A captivating story about the joy of thinking, the grandeur and depths of the 1920s and the teetering dance of the atom.
A hundred years ago, four scientists exchanged endless ideas that pushed the bounds of the imagination and developed a new science: quantum physics. Its protagonists were Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. They studied the interior of atoms and tussled over a seemingly simple question: What is light?
At the time, electricity was lighting up cities for the first time and cinema and photography were beginning their triumphant march. Thomas de Padova illuminates the scientists’ feverish search for answers by delving into their lives.
What inspired their creativity? What ideas led them to wave-particle dualism and the uncertainty principle?