“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” [Nobel Laureate Physicist, Max Planck, Father of Quantum Theory]
On the fateful day of Dec 14, 1900, Max Planck presented one of the most revolutionary papers in the history of humankind, the paper that gave birth to the theory of quantum mechanics and changed our perception of the observed universe at the microscale in the most unexpected manner. Max Planck presented his paper titled Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der Energieverteilung im Normalspektrum, explaining the theory of the Law of Energy Distribution in Normal Spectrum at a meeting of the German Physical Society in Berlin. [anon]
“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” - Max Planck, Florence, Italy, 1944]
Max Planck introduced a bold idea in nineteen hundred to solve a problem physicists could not explain. Scientists were studying black body radiation and the data did not match the math of the time. Planck proposed that energy is not smooth or continuous. Instead it comes in tiny fixed packets. He called these packets quanta. Each quantum carries a specific amount of energy. This amount depends on the frequency of the radiation involved. The higher the frequency the more energy each quantum holds. This idea changed the way scientists understood heat light and matter. Planck showed that energy follows the rule E equals h times f. The symbol h represents the Planck constant. The symbol f represents the frequency. This formula explained the black body radiation curve and matched the observations perfectly. It revealed a new structure inside nature. His idea opened the door to quantum mechanics. Later scientists used his work to explain atoms electrons and the strange behavior of particles at small scales. Without the concept of quanta the modern picture of physics would not exist. Plancks theory became the starting point for a major shift in science. Today the quantum idea appears in lasers computers solar cells and many other technologies. Plancks insight showed that nature works in steps not smooth flows. This simple but powerful idea continues to guide research and helps us understand the smallest parts of the universe.
“Besides inventing quantum theory, Planck had made another great contribution to science by welcoming and generously supporting the young Albert Einstein. In 1905, when Einstein, then an unknown employee of the Swiss patent office in Bern, sent five revolutionary papers to the physics journal that Planck edited in Berlin, Planck immediately recognized them as works of genius and published them quickly without sending them to referees. He did not agree with all of Einstein’s ideas, but he published all of them. He helped Einstein to move ahead in the academic world, and in 1913 invited him to a full professorship in Berlin. For twenty years Planck and Einstein were friends and colleagues in Berlin, leaders of a scientific community that remained creative and vibrant, in spite of the political and economic disarray that surrounded them. Planck was the rock-solid central figure of German science, with the vision to promote the unorthodox and unpatriotic citizen-of-the-world Einstein.”
See Also
consciousness and matter
Fundamental Length
Mind In Matter
Planck Length
Plancks Constant
Quantum of Action
Solvay Conferences
Wheeler Hypothesis