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Max Planck

German theoretical physicist (1858-1947) · Germany · Scientists · Died at 89

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He cracked open the atom not by smashing it but by solving a puzzle about glowing metal - and the answer, energy quanta, broke physics so thoroughly that the universe has never looked continuous since.

ScientistsAcademicPhysicsPhilosophy19th Century

A life in dates

1947Died4 October 19471945Goethe Prize of the City of FrankfurtAward1933Harnack medalAward1932“It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.”In their wordsIs the external world real?, p. 83

“Again and again the imaginary plan on which one attempts to build up that order breaks down and then we must try another.”In their wordsEpilogue, p. 215

Goethe Medal for Art and ScienceAwardGuthrie LectureAward1931“We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up to now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.”In their wordsThe Universe in the Light of Modern Physics (1931)

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness.”In their words25 January 1931The Observer (London, England) (25 January 1931), p. 17

1929Copley MedalAward1928Adlerschild des Deutschen ReichesAward1927Franklin MedalAwardLorentz MedalAward1926Foreign Member of the Royal SocietyAward1925Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and ArtAward1918Honorary Member of the Physics Association (Frankfurt Am Main, Germany)AwardNobel Prize in PhysicsAward1915Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts orderAward1914Helmholtz MedalAward1913“Farsighted theologians are now working to mine the eternal metal from the teachings of Jesus and to forge it for all time.”In their words2 December 1913From Planck to Study (2 December 1913), (Autog. I/383, SPK); as quoted in The Dilemmas of an Upright Man : Max Planck As Spokesman for

1908GeheimratOffice1903“The energy and entropy of the world have no meaning, because such quantities admit of no accurate definition.”In their wordsTreatise on Thermodynamics, 1903, Translated by Alexander Ogg

1885ProfessorOffice1858Born23 April 1858

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Max PlanckMax PlanckMax Planck c1910 cropMax Planck c1910 cropMax Planck c1910Max Planck c19101911 Solvay conference Max Planck mit seiner Strahlungsformel (cropped)1911 Solvay conference Max Planck mit seiner Strahlungsformel (cropped)1911 Solvay conference1911 Solvay conferenceMax Planck (Nobel 1918)Max Planck (Nobel 1918)Max Planck Nobel 1918Max Planck Nobel 1918Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R0116-504, Max PlanckBundesarchiv Bild 183-R0116-504, Max Planck

In their own words 10

,
Max Planck
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.

    1932, Is the external world real?, p. 83, Own words

  2. Again and again the imaginary plan on which one attempts to build up that order breaks down and then we must try another.

    1932, Epilogue, p. 215, Own words

  3. We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up to now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.

    1931, The Universe in the Light of Modern Physics (1931), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt1945
Harnack medal1933
Guthrie Lecture1932
Goethe Medal for Art and Science1932
Max Planck Medal1929
Copley Medal1929
Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches1928
Lorentz Medal1927
Franklin Medal1927
Foreign Member of the Royal Society1926
Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art1925
Liebig Medal1921
Nobel Prize in Physics1918
Honorary Member of the Physics Association (Frankfurt Am Main, Germany)1918
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order1915
Helmholtz Medal1914
Honorary Doctor of the University of Athens
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cambridge
Honorary Doctorate of the University of Glasgow
Honorary doctor of the Technical University of Berlin

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About this person

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was a German theoretical physicist born 23 April 1858. Working on the problem of blackbody radiation, he discovered that energy isn't infinitely divisible - it comes in discrete packets, quanta - a finding that earned him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics and launched quantum theory. From that insight he derived the Planck constant, h, now foundational to all quantum mechanics, and used it to define a set of natural units expressed purely in physical constants. He later served twice as President of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, which after his death on 4 October 1947 was renamed the Max Planck Society - today a network of 83 research institutions spanning the sciences.

Country
Germany
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1858 to 1947 · aged 89

In common with Max

Enrico FermiBoth received Max Planck MedalErwin SchrödingerBoth received Max Planck MedalWolfgang PauliBoth received Lorentz MedalNiels BohrBoth received Max Planck MedalWerner HeisenbergBoth received Max Planck MedalArnold SommerfeldBoth received Lorentz Medal

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