"Long live effrontery!" Albert Einstein and the birth of Quantum Theory
Abstract
Description
From its very beginning, Quantum Theory developed contrary to the intentions of its creators. For Max Planck it marks the failure of a long-term research program, in which he tried to understand the 2nd law of thermodynamics deterministically in terms of mechanics and electrodynamics. For Albert Einstein it meant a refutation of his scientific credo. I describe parts of the early stages of this most remarkable development, up to Einstein's light-quantum hypotheis and its unfavourable reception by most other physicists.
29 pages, 4 figures. Text in german. Contribution to the 2005-annus-mirabilis celebration at the Alte Kantonsschule Aarau
29 pages, 4 figures. Text in german. Contribution to the 2005-annus-mirabilis celebration at the Alte Kantonsschule Aarau