Physics Archives

(Source: Book – "Einstein: His Life and Universe")

“At a very early age, I made an assumption that a successful physicist only needs to know elementary mathematics. At a later time, with great regret, I realized that the assumption of mine was completely wrong.” ~ Albert Einstein

Near the end of his life, he expressed his thoughts to a friend.

His dedication paid off, as his students went on to make major contributions to science and received the highest honors in their field.

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Regardless of how many students attended, the story clearly shows Chandrasekhar’s strong commitment to teaching and the academic environment he created.

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Remarkably, even Enrico Fermi, one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century and recipient of the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics, occasionally sat in on Chandrasekhar's classes.

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In his chapter in “From White Dwarfs to Black Holes: The Legacy of S. Chandrasekhar” (edited by G. Srinivasan), the American astronomer Donald E. Osterbrock clarifies that several other students also attended these lectures. 6/n

While a popular anecdote suggests that Lee and Yang were the only two students in the class, historical accounts paint a richer picture. 5/n

When asked why he invested so much effort into teaching such a small class, Chandrasekhar offered a simple yet profound response: "They are very good students."

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Among those students were Tsung-Dao (T.D.) Lee and Chen-Ning Yang, who would go on to share the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work on parity violation in weak interactions. 3/n

Each week, he made the long journey from Yerkes Observatory to the University of Chicago to teach a graduate course—often attended by only a handful of students. 2/n

Nobel laureate and renowned astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was known not only for his groundbreaking work in astrophysics but also for his extraordinary dedication to teaching.

Have a look at this THREAD: 👇🏻 (1/n)

(Photo Credit: the University of Chicago)

In February 1927, the young Werner Heisenberg developed a key piece of quantum theory, the uncertainty principle, with profound implications.

100 years later, that revolution continues.

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In the months that followed, Heisenberg’s work was extended by Max Born and Pascual Jordan, while Erwin Schrödinger developed his own wave-based approach. Together, their efforts reshaped physics forever.

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With this work, Heisenberg abandoned classical paths and proposed a new framework based solely on observable quantities.

It marked the beginning of modern quantum mechanics.

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Shortly after his stay, Heisenberg submitted a paper to Zeitschrift für Physik titled “On the quantum-theoretical reinterpretation of kinematic and mechanical relationships.”

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A century ago, in the summer of 1925, physicist Werner Heisenberg retreated to the island of Heligoland in the North Sea, seeking relief from severe hay fever. But what he found instead was a revolutionary idea. (1/n)

( © Werner Heisenberg - Archiv; Photograph by Fritz Hund.)

Albert Einstein’s life advice in a letter to his son Eduard on February 5, 1930:

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

~ Einstein (1879-1955)

In the picture, #Einstein is riding a bicycle in Santa Barbara, USA in 1933.

#PhysicsArchives

Image Credit: Caltech

“Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” ~Feynman

(Source: Book - Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!)

(Image Credit: @caltech.edu)

Despite the sincere plea, Ostwald never replied.

Yet, nine years later, it was Wilhelm Ostwald who became the first person to nominate Albert Einstein for the Nobel Prize.

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In a letter dated April 13, 1901, Albert Einstein’s father, Hermann Einstein, wrote to the renowned chemist Wilhelm Ostwald. In a heartfelt and quietly dignified appeal, he shared his son's deep frustration and struggles, hoping to help him-without Albert's knowledge.

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A page from Einstein's Zürich notebook features tensors.

“Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.”

~ Albert Einstein, 'The World As I See It'

Fun Fact: When this extraordinary thesis became available online, it nearly broke the internet! 🙂

Prof. Hawking's Ph.D. thesis, ‘Properties of Expanding Universes’, has been made freely available to anyone, anywhere in the world, after being made accessible via the University of Cambridge’s Open Access repository, Apollo. Read here: 🔗 www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/68bed7...

The legendary physicist Hawking's PhD thesis, “Properties of Expanding Universes,” was originally submitted to the University of Cambridge in 1966 and has since gained worldwide acclaim. The thesis explores the mathematical models of the expanding universe within the context of general relativity.

ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

Albert Einstein at the age of 19, during his university years at the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland. Little did he know, those very thoughts about light's behavior at that time would later lead him to his groundbreaking special theory of relativity.

(Photo Credit: ETH-Bibliothek)

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