Quantum Physics and History
Speaker: Dr. Flavio Del Santo (University of Vienna and University of Geneva)
Title: Philosophysics: A History of Vienna Quantum Foundations
Abstract: While in most universities worldwide, the foundations of quantum mechanics remain outside mainstream research, in Vienna, this field thrives. With two Nobel laureates, E. Schrödinger and A. Zeilinger, for their contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics, and hundreds of active researchers, Vienna is now recognized as one of the strongholds for quantum foundations. But how did this come about?
In this historical journey, we will explore how such a fertile ground for foundational research emerged from a unique cultural milieu dating back to Vienna’s intellectual golden age, when physics and philosophy were deeply intertwined. We will also examine how the rise of Nazi-fascism disrupted this thriving environment and how Viennese institutions struggled to reconstruct modern physics after WWII. Moreover, the postwar era’s pragmatic approach to physics, epitomized by the motto „shut up and calculate,“ relegated quantum foundations to almost taboo status. Even J. Bell, whose inequalities paved the way for quantum nonlocality and quantum information science, received little recognition for his foundational contributions during his lifetime.
We will see that, while this was also apparently the case in Vienna, physics and philosophy were never fully disentangled, and foundational interest kept smoldering under the ashes of pragmatism.
Introduction and moderation by Dr. Maria Eftychia Papageorgiou (IQOQI Vienna, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
The event takes place on friday 4th of April at 4.30 pm in Lise-Meitner lecture Hall, 1st floor, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Vienna
Afterwards: Get-Together with snacks
Please register below ↓
About the speaker
Dr. Flavio Del Santo is a Schrödinger postdoctoral fellow at the University of Vienna and a visiting researcher at the University of Geneva. He graduated in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Florence and obtained his Master’s and PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Vienna. His research interests span the foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum information theory, and the philosophy and history of physics. He is the creator of the „History for Physics“ conference series and visiting program at IQOQI-Vienna, as well as the curator of the blog „Bits of History“.
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Quantum Outside the Box is a collaborative effort of the Vienna Doctoral School in Physics and the VCQ.