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Scientist

Pascual Jordan

1902–1980 · Quantum mechanics, Quantum field theory, Mathematical physics
German theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He developed the matrix formulation of quantum mechanics simultaneously with Heisenberg and Born. He made fundamental contributions to quantum field theory, including the formalism of second quantization and the Jordan–Wigner transformation linking fermionic and spin systems. His works laid the foundations for modern quantum information and computation.

Biography

He studied at the University of Hanover, then at the University of Göttingen under Max Born. He worked at the University of Hamburg, the University of Rostock, and the University of Berlin. He collaborated with Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli. Due to his membership in the Nazi party, his scientific legacy was long ignored. He was awarded the Max Planck Medal (1942). In the post-war years, he engaged in politics and the philosophy of science.

Key discoveries

💡 Despite his enormous contribution to quantum mechanics, Jordan remained in the shadow of his colleagues Born and Heisenberg, and his reputation suffered because of his political views. His works were rediscovered only at the end of the 20th century with the development of quantum computing.
"He asserted that quantum mechanics is not just a theory, but a new way of thinking about reality."
Concepts
quantum entanglementQuantum Fieldquantum informationsuperposition
Laws
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Scientists
Alain AspectErwin SchrödingerDavid DeutschLouis de BroglieJohn Stewart BellSatyendra Nath BoseEmilio Gino SegrèPaul Dirac

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