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Scientist

Max Born

1882–1970 · quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, optics
German and British theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Introduced the probabilistic interpretation of the wave function (Born rule), for which he received the Nobel Prize. Contributed to solid-state physics, optics, and fluid physics.

Biography

Studied in Breslau, Heidelberg, Zurich, and Göttingen. Received his doctorate from the University of Göttingen. Worked in Berlin, Frankfurt, Göttingen, and after the rise of the Nazis, in Cambridge and Edinburgh. Teacher of many famous physicists, including Oppenheimer and Teller. Nobel Prize (1954).

Key discoveries

💡 Born was a good pianist and often played chamber music with colleagues; his daughter Olivia became a well-known poet, and his granddaughter became the actress and singer Olivia Newton-John.
"He considered the idea that an electron freely chooses the moment and direction of its jump unbearable, and if so, he would rather be a shoemaker or even a casino employee than a physicist."
Concepts
superpositionuncertainty principle
Laws
Born rule
Scientists
Alain AspectDavid DeutschLouis de BroglieLeo EsakiWerner HeisenbergArtur EkertGilles BrassardDavid DiVincenzo

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