The End of the Certain World: The Life and Science of Max Born - Hardcover

Greenspan, Nancy Thorndike

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738206938 ISBN 13: 9780738206936

Publisher: Basic Books, 2005

Synopsis

In 1920, Albert Einstein wrote to Max Born, Theoretical physics will flourish wherever you happen to be; there is no other Born to be found in Germany today.” The End of the Certain World presents for the first time Born's full story: Nobel physicist, a discoverer of quantum theory, exile from Hitler's Germany, teacher of nine Nobel physicists. Born's role in the Golden Age of Physics” helped to shape the science of the twentieth century and open the door to the modern era. Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, and Eugene Wigner, among others, flocked to Göttingen, Germany in the 1920's to work with Born, the physicist who had discovered one of the most profound principles of the century - the physics of indeterminacy. In a cruel twist of fate Born, a pacifist who loved science for its beauty, had educated these renowned scientists who developed the atom bomb. Not everyone embraced Born's revolutionary quantum principle. Throughout much of his forty year friendship with Einstein, the two debated the nature of the universe - deterministic versus non-deterministic - with Einstein declaring God does not play dice”, even though the Nobel Committee supported Born's position when they awarded him the 1954 Prize. A social history and a history of science as well as an intimate biography, The End of the Certain World reveals the story of a great physicist and humanitarian and his struggle with the forces of religion, politics, and war during the upheavals of the twentieth century.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

“ The world is not ruled by reason; even less by love,” Max Born wrote to his close friend Albert Einstein in 1921. Twelve years later, as the Nazis forced him to emigrate to Great Britain, he felt the personal impact of that statement. Even after the defeat of the Nazis, the explosion of the atom bomb inflicted a further blow. It was a cruel twist of fate that Born, a pacifist who loved science for its beauty, had educated the developers of the atom bomb. Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner and John von Neumann, among others, had flocked to Göttingen, Germany, to work with Born, the physicist who had discovered one of the most profound principles of the century – the physics of indeterminacy.

The End of the Certain World presents for the first time Born’s full story: Nobel physicist, a discoverer of quantum theory, exile from Hitler’s Germany, teacher of nine Nobel physicists. Born’s role in the “Golden Age of Physics” in the 1920s helped to shape the science of the twentieth century and open the door to the modern era. Together with his Wunderkinder – including his assistant Werner Heisenberg – Born solved the Quantum puzzle. But whereas Heisenberg received his Nobel Prize in 1933, Born was overlooked; he had to wait more than twenty years to receive one.

When Born finally did win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954, it was awarded for his theory of the indeterminate nature of the atomic world. It was a validation on more than one level. He had a long  standing debate with Einstein on the subject, and Born’s position – that God does play dice – had been recognized; we indeed live in a world of uncertainty.

The End of the Certain World is a social history and a history of science as well as an intimate biography. Nancy Thorndike Greenspan unfolds the story of a great physicist and humanitarian, to reveal his struggle with the forces of religion, politics, and war.

 

From the Back Cover:

"This is an insightful, moving, and beautifully written portrait of Max Born, a deeply sensitive man who in his long life experienced familial happiness and discord, professional success and injustice, political tranquility and upheaval, and through it all made his mark as one of the leading theoretical physicists of the twentieth century." -Roger H. Stuewer, emeritus professor of physics, University of Minnesota

"I am so proud of my grandfather. Nancy Greenspan has written an incredible book! I learned how much my grandfather influenced the science and history of the twentieth century-from saving his fellow scientists from Hitler to debating Einstein on the uncertainty in the structure of the universe. The book is a wonderfully informative heirloom-if I may use that word-not only for my family but for the world of science and humanity." -Olivia Newton-John, granddaughter of Max Born

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0738206938
• ISBN 13: 9780738206936
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400