is clearly stated that Heisenberg was pretty much Nazified during WW2 and did share many of the Third Reich’s ideas. He wasn’t just a patriot who stayed out of his love for Germany.
Great video! Well researched and put together. And you’re very comfortable in camera. You just earned a subscriber, and I look forward to your future videos!
It is perhaps the most hard of your stories to watch. You are so good I in a sense felt I was in Germany at this time. I knew some of this before but it is not his finest hour and I can’t deny his genius but his legacy will always be entangled with his lack of empathy that is certain. Retrospect it’s easy for me to judge him. But as mentioned the uncertainty principle father is a truly paradox of uncertainty. Nice comments. At in my part of the world we could use more of that.
Like many physicists of his time and after, he was a political fool! Some comfort may lie in the fact that many bright people are politically idealistic. They let themselves be tools of their governments. Some do it for prestige; some do it because they were raised in the mythologies that governments propagate in schools.
German - Swiss American here ! Teacher, 37 years! It is always a good idea to Question Authority! ALWAYS! FASCISTS just want you to blindly follow and obey ! IMHO! 🤔🤯🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Keep in mind that he founded a marriage and a familiy in the WWII gap. He did the bare minimum for staying fine, and yes, Heisenberg lacked of empathy to thirds apart from his family, but he was also a victim of a dictatorship, playing a role he didn't want for survival (the proof is that he got depressed the rest of his life after WWII, not proud of his actions certainly). His patriotism and love for his homeland led him to this defensive status.
Just discovered this channel as I wanted to know more about Heisenberg. Just subscribed! Your presentation is engaging, fun and full of information! Hoping you've done loads of these!
Yes, well, it's even harder for native english speakers, there's a hard 'ts' after the 'p'. I did not immediately recognize what she meant. Though, fun fact, in the old books Leipzig is referenced in latin as 'Lipsia'.
Excellent video. Just a margin note, the fact that Lise Meitner did not receive the Nobel Prize is a disgrace of rank. An example of the policy of appeasement in Sweden.
@@gpwgpw555 this is not entirely correct, although several german physicists won the prize during that period and for good reasons. No prizes were awarded between 1940-1942.
Meitner's American biographer looked into this with other experts, when the Nobel archives were unsealed. Their joint verdict: "Meitner's exclusion from the chemistry award may well be summarized as a mixture of disciplinary bias, political obtuseness, ignorance, and haste." Appeasement, if any, was not a substantial contribution.
I just discovered your channel. A great channel. I have not watched the next video yet (it's past midnight here), but Teller suggested in an interview that Heisenberg was dragging his feet on German bomb development. Perhaps this is an indication that Heisenberg was warning Bohr and the rest of the world (to motivate them to hurry up) in what he said at the meeting in Denmark.
I have read this from various sources and came to the same conclusion. Unlike what many of these unread viewers watching this video may suggest "as being disappointed in Heisenberg" for staying in Germany. He was not there for the Nazis or any political movement. He could do more in theoretical physics staying in Germany as the top physicist. He had more power in Germany and could be more of an influence there than outside of it. Heisenberg delaying the bomb is a far more powerful position than being on the outside (with less resources and advancement) racing against the top physics community at the time.
As a student of physics and history myself I think it is important to say that Heisenberg did exactly what he said was the reason he did not leave Germany. He said " after all this war and tragedy is over, there still should be science in Germany and how could this be if everyone left" He was not blaming people that left and contemplated it himself (see his talk with Planck). After the war he was one of the founding fathers of what is now known as the Max Planck society. We never know if his intentions of the uran club were bad (trying to develop the bomb) or good (trying to derail or slow down all efforts).
Why would developing the bomb be bad? Were the people who developed the bombs in the US and Soviet Union respectively bad people? Were they operating under different motivations from him?
Why would being the first to develop a bomb slow down making a bomb? The Americans only put money into it when they realized 2 years after Heisenberg started that they were stockpiling Uranium and Plutonium. If Heisenberg was forced to work on the bomb (which he never claimed instead saying he volunteered) and wanted to derail it, why not just ask for a lot less Uranium? He could have single-handedly stopped the Manhattan Project before it started. And still been treated like a rock star by the Nazi’s (trips to Switzerland and Paris and used as PR in occupied counties.) Planck kept science in Germany. And didn’t lose his humanity in the process. That is why Lise Meitner said that “no one did more to fight Hitler than this 80 year old man” and that “they should force Heisenberg and people like him to see what they have done [in the camps] for themselves. What Heisenberg did in Copenhagen is unforgivable” (mind you, that letter was before the bomb, she was talking about Heisenberg promoting the Nazis publicly in 1941.
Yes they were. The US scientists were trying to build a bomb before Hitler got one and became ruler of the world. Heisenberg was trying to make a bomb so he could be a 1st class citizen in Nazi Germany (and he would have been fine if he had refused by saying it wasn’t possible- Otto Hahn didn’t work on the bomb and he was totally fine).
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics wow you claim that all this is proven? What happened in Copenhagen was never totally clear. I am not saying that Heisenberg did not have the intention to build a bomb. I am just saying we just do not know the facts are not clear.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics The Germans were definitely not stockpiling plutonium in WW2 - they had no means of producing it. They did do their best to stockpile natural uranium and to chemically and metallurgically purify it into reactor grade material. But, due to the division of their limited stocks of reactor grade uranium and heavy water between different competing research groups, I don't think they could ever have made a working atomic pile
What an enigmatic man. Who ever really knew what was going on in that mind of his. And to me, a great shame that he goes down in history with a question mark over his name.
I dont think there is any question mark he was just arrogant german supremist. There is no question about it. He was genuienly suprised that someon secceed where he failed. So there was not any secret code in what he said to Bohr.
@@niznizam I haven' seen Israel or India invade 11 countries, like Germany did (and 2 wars)....and kill 50-70 million people (2.5 % of the population at the time)....there are other countries much worse than India or Israel
@@javierderivero9299 so you are saying that Hitler is considered evil bec he invaded 11 countries and not because of his treatment of the Jews in Germany? If he hadnt invaded the other countries, he wouldnt be called such a person as he is considered now?
When I was a youngster living in Wurzburg , Heisenberg’ a hometown, I read his book - Physics and Beyond - a good intro book into the philosophy and science of early 20th century physics
Schrodinger demonstrated equivalence of both methods in his 1926 paper “On the Relation between the Quantum Mechanics of Heisenberg, Born, and Jordan, and that of Schrodinger” He wrote “the very intimate inner connection between Heisenberg’s quantum mechanics and my wave mechanics will be disclosed. From the formal mathematical standpoint one might well speak of the identity of the two theories “
At first I thought you were saying that all my words were "blah blah blah" and I was offended. But then I remembered that I did say "blah" and I am glad that you found it so amusing.
A very convincing lecture. You mention "a fantastic biography that you can find here", but this link is now private. Can you give us the biography's full title?
I saw the movie Copenhagen before I saw your video. I got the impression that H could have ( and had the smarts ) to bring the bomb to fruition but was missing a key fact ( that he was trying to get from Bohr ) or he just stalled long enough to prevent the research from coming the awful result. I don’t know but it makes for a scary scenario that one person prevented Germany from having the bomb. Maybe I’m off base here but it does seem possible. Thanks for the video.
The Nazis had several uranium projects most of which fought each other. None took the notion of a bomb seriously for long, believing it impossible for either Axis or Allies - not least because isotope separation was so difficult. Heisenberg in particular worked on developing a reactor only, believing this worthwhile in its own right and also being the only way to, long term, developing a (plutonium) bomb. The very brief period when (some of) the Nazi scientists took bomb development seriously included the moment when Heisenberg met Bohr.
That is the real conundrum. And we usually pretend it isn’t true by either denigrating the science (like with Phillip Lenard) or pretending that the person wasn’t really illogical and craven when faced with moral tests like Heisenberg.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics so cool that you responded! I'm a huge fan! I've been binge watching all of your videos. I especially enjoyed the ones with George Westinghouse. I've also become a huge Westinghouse fan!
Not really, more than 80% of scientists have asberger ( this is the future of mankind) otherwise they cannot sit still sufficiently long time to learn science. Average IQ of asbergers is 120 but social knowledge is emotional not intellectual.
Puzzles me too. I think we underestimate the fact that scientists are, to a significant extent, susceptible to the same confirmation bias and belief in pseudoscientific gobbledegook as the rest of us. Just look at the stuff that Nobel winners like James Watson and William Shockley swore by. Disappointing.
Why focus solely on Heisenberg when talking about Hitler and the Atomic bomb, without mentioning Erich Schumann and Kurt Diebner? From what I know, I would say Heisenberg delayed the development of the Atomic bomb, managing to dilute scarce resources between two competing approaches when it came to critical scientific research. After the war, Heisenberg was investigated by the allies, them realizing, that despite the war, he had everything to theoretically build a bomb. I believe he had good reasons for not wanting Hitler to be the first to get an atomic bomb. And he managed it accomplish it without turning the Nazis against him. He was clearly more smarter than he made others think and I certainly cannot imagine how he must have felt during those years. Ask yourself: what, how and why would you do to successfully stop Hitler from getting the Atomic bomb, if you were in the position of Heisenberg during the war?
You have a unique storytelling ability combined with great scientific knowledge. I wonder if you are aware of the Princeton graduate and professional baseball player, Moe Berg, who acted as a spy for the U.S . He attended Heisenberg's Zurich lecture, armed with a gun. Wikipedia: "At the beginning of December, news about Heisenberg giving a lecture in Zürich reached the OSS. Berg was assigned to attend the lecture and determine "if anything Heisenberg said convinced him the Germans were close to a bomb." If Berg concluded that the Germans were close, he had orders to shoot Heisenberg; Berg determined that the Germans were not close.[45] During his time in Switzerland, Berg became close friends with physicist Paul Scherrer. Berg resigned from the OSS after the war, in January 1946."
Thank you very much for this clear narrative. Indeed a brilliant man, I still remember attending a full house lecture on "particle zoo" at Kane Hall, UW, Seattle, by Heisenberg fifty years ago ...
Thank you for the wonderful Video, but a small erratum if I may: at 4:30 you misspelled Schrödinger's name as Shrödinger. As a general rule, the sound represented by "Sh" in English is always spelled "Sch" in German. Don't ask why, no one knows, not even us Germans ourselves :)
Most enlightening. Thanks for your deep digging and presentation. Heisenberg is no longer the hero I thought him to be. Pragmatism can kill. How does it go? 'When good men turn their back on evil..."
You can always accept the good being offered. And not all events in history are pure good vs evil. For Ex: People in UK consider Churchill as war hero, while the same individual is seen as mass murderer in Bengal.
@@Kathy_Loves_PhysicsI think you are viewing him from an American perspective. To leave everyting behind you treasure because your country is ruled by a regime is not an easy decision to make. It seems to me like you paint him in a bad light just for staying and living in Germany, because Germany at the time was „bad“ and in consequence working there must be too. In the end there was no greater ramification and he did indeed help the physics community during those times, even if he had to compromise with the people in power. You in return judge him for not abondoning everything he worked for. It seems like the historic arrogance of those looking back. He himself in the Interviews he gave in german was not a narcissitic person to think himself the center of german science. Please consider a more factual approach.
Sadly, scientists selling out to their political and corporate masters despite their agenda is nothing new. It's typical self preservation. Something that has driven me away from an interest/focus in the people behind great ideas/insights and made me focus more on the ideas by themselves. History is still fascinating though, thanks for the video!
This man reminds me of Robert Lee in the civil war. He was for Germany as Robert Lee was for his home state. Both were caught between wars for the wrong reasons but were very strong about their convictions in their home territories. How many today would think Robert Lee was a traitor to the United States? Thank you for your videos because other countries ignore their history.
Thank you for this revealing presentation. Heisenberg and Schrodinger don't come out looking very good after it. Being great at physics doesn't imply being smart about politics or ethics.
Heisenberg did not work against a German A Bomb. He told Speer that the bomb could not be ready before the end of the war and the manpower was better used to support the war effort.
I stopped watching halfway. Stop presenting your own value judgements on events and just present the facts and let the viewer decide how to interpret the facts.
As an atomic spectroscopist, these names are all familiar but I never bothered to examine the history behind those names. You inspired me to look up Johannes Stark since some past research involved his "effect" as well as all the others ... Bohr, Heisenberg, etc. So thanks!!
It is drawing a very long bow to tarnish the names of either Heisenberg or Schrodinger with enlisting in the same cause as the Nazis. My touchstone in this regard is Bernstein's book on the Farm Hall transcripts, with some reservations. His view is that Heisenberg - and all the others of the Uranverein - no matter how venal their behaviour, really did not believe Germany capable of building a bomb, nor for that matter the Allies. Heisenberg's behaviour, flailing around in a confusion of untenable positions, rather resembles a man caught in a classic double bind, damned no matter what his choices.
This was a great walk through history. I really think that the Oppenheimer movie missed out by not including this side of the story. It would have given the story a lot more context. Great job of storytelling.
She's done a lot of heavy lifting in order to make a video like this. I know Kathy does excellent science videos, yet I am finding this groove she's on about science, personalities, and mid 20th century world events to be spellbinding. Really liked her one about Ohm, as well.
Seeing as how Germany was not close to developing the atomic bomb, as it was later discovered, I opine that Heisenberg may have been looking to recruit Bohrs to change sides or at least find out whatever nuclear secrets he could find. I think Heisenberg was a closet scoundrel. Your videos are very informative and have changed my overall thinking on this topic- thanks!
First of all, thanks for a great video. It definitely filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Second, I don't think it would have mattered how committed WH was, or why he blabbed to Bohr. Compared to Los Alamos, the German effort was puny. Third, I wish you'd work out (if only for your own credibility) how to pronounce European placenames and peoples' names. It's not that hard. Finally, I hope in your follow-up video, you talk about the Farm Hall conversations. I would be interested in your take.
Bohr knew that Heisenberg was going to drag his feet until the Nazi defeat. However, there were other Nazi efforts to develop the bomb. The first culminated in a massive liquid oxygen and coal dust bomb salted with a nuclide 'serum', delivered on a tank body sans-turret. It produced an explosion equivalent to the Hiroshima bomb. One was used against the Soviets. Stalin panicked. The second effort produced the first real a-bomb, also demonstrated (near the Baltic coast) to Japanese diplomats. Of course their coded message home was read by the Americans (and the Brits?). Churchill threatened Hitler with a carpet of anthrax bombs recently 'perfected' by the US. In any event Hitler declined to use it as he saw it as an Armageddon bomb. Around this time, IMHO, the SS saw their chance to escape the coming defeat by arranging an exchange: Safety for the SS 'machine' plus thousands of elite Nazi scientists (Project Paperclip) in the US for 530 Kg U235 (wrapped in Au) plus the trigger technology that the Americans were unable to develop. The A-materiel was delivered by a U-boat (U234) to the US Navy (near the Grand Banks) as soon as the order came for all U-boats to surrender. It is said that the Hiroshima bomb was an actual German device used because the Americans had warned the gov't in May 1945 that they wouldn't have enough U235 for even a test device by the date required (because they were putting more effort on their Pu design?). FYI: The Imperial Navy had the Japanese A-bomb finished at their N Korean facility just days before their surrender. They unofficially detonated it near a N Korean island just to see if it would actually work. It was 'in the papers; in 1953, since memory-holed? Without the Nazis, the Americans get the bronze.
@@malcolmlugg9843 I agree. I think it is clear that the Germans never developed productions plants capable of enriching natural uranium to military grade. They did manage to chemically purify natural uranium to reactor grade. If the submarine U234 was carrying a consignment of the latter when it surrendered to the US, it would have been useful to the US program, either a fuel for the Hanford piles or as raw material for enrichment at Oak Ridge.
![Bohr Model: A Delightful History [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8IIg4Qt_qv4/mqdefault.jpg)
This is the exact moment Walter became Himmlerberg
Giggle giggle snort
😂😂😂
yep.. this is why I scroll down
Why do I want a hamburger 🍔
Say his name
I am quite sorry about my mispronunciations of words in this video. I have an audio processing issue that makes it very difficult to pronounce words that are unfamiliar to me and even listening to it Multiple times does not help. I meant no disrespect.
You did a great job. I've lost a lot of respect for Heisenberg
We love your exuberance. This is better than watching a movie. Thank you.
@@Supergravity He did what the vast majority of humans do when faced with self-preservation and the promotion of oneself. I see it every day.
Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. - Senator Robert Francis Kennedy
It's ok, Kathy; except for Leipzig, you did great. ❤
Kathy. You killed it. I subscribed immediately.
I just got home from the Oppenheimer film and i was curious about life and decisions of Heisenberg in the events of WW2. Thank you for this video!! It is only just now that i have discovered this channel and as a student of physics and a history geek myself, this channel is perfect❤❤
same here haha
Same here but I didn't see the movie and I'm not really interested in it to be honest. I feel they're just going to holywoodize the events. Was it an accurate movie? Anyway, I love history and physics so I also subscribed. I'm a bit saddened to learn that men who were like heroes to me were either indifferent or sympathetic to Nazis.
Same I watched the movie and now want to learn more about the physicist involved in the Manhattan project
I decided not to see the movie Oppenheimer! Baby Boomer here! I feel like I know all too much about the threat of Nuclear War! I remember jumping under my school desk , wearing Dog Tags in October 1962 / Cuban Missile Crisis! My father was a former US Naval officer and scientist. Dad help build the very first Atomic Reactors for Submarines/Admiral Rickover's program! Dad wore a RADIATION BADGE to work every single day! Even as a little child , I knew how DANGEROUS Nuclear war would be if it ever happened! I vowed to NEVER have any children because "Nobody will ever FRY my children "! No regrets! Absolutely no regrets! Instead I worked to help educate people on the dangers of Nuclear War/ Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign 1980's! I also read the excellent book Killing Our Own by Harvey Wasserman! I remember Three Mile Island , Chernobyl and Fukushima! 🤔🤔🤯🤯🤯🤯🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊
@@GizmoMaltese I'm not an expert about Oppenheimer's life, but from what I've read, the only inaccurate thing about the movie is that it portrayed Oppenheimer as more regretful of having contributed to the creation of the nuclear bomb than he actually was
Kathy, you produce one of the bestest (history of) physics (science) contents on RUclips! Please keep up with this amazing work!
Wow, thank you!
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics It's a rather simple answer. He wasn't a rabid antisemite, most Germans weren't, but he was a German nationalist and anticommunist who had even helped the Freikorps put down the opportunistic Bolshevik uprisings in the aftermath of WW1. He viewed Stalin's regime is an evil which necessitated a strong Germany. It doesn't make him insane or racist by default.
@@bobshenix It most assuredly does make him racist. Racism is about effect, not intent.
@@pjaypender1009then everybody is a racist.
Ahh the whole everybody is racist so no one is racist defense. I never said he was an antiSemite. I said that the slaughter of most of his friends and their families wasn’t a deal breaker as long as he got to be a 1st class citizen.
And he wasn’t worried about the Russians getting a bomb, in fact he debated with Weisacker after the war whether the Russians would be better for him or English/Americans. So he was no brave fighter against Stalin.
Thank you Kathy, clarifying known events and limiting speculations! I consider this high quality!
I just discovered this channel and it's my favourite history channel because the narrator really knows how to put together a gripping story. AND, she's offering some of her own insight instead of just regurgitating facts. She's trying to explain what's going on through the heads of each individual during these pivotal moment sin history. What a great channel!!!
I recommend bobbybroccoli too, his storytelling is really unique and gripping too. Feels like watching a detective show.
It's hard to believe this is my first time hearing about this side of Heisenberg. Previously when I heard his name, I always thought of QM in the 1920s. I never bothered to research what his life was like in the following decades. That letter from Schrodinger is also very disappointing. I thought he was opposed to the nazi regime.
Me too. So much disappointment. Max Planck, however, was not a disappointment and Bohr was amazing.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics : Of course Schrodinger wrote that note to the Senate of the University. It was supposed to be private. The Nazis installed a new Rector (Reichelt) at his University who warned him of the fate ('cleansing') that awaited politically unreliable academics and advised him to put his excuses in writing.
Bear in mind Schrodinger faced a more general threat. Von Laue was protected by senior Generals in the Heer, and Heisenberg by his family connections with Himmler; Schrodinger had no such insurance; at that time he was surveilled by the Gestapo. Also his house in Graz was searched.
Little did poor little Erwin know that his 'confession' would be leaked to the papers! The Graz Tagespost in particular made a meal of it. But as Schrodinger's American biographer observed, Schrodinger did NOT - as was normal - end with 'Heil Hitler'.
The 'Confession" shown eight minutes into the clip shows (at 8:00) only that the man was under threat of life and livelihood. Now, one could justly accuse Schrodinger - and Heisenberg - of cowardice. Schrodinger even admitted it in a letter to Einstein dated July 19th, 1939; hoping Einstein would not judge him too harshly. He also remarked, "I wanted to remain free - and could not do so without great duplicity', so can legitimately be accused of lying. That said, I don't know that my moral courage would have been up to the test either.
@@richardlinter4111It's true. You might do a lot to stay alive when you're surrounded by Nazis.
You think the letter from Schrodinger is disappointing? Just wait till you hear how he treated cats.
Such a great combo of learning science + the history behind it. New subscriber and loving all of your videos!
To be fair to Schrödinger he was in a very difficult position and was in danger of getting killed by the regime. He did later privately apologise to his friend Einstein for what he said.
I know that Heisenberg always wanted to live and work in his homeland Munich, and he achieved it after WWII. There is people that just can't abandon their land.
U can't blame him for loving his country no more then u can blame Americans for loving America
@@Joseph-fw6xxThe video itself sites sources where it is clearly stated that Heisenberg was pretty much Nazified during WW2 and did share many of the Third Reich’s ideas. He wasn’t just a patriot who stayed out of his love for Germany.
Munich is a city, not a 'homeland.'
@@sandisteinberg731 my ni**a he means to say Munich is the location of Heisenberg's home
nobody:
not a single living cell:
Kathy: *reinventing science*
I love this. Thank you!
Great video! Well researched and put together. And you’re very comfortable in camera. You just earned a subscriber, and I look forward to your future videos!
So glad you liked it.
wr
They really need to make a TV or something about 20th century physicists. It's a TV drama show or something that wrote itself already.
X000S I would watch the $&@&$&@ out of that!
I know the history... Yet you managed to pull a riveting cliffhanger. Hats off to you and your wonderful storytelling powers.
It is perhaps the most hard of your stories to watch. You are so good I in a sense felt I was in Germany at this time. I knew some of this before but it is not his finest hour and I can’t deny his genius but his legacy will always be entangled with his lack of empathy that is certain. Retrospect it’s easy for me to judge him. But as mentioned the uncertainty principle father is a truly paradox of uncertainty. Nice comments. At in my part of the world we could use more of that.
Like many physicists of his time and after, he was a political fool! Some comfort may lie in the fact that many bright people are politically idealistic. They let themselves be tools of their governments. Some do it for prestige; some do it because they were raised in the mythologies that governments propagate in schools.
German - Swiss American here ! Teacher, 37 years! It is always a good idea to Question Authority! ALWAYS! FASCISTS just want you to blindly follow and obey ! IMHO! 🤔🤯🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Keep in mind that he founded a marriage and a familiy in the WWII gap. He did the bare minimum for staying fine, and yes, Heisenberg lacked of empathy to thirds apart from his family, but he was also a victim of a dictatorship, playing a role he didn't want for survival (the proof is that he got depressed the rest of his life after WWII, not proud of his actions certainly). His patriotism and love for his homeland led him to this defensive status.
Just discovered this channel as I wanted to know more about Heisenberg. Just subscribed! Your presentation is engaging, fun and full of information! Hoping you've done loads of these!
Great video as always. Minor point: I believe Leipzig is pronounced “laipzig”
Yes, well, it's even harder for native english speakers, there's a hard 'ts' after the 'p'. I did not immediately recognize what she meant. Though, fun fact, in the old books Leipzig is referenced in latin as 'Lipsia'.
Lype-tz-ik
Wow, great work! I like your combo of Physics and History.
I stumbled upon your video after reading "The Making of the Atomic Bomb". I too love physics and history and the history of physics.
Excellent video. Just a margin note, the fact that Lise Meitner did not receive the Nobel Prize is a disgrace of rank. An example of the policy of appeasement in Sweden.
I do not have a source and I am not sure that it is completely true, but during the Nazi regime, only Germans won the Nobel Prize.
@@gpwgpw555 this is not entirely correct, although several german physicists won the prize during that period and for good reasons. No prizes were awarded between 1940-1942.
Meitner's American biographer looked into this with other experts, when the Nobel archives were unsealed. Their joint verdict: "Meitner's exclusion from the chemistry award may well be summarized as a mixture of disciplinary bias, political obtuseness, ignorance, and haste." Appeasement, if any, was not a substantial contribution.
I just discovered your channel. A great channel. I have not watched the next video yet (it's past midnight here), but Teller suggested in an interview that Heisenberg was dragging his feet on German bomb development. Perhaps this is an indication that Heisenberg was warning Bohr and the rest of the world (to motivate them to hurry up) in what he said at the meeting in Denmark.
I have read this from various sources and came to the same conclusion. Unlike what many of these unread viewers watching this video may suggest "as being disappointed in Heisenberg" for staying in Germany. He was not there for the Nazis or any political movement. He could do more in theoretical physics staying in Germany as the top physicist. He had more power in Germany and could be more of an influence there than outside of it. Heisenberg delaying the bomb is a far more powerful position than being on the outside (with less resources and advancement) racing against the top physics community at the time.
never get tired of listening to 19 and 20 th century history of physics , these guys and gals , were genius , and all that without computers
They were playing pool with the lights off.
They were basically building atomic bomb with just calculator
As a student of physics and history myself I think it is important to say that Heisenberg did exactly what he said was the reason he did not leave Germany. He said " after all this war and tragedy is over, there still should be science in Germany and how could this be if everyone left" He was not blaming people that left and contemplated it himself (see his talk with Planck).
After the war he was one of the founding fathers of what is now known as the Max Planck society.
We never know if his intentions of the uran club were bad (trying to develop the bomb) or good (trying to derail or slow down all efforts).
Why would developing the bomb be bad? Were the people who developed the bombs in the US and Soviet Union respectively bad people? Were they operating under different motivations from him?
Why would being the first to develop a bomb slow down making a bomb? The Americans only put money into it when they realized 2 years after Heisenberg started that they were stockpiling Uranium and Plutonium.
If Heisenberg was forced to work on the bomb (which he never claimed instead saying he volunteered) and wanted to derail it, why not just ask for a lot less Uranium? He could have single-handedly stopped the Manhattan Project before it started. And still been treated like a rock star by the Nazi’s (trips to Switzerland and Paris and used as PR in occupied counties.)
Planck kept science in Germany. And didn’t lose his humanity in the process. That is why Lise Meitner said that “no one did more to fight Hitler than this 80 year old man” and that “they should force Heisenberg and people like him to see what they have done [in the camps] for themselves. What Heisenberg did in Copenhagen is unforgivable” (mind you, that letter was before the bomb, she was talking about Heisenberg promoting the Nazis publicly in 1941.
Yes they were. The US scientists were trying to build a bomb before Hitler got one and became ruler of the world. Heisenberg was trying to make a bomb so he could be a 1st class citizen in Nazi Germany (and he would have been fine if he had refused by saying it wasn’t possible- Otto Hahn didn’t work on the bomb and he was totally fine).
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics wow you claim that all this is proven? What happened in Copenhagen was never totally clear. I am not saying that Heisenberg did not have the intention to build a bomb. I am just saying we just do not know the facts are not clear.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics The Germans were definitely not stockpiling plutonium in WW2 - they had no means of producing it.
They did do their best to stockpile natural uranium and to chemically and metallurgically purify it into reactor grade material.
But, due to the division of their limited stocks of reactor grade uranium and heavy water between different competing research groups, I don't think they could ever have made a working atomic pile
Forgiving her biases and editorial commentary, this lady is an excellent storyteller. She has helped me learn. Brava.
Thanks Kathy. Amazing, fascinating, troubling, and disturbing history. These humans are a confusing species. Thanks for shedding some light on them.
Love your research, your condensed version, and your presentation in these videos. Always helpful and insightful and enjoyable! Thanks Kathy!!
This is one of the top 3 channels I've discovered. Thank you for your hard work.
What an enigmatic man. Who ever really knew what was going on in that mind of his. And to me, a great shame that he goes down in history with a question mark over his name.
I dont think there is any question mark he was just arrogant german supremist. There is no question about it. He was genuienly suprised that someon secceed where he failed. So there was not any secret code in what he said to Bohr.
What do you say to people who are doing the same thing again in today's world in supporting countries like India and ISreal
@@niznizam I haven' seen Israel or India invade 11 countries, like Germany did (and 2 wars)....and kill 50-70 million people (2.5 % of the population at the time)....there are other countries much worse than India or Israel
@@javierderivero9299 so you are saying that Hitler is considered evil bec he invaded 11 countries and not because of his treatment of the Jews in Germany? If he hadnt invaded the other countries, he wouldnt be called such a person as he is considered now?
@@niznizam you clearly forget the attack on minorities in muslim countries like Pakistan , Bangladesh etc.
Miss these kinds of genuine detailed videos nowadays...
Thank you 💯
Waltuh
When I was a youngster living in Wurzburg , Heisenberg’ a hometown, I read his book - Physics and Beyond - a good intro book into the philosophy and science of early 20th century physics
Schrodinger demonstrated equivalence of both methods in his 1926 paper
“On the Relation between the Quantum Mechanics of Heisenberg, Born, and Jordan, and that of Schrodinger”
He wrote
“the very intimate inner connection between Heisenberg’s quantum mechanics and my wave mechanics will be disclosed.
From the formal mathematical standpoint one might well speak of the identity of the two theories “
She said blah lulz i died. Perfect.
At first I thought you were saying that all my words were "blah blah blah" and I was offended. But then I remembered that I did say "blah" and I am glad that you found it so amusing.
Same :)
A very convincing lecture. You mention "a fantastic biography that you can find here", but this link is now private. Can you give us the biography's full title?
Just discovered your amazing video! Thank you very much!
I saw the movie Copenhagen before I saw your video. I got the impression that H could have ( and had the smarts ) to bring the bomb to fruition but was missing a key fact ( that he was trying to get from Bohr ) or he just stalled long enough to prevent the research from coming the awful result. I don’t know but it makes for a scary scenario that one person prevented Germany from having the bomb. Maybe I’m off base here but it does seem possible. Thanks for the video.
The Nazis had several uranium projects most of which fought each other. None took the notion of a bomb seriously for long, believing it impossible for either Axis or Allies - not least because isotope separation was so difficult. Heisenberg in particular worked on developing a reactor only, believing this worthwhile in its own right and also being the only way to, long term, developing a (plutonium) bomb. The very brief period when (some of) the Nazi scientists took bomb development seriously included the moment when Heisenberg met Bohr.
Thank you once again, Kathy. Your channel is a gem of great value.
This was an absolutely captivating video. Thank you.
The real paradox is how such logical, deductive, science-minded people can be so irrational in other aspects of life.
That is the real conundrum. And we usually pretend it isn’t true by either denigrating the science (like with Phillip Lenard) or pretending that the person wasn’t really illogical and craven when faced with moral tests like Heisenberg.
@@Kathy_Loves_Physics so cool that you responded! I'm a huge fan! I've been binge watching all of your videos. I especially enjoyed the ones with George Westinghouse. I've also become a huge Westinghouse fan!
Not really, more than 80% of scientists have asberger ( this is the future of mankind) otherwise they cannot sit still sufficiently long time to learn science. Average IQ of asbergers is 120 but social knowledge is emotional not intellectual.
Puzzles me too.
I think we underestimate the fact that scientists are, to a significant extent, susceptible to the same confirmation bias and belief in pseudoscientific gobbledegook as the rest of us.
Just look at the stuff that Nobel winners like James Watson and William Shockley swore by. Disappointing.
Ma'am you are absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.
I enjoyed every second of the video.
you earned yourself a new subscriber, Kathy.
keep up the great work.
Why focus solely on Heisenberg when talking about Hitler and the Atomic bomb, without mentioning Erich Schumann and Kurt Diebner? From what I know, I would say Heisenberg delayed the development of the Atomic bomb, managing to dilute scarce resources between two competing approaches when it came to critical scientific research. After the war, Heisenberg was investigated by the allies, them realizing, that despite the war, he had everything to theoretically build a bomb. I believe he had good reasons for not wanting Hitler to be the first to get an atomic bomb. And he managed it accomplish it without turning the Nazis against him. He was clearly more smarter than he made others think and I certainly cannot imagine how he must have felt during those years. Ask yourself: what, how and why would you do to successfully stop Hitler from getting the Atomic bomb, if you were in the position of Heisenberg during the war?
Outstanding Research and Presentation! Thank You!
You have a unique storytelling ability combined with great scientific knowledge.
I wonder if you are aware of the Princeton graduate and professional baseball player, Moe Berg, who acted as a spy for the U.S . He attended Heisenberg's Zurich lecture, armed with a gun.
Wikipedia: "At the beginning of December, news about Heisenberg giving a lecture in Zürich reached the OSS. Berg was assigned to attend the lecture and determine "if anything Heisenberg said convinced him the Germans were close to a bomb." If Berg concluded that the Germans were close, he had orders to shoot Heisenberg; Berg determined that the Germans were not close.[45] During his time in Switzerland, Berg became close friends with physicist Paul Scherrer. Berg resigned from the OSS after the war, in January 1946."
So that's where Walter wants to go back to with a Time Machine when Jimmy asked him.
Why did you have to end the video in such a manner. Now I am dying to know.
Always leave them on a cliffhanger. GREAT vid.
Sorry, let us just leave it at: Heisenberg wanted to promote German science and impress Bohr.
Thanks Ty
Kathy I am spellbound with your effortless flow of information laced with your ethical remonstration of disgusting ideology. Well done.
Thank you very much for this clear narrative. Indeed a brilliant man, I still remember attending a full house lecture on "particle zoo" at Kane Hall, UW, Seattle, by Heisenberg fifty years ago ...
Thank you so much for this. Very well done!
Thank you for the wonderful Video, but a small erratum if I may: at 4:30 you misspelled Schrödinger's name as Shrödinger. As a general rule, the sound represented by "Sh" in English is always spelled "Sch" in German. Don't ask why, no one knows, not even us Germans ourselves :)
Sorry about that and about my German pronunciation
Brilliantly delivered and informative! Many thanks.
Most enlightening. Thanks for your deep digging and presentation. Heisenberg is no longer the hero I thought him to be. Pragmatism can kill. How does it go? 'When good men turn their back on evil..."
I was so disappointed in him.
You can always accept the good being offered. And not all events in history are pure good vs evil.
For Ex: People in UK consider Churchill as war hero, while the same individual is seen as mass murderer in Bengal.
For me He still is mostly even tho im jewish
@@kishoretiwari8141Or look at how many people Churchill sent to death at Gallipoli, useless deaths.
@@Kathy_Loves_PhysicsI think you are viewing him from an American perspective. To leave everyting behind you treasure because your country is ruled by a regime is not an easy decision to make. It seems to me like you paint him in a bad light just for staying and living in Germany, because Germany at the time was „bad“ and in consequence working there must be too. In the end there was no greater ramification and he did indeed help the physics community during those times, even if he had to compromise with the people in power. You in return judge him for not abondoning everything he worked for. It seems like the historic arrogance of those looking back. He himself in the Interviews he gave in german was not a narcissitic person to think himself the center of german science. Please consider a more factual approach.
Great video!!! I've always low-key hated Heisenberg as a luminary of physics because of his link with the Nazis.
Intelligent, thorough, well structured and deeply interesting, thank you
Niels Bohr escaped from Sweden to Britain (then on to the USA and the Manhattan project) in the bomb bay in a British fighter plane
Sadly, scientists selling out to their political and corporate masters despite their agenda is nothing new. It's typical self preservation. Something that has driven me away from an interest/focus in the people behind great ideas/insights and made me focus more on the ideas by themselves. History is still fascinating though, thanks for the video!
Bravo Kathy. Always entertaining and highlighting the behinds the scene mishigas these scientific minds were involved in.
What a fantastic channel! So happy I found it. (He is spelled Niels Bohr.)
Thank you very much for the informative video. I'm waiting to watch the next one soon 👌
So glad you liked it
Wow! Vince really took his writing to the next level!
Bravo vince for turning him into the man we love later from an irredeemable man
Now, say my name.
This man reminds me of Robert Lee in the civil war.
He was for Germany as Robert Lee was for his home state. Both were caught between wars for the wrong reasons but were very strong about their convictions in their home territories. How many today would think Robert Lee was a traitor to the United States? Thank you for your videos because other countries ignore their history.
So Gustavo is Hitler, I see
Makes sense, since they were both pure evil.
Facinating, we appreciate your hard work, research and presentation. Fighting with too many h'es etc.. Great work.
He went from Heisenberg to Walter very White 💀💀
Thank you for this revealing presentation. Heisenberg and Schrodinger don't come out looking very good after it. Being great at physics doesn't imply being smart about politics or ethics.
Isn’t that the truth!
But Earning a noble prize is a big thing!!!!!
@@ravanpee1325 He could have left Germany also, like most of the German scientific community, which also included many non-Jewish scientists.
you could link to the lightning tamers episode T _T can't find it
Heisenberg did not work against a German A Bomb. He told Speer that the bomb could not be ready before the end of the war and the manpower was better used to support the war effort.
Well researched and well presented. Good job!
Heisenbery was clearly an uncertain man who clearly didn't know his actual position on anything.
And if he did, he would t know it's speed
Very nice presentation of history with some science thrown in! 👏
Excellent video - look forward to more such videos.
Captivating and informing.
aah, Heisenberg the famous chemistry teacher
*SAY MY NAME*
@Leonhard Euler Youre goddamn right
Excellent video. Very well researched
I stopped watching halfway. Stop presenting your own value judgements on events and just present the facts and let the viewer decide how to interpret the facts.
So annoying indeed.
As an atomic spectroscopist, these names are all familiar but I never bothered to examine the history behind those names. You inspired me to look up Johannes Stark since some past research involved his "effect" as well as all the others ... Bohr, Heisenberg, etc. So thanks!!
It is drawing a very long bow to tarnish the names of either Heisenberg or Schrodinger with enlisting in the same cause as the Nazis. My touchstone in this regard is Bernstein's book on the Farm Hall transcripts, with some reservations. His view is that Heisenberg - and all the others of the Uranverein - no matter how venal their behaviour, really did not believe Germany capable of building a bomb, nor for that matter the Allies. Heisenberg's behaviour, flailing around in a confusion of untenable positions, rather resembles a man caught in a classic double bind, damned no matter what his choices.
This was a great walk through history. I really think that the Oppenheimer movie missed out by not including this side of the story. It would have given the story a lot more context. Great job of storytelling.
Because the film was about Oppenheimer, not Heisenberg
@@karmiliaandrade9508 Their stories are linked. If you know the history the movie is a bit underwhelming.
One of the best videos on RUclips
She's done a lot of heavy lifting in order to make a video like this. I know Kathy does excellent science videos, yet I am finding this groove she's on about science, personalities, and mid 20th century world events to be spellbinding. Really liked her one about Ohm, as well.
I love your channel, but you really need to work on getting the pronunciation of names correct for some of the people you mention.
Seeing as how Germany was not close to developing the atomic bomb, as it was later discovered, I opine that Heisenberg may have been looking to recruit Bohrs to change sides or at least find out whatever nuclear secrets he could find. I think Heisenberg was a closet scoundrel. Your videos are very informative and have changed my overall thinking on this topic- thanks!
So you discredit all his scientific work just because he decided to stay in Germany after the Nazis rose to power? Pathetic.
Kathy, very nice video!
Cheers from Brazil
First of all, thanks for a great video. It definitely filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Second, I don't think it would have mattered how committed WH was, or why he blabbed to Bohr. Compared to Los Alamos, the German effort was puny. Third, I wish you'd work out (if only for your own credibility) how to pronounce European placenames and peoples' names. It's not that hard. Finally, I hope in your follow-up video, you talk about the Farm Hall conversations. I would be interested in your take.
I thought she pronounced Heisenberg just fine.
@@DeltaAssaultGaming But in German, names starting with "W" are pronounced like the English "V"....
I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS!!!
How I enjoy your lectures. Great.
Kathy, love what you present.....great stuff.
JESSEEEEE!!!
Love you videos! You misspelled Niels Bohr though, it's Niels, not Neils.. and please practice pronouncing Leipzig 😁
This is a beautiful factual video, quite fascinating.
subscribed and Liked it alot
Bohr knew that Heisenberg was going to drag his feet until the Nazi defeat.
However, there were other Nazi efforts to develop the bomb.
The first culminated in a massive liquid oxygen and coal dust bomb salted with a nuclide 'serum', delivered on a tank body sans-turret. It produced an explosion equivalent to the Hiroshima bomb. One was used against the Soviets. Stalin panicked.
The second effort produced the first real a-bomb, also demonstrated (near the Baltic coast) to Japanese diplomats. Of course their coded message home was read by the Americans (and the Brits?). Churchill threatened Hitler with a carpet of anthrax bombs recently 'perfected' by the US. In any event Hitler declined to use it as he saw it as an Armageddon bomb.
Around this time, IMHO, the SS saw their chance to escape the coming defeat by arranging an exchange: Safety for the SS 'machine' plus thousands of elite Nazi scientists (Project Paperclip) in the US for 530 Kg U235 (wrapped in Au) plus the trigger technology that the Americans were unable to develop.
The A-materiel was delivered by a U-boat (U234) to the US Navy (near the Grand Banks) as soon as the order came for all U-boats to surrender.
It is said that the Hiroshima bomb was an actual German device used because the Americans had warned the gov't in May 1945 that they wouldn't have enough U235 for even a test device by the date required (because they were putting more effort on their Pu design?).
FYI: The Imperial Navy had the Japanese A-bomb finished at their N Korean facility just days before their surrender. They unofficially detonated it near a N Korean island just to see if it would actually work. It was 'in the papers; in 1953, since memory-holed?
Without the Nazis, the Americans get the bronze.
Sorry most of that is bunkum. Try educating yourself on the MAUD project
@@malcolmlugg9843 I agree.
I think it is clear that the Germans never developed productions plants capable of enriching natural uranium to military grade.
They did manage to chemically purify natural uranium to reactor grade.
If the submarine U234 was carrying a consignment of the latter when it surrendered to the US, it would have been useful to the US program, either a fuel for the Hanford piles or as raw material for enrichment at Oak Ridge.
He was uncertain at first, being a man of principle but decided to do it anyhow
Uncertainty can not ever be a principle,
by definition, uncertainty is the absence of principle.
"The most violent debacle the city has probably ever witnessed." There might have happened something comparably violent 125 years prior.
Both Matrix mechanics and Schrödinger equation are identical.
Chilling. It is happening in America. Our fascist party is the GQP.
I'm sorry. I just can't see how this is so difficult to figure out. He was bragging to Bohr.
Exactly
She’s telling the story from her narrative, but the victors of war write history. They could say any narrative they want think about that.
Great video - where is the next one as mentioned at the end?