straight bold vs. wavy beautiful

[AntonioLao]

Before the center stages of Dirac equation and quantum field theories there were two approaches to quantum mechanics: the straight bold and the wavy beautiful. The straight boldness is epitomized by everything that Heisenberg did with his matrices, operators, and uncertainty principle. The wavy beautiful is that of Schrödinger’s nonlinear partial differential equation for the probability wave functions. Both approaches were very successful in describing the microscopic processes of subatomic physics before the year 1928. Both were recognized as great theories for understanding the micro-world of elementary particles. The 1932 and 1933 Nobel Prizes in Physics were awarded for appreciation by the scientific world of these contributions.

http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1932/ and http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1933/

However, the personal struggles behind the scene between the bold and the beautiful has shown the subjective weakness and stubbornness of these principal objective explications of empirical data from spectral analyses. Schrödinger was obsessed with searching the hidden feministic beauty of microphysics while Heisenberg was logically unwavering for uncovering the naked rationality behind the superficial irrationality of all dynamic observables.

[baudrunner]

Thanks, Antonio. Here's a candy.

"We regard quantum mechanics as a complete theory for which the fundamental physical and mathematical hypotheses are no longer susceptible of modification."

--Heisenberg and Max Born, paper delivered to Solvay Congress of 1927