Oral history interview with Karl F. Herzfeld, 1962 June 14.

ArchivalResource

Oral history interview with Karl F. Herzfeld, 1962 June 14.

This interview was conducted as part of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics project, which includes tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted with ca. 100 atomic and quantum physicists. Subjects discuss their family backgrounds, how they became interested in physics, their educations, people who influenced them, their careers including social influences on the conditions of research, and the state of atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics during the period in which they worked. Discussions of scientific matters relate to work that was done between approximately 1900 and 1930, with an emphasis on the discovery and interpretations of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. Also prominently mentioned are: Niels Henrik David Bohr, Paul Ehrenfest, Kasimir Fajans, Fritz Hasenöhrl, Heisenberg (Werner's father), Werner Heisenberg, Walter Heitler, David Hilbert, Walter Kossel, E. von Schweidler, Arnold Sommerfeld, Otto Stern, Hans Thirring, Gregor Wentzel; Universität Göttingen, Universität München, and Universität Wien.

Transcript, 16 p.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8210967

Related Entities

There are 15 Entities related to this resource.

Universität Göttingen.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gr7pq3 (corporateBody)

Universität München.

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Bohr, Niels, 1885-1962

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t836n5 (person)

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made tremendous contributions to his field, transforming accepted notions of atomic structure, helping to develop nuclear fission, and advocating for international cooperation in crafting responsible nuclear policy. Bohr was born in Copenhagen in 1885 into a family that encouraged his academic pursuits. Christian Bohr, his father, was professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen. Bohr credited his father for awakening hi...

Herzfeld, Karl F. (Karl Ferdinand), 1892-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63b621r (person)

Died 1978. From the description of Oral history interview with Karl F. Herzfeld, 1978 May 11. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77898623 From the description of Oral history interview with Karl F. Herzfeld, 1962 June 14. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78112200 Dr. Karl Ferdinand Herzfeld, 1892-1978, was a noted physicist, author, educator, and humanitarian. Born in Vienna, Austria, on February 24, 1892, he received his primary education from the Benedictines. He contin...

Sommerfeld, Arnold, 1868-1951

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dn466s (person)

Physicist (mathematical physics, atomic physics, theoretical physics, wave mechanics, quantum mechanics). On the mineralogy faculty at Georg-August Universität zu Göttingen (1893-1897); on the mathematics faculty at Technische Universität Clausthal (1897-1900); on the mechanics faculty at the Technische Hochschule zu Aachen (1900-1906); and on the physics faculty at Universität München from 1906. From the description of Papers, ("New" Sommerfeld Nachlass), ca. 1890-ca. 1950. (Un...

Hilbert, David, 1862-1943

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hd7xmh (person)

German mathematician and professor, who discovered or developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas of mathematics, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of geometry. He also formulated the theory of "Hilbert spaces," one of the foundations of functional analysis. He is also one of the founders of proof theory. For many years, he held a position at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Göttingen. From the description of Vorlesungen über die Funkti...

Thirring, Hans, 1888-1976

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61r6tm0 (person)

Thirring (1888-1976). Physicist. Professor at the University of Vienna. From the description of Papers. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 83554970 ...

Ehrenfest, Paul, 1880-1933

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn18ht (person)

Nuclear physicist (statistical mechanics, applied quantum physics). On the physics faculty at Universität Wein (1900-1904); on the staff of Petrogradskii politeknicheskii (1907-1912); and on the physics faculty at Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden (1912-1933). From the description of Papers, 1902-1933. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79973171 ...

Heitler, Walter, 1904-1981

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Universität Wien.

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Wentzel, Gregor, 1898-1978

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n300jx (person)

Physicist. Died 1978. From the description of Papers, 1932-1968. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80775309 Wentzel died in 1978. From the description of Autobiographical letter to Hugh Dryden, 1959. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81313307 ...

Fajans, Kasimir, 1887-1975

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dz0b27 (person)

Physical chemist, director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Munich, professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan. From the description of Kasimir Fajans papers, 1912-1987. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 80453897 From the description of Kasimir Fajans papers, 1912-1975. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422856 Major affiliations include: Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany (1911-1917); Lu...

Heisenberg, Werner, 1901-1976

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j967hs (person)

Physicist (quantum theory, quantum mechanics, uncertainty principle, unified field theory) and administrator. On the physic faculty at Universität Göttingen (1923-1924, 1925-1926); Kovenhavens Universitet (1924-1925, 1926-1927); Universität Leipzig (1927-1941); director, Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik (1941-1945); director, Max-Planck Institut für Physik (1946-1958); and director, Max-Planck Institut für Physik und Astrophysik (1958-1970). From the description of Papers. (U...

Stern, Otto, 1888-1969

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q52szw (person)

Otto Stern was born in Germany, on February 17, 1888. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Breslau in 1912. In 1930 he was awarded an LL.D. by the University of California. In 1933 he moved to the United States where he was appointed a Research Professor of Physics at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh where he remained until 1945. His work was in the field of theoretical experimental physics, especially statistical thermodynamics and quantum theory, on which he has publish...

Kuhn, Thomas S.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sx6g8x (person)