Einstein. German Science and Culture

Author: Fang Zaqing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Heisenberg is one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He helped establish quantum mechanics, particularly by proposing the uncertainty principle, which fundamentally changed the face of physics. As a physicist, Heisenberg is beyond reproach. However, Heisenberg remains a controversial figure, primarily due to his relationship with the Nazis. In January 1933, Heisenberg was already a Nobel laureate and a full professor of theoretical physics at the University of Leipzig. That same spring, as the Nazis purged civil servants, Heisenberg could only watch as the "non-Aryans" left. These individuals had once been his colleagues, mentors, and students. Initially, Heisenberg, like many of his colleagues, misjudged the Nazis' intentions and even tried to help Jewish scientists like Born stay in Germany. It was only when he truly realized the cruel reality that "Jews must leave" that Heisenberg began to follow the leadership of his older colleague Planck, seeking out scientists who met the Nazis' racial and political requirements while also being outstanding, to fill the vacant positions. On one hand, Planck and Heisenberg did their best to prevent Stark and other proponents of "German Physics" from occupying these positions. On the other hand, they tacitly accepted a racial rule: only Aryans could teach at universities or hold positions at research institutions in Germany. Even after almost all Jewish scientists were expelled from Germany, Stark and other proponents of "German Physics" continued to attack what they (arbitrarily) called the so-called "Jewish Physics"—quantum mechanics and relativity in modern physics. Heisenberg was first indirectly criticized in the Nazi party newspaper Volkischer Beobachter in 1936, and then explicitly named in the SS weekly Die Schwarze Panzerdivision as a "white Jew," a "Jew at heart," and a "Oszeitski of physics," among other things. Heisenberg began to fight for his public honor. The final victory was partly due to the help of Ludwig Prandtl, a renowned aerodynamicist and applied mathematician. Prandtl's remarks caught the attention of German industrialists, Nazi party leader G?ring, and Gestapo chief Himmler. Prandtl persuaded Himmler that there should be a distinction between Einstein the person and Einstein's science. Modern physics was important to Germany's national interests, and Heisenberg could cultivate a new generation of scientists for the German industry. Himmler made the SS his behind-the-scenes supporters, stopping the political attacks on Heisenberg. At the same time, Himmler clearly warned Heisenberg that in his speeches, conversations, and publications, he must make it clear to his audience that there was a distinction between Einstein the person and Einstein's science. In 1943, Heisenberg was given the opportunity to publish his views on modern physics in the internal journal Deutsche Physik: Aryans had also made equally important contributions to the discovery of relativity. Ultimately, what mattered was not who discovered it but whether the discovery was correct. Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen has once again brought attention to Heisenberg's visit to Copenhagen in September 1941. In reality, this was merely one of many foreign lecture tours Heisenberg undertook during the Third Reich. He gave lectures in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. As a result, Heisenberg became the "goodwill ambassador" for Germany, German science, and Nazism (whether he liked it or acknowledged it). The physicist did not directly participate in such promotional activities, which should have been the responsibility of the "German Cultural Society"—an organization where Heisenberg often gave lectures. Instead, Heisenberg mostly gave popular science lectures to the general public and presented his research to foreign physicists. The German authorities needed Heisenberg because he could attract the attention of the general public and scientists in Germany to the German Cultural Society, promoting cultural cooperation—or at least it appeared that way. It is also possible that Heisenberg's foreign trips were partly intended to help his foreign colleagues. There is much evidence that he did so, and his colleagues expressed gratitude for it. However, Heisenberg's repeated verbal expressions of support for Germany's war efforts and Germany itself (not for Nazi party policies) alienated his colleagues. In 1941, when Germany seemed to be winning the war, Heisenberg told his Danish colleagues at the Bohr Institute, "War is necessary for biology." In 1943, he told a Dutch colleague that it was now the time to "either choose Germany or choose Russia," clearly leaving little room for choice. The most controversial aspect of Heisenberg's time in the Third Reich was his involvement in the "Uranium Project." Initially, Heisenberg was only asked to study the fundamental theory and potential applications of nuclear fission. However, by late 1939 and early 1940, he argued that pure uranium-235 was a possible nuclear explosive material, and that chain reactions in reactors could be controlled. A few months later, his younger colleague Carl Friedrich von Weizs?cker further expanded on his research findings. After Germany's defeat, Heisenberg and others were detained in Farm Hall in the UK. Upon learning of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima, Heisenberg's reaction was to give an inaccurate estimate of the critical mass of an atomic bomb, followed by a better result a few days later. The reason for Heisenberg's mistake at Farm Hall is unknown. One thing is clear: as early as during the war, he knew that pure uranium-235 and plutonium could be used to make nuclear explosives. In fact, as early as February 1942, Heisenberg had clearly pointed this out to the German industry, the Nazi party, and the military in a public speech. We also learn from a temporary German military report that the critical mass estimated by the German Uranium Project was roughly between 10 and 100 kilograms, comparable to the value used by scientists in the Manhattan Project at the same time. Perhaps the most important thing is the two messages Heisenberg conveyed to his audience: that a nuclear weapon with "incredible" effects could be created, but that the task was extremely difficult and required a lot of funding. P27-29