Heisenberg’sUmdeutungPaper
Anthony Duncan A, Michel Janssen B
Abstract This chapter covers the paper known as the Umdeutung (= reinterpretation) paper, published in July 1925, with which Heisenberg laid the foundations of matrix mechanics. It carefully examines Heisenberg’s work on intensities and his correspondence in the months leading up to his famous trip to Helgoland, where he aimed to recover from poor health. It was in Helgoland that he developed the outlines of the new framework that would eventually become matrix mechanics. The chapter then gives a detailed analysis of the Umdeutung paper itself, including the quantization condition, as well as a derivation of the quantized energies of the simple harmonic oscillator, including the zero-point energy, both of which would assume a central role in the paper.
•Aug 17, 2023•1 citation