Erwin Schrödinger | |
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Born |
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger 12 August 1887 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
Died | 4 January 1961 Vienna, Austria |
(aged 73)
Nationality | Austrian |
Citizenship | |
Alma mater | University of Vienna |
Known for |
|
Spouse(s) | Annemarie Bertel (1920–61) |
Awards |
Matteucci Medal (1927) Nobel Prize in Physics (1933) Max Planck Medal (1937) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics |
Institutions | |
Thesis | On the conduction of electricity on the surface of insulators in humid air (1910) |
Doctoral advisor | Friedrich Hasenöhrl |
Other academic advisors | Franz S. Exner |
Notable students | |
Signature | |
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (/ˈʃroʊdɪŋər, ˈʃreɪ-/;German: [ˈɛɐ̯viːn ˈʃʁøːdɪŋɐ]; 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961), sometimes written as Erwin Schrodinger or Erwin Schroedinger, was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in the field of quantum theory, which formed the basis of wave mechanics: he formulated the wave equation (stationary and time-dependent Schrödinger equation) and revealed the identity of his development of the formalism and matrix mechanics. Schrödinger proposed an original interpretation of the physical meaning of the wave function.
In addition, he was the author of many works in various fields of physics: statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, physics of dielectrics, colour theory, electrodynamics, general relativity, and cosmology, and he made several attempts to construct a unified field theory. In his book What Is Life? Schrödinger addressed the problems of genetics, looking at the phenomenon of life from the point of view of physics. He paid great attention to the philosophical aspects of science, ancient and oriental philosophical concepts, ethics, and religion. He also wrote on philosophy and theoretical biology. He is also known for his "Schrödinger's cat" thought-experiment.